Author Archives: Earl Mays

The civil unrest in Syria has been a consistent top news story with the most recent one about the Israeli missile strike. The strike was allegedly to stop weapons being transported. The second major Syrian story involved Syria’s use of chemical weapons. Other major stories include the building collapse in Bangladesh and the hunger strike that caused a prison revolt in Guantanamo Bay. In Europe, the economic recession is slowly creeping to northern countries such as France and Germany. Germany has seen a decrease in exports of its Mercedes car which is a large part of its economy. In the U.S., the Boston bombing is a big news story with new information suggesting that the brothers planned to attack Times Square and an investigation is currently on going with the brother’s, who was shot by FBI officers, wife. Also in the U.S., the Supreme Court backs a restriction of who can access state records. This limits people from out of State ability to ask for state information. This will limit national publications ability to fully investigate events in other states than their home state. In New York, the Mayoral race rages on with Christine Quinn, Bill de Blasio, John Liu and William Thompson remaining the top candidates.

By Earl Mays

Nigeria is being plagued by civil unrest as Islamic extremist group Boko Haram continues to stage attacks against the Nigerian military. The latest attack in the city of Baga has caused there to be numerous reports differing on who is to blame for the deaths of about 180 civilians. In reviewing the coverage, a look needs be taken of The New York Times, The Associated Press, Voice of America, Nigerian Tribune, and PM News.

The Associated Press provided the best coverage of the story because it provided information from a number of sources. The reports were able to compile information from the Baga citizens along with statements from military personnel, human rights activist and the United Nations. The second best report was The New York Times article containing sources from a political official, military personnel and Baga citizens.  The third best report was the Voice of America article because it contained multiple sources as well from two University of Abuja professors in Nigeria and the Nigerian U. S. ambassador. The Nigerian news publications were the worst because they only referenced one source. The PM News ran the better story out of the two because it contained statements from the National Public Secretary in Nigeria which provided a fair look as to what took place by addressing the Nigerian military’s wrong doings.

The A. P. provided the best story showing that the military is likely responsible for the death of civilians reportedly using them as “human shields.” This was obtained by interviewing the people in Baga. The New York Times followed in the A.P.’s footsteps in getting lay testimony to match what the military was saying which was “the commander said that contrary to media speculation that hundreds of houses were burnt, it was the explosion from the Boko Haram terrorists bombs that triggered the fire that torched 30 thatched houses in the predominantly fishing community.” This statement was made by a Nigerian Military official General Edokpaye and was taken out of the Nigerian Tribune. The Tribune provided the worst coverage because they only used the quote from the general. This is proven by the other publications to be incorrect from severals sources such as Gov. Kashim Shettima of Borno State, the people, human rights activist, and the Nigerian U.S. Ambassador who claim the Nigerian military set fire to civilian homes and used them as shields which resulted in casualties. The sources also mutually blame both groups for the death toll.

http://www.nytimes.com/2013/04/23/world/africa/in-nigeria-clash-with-militants-kills-scores.html?ref=africa&_r=0

http://www.foxnews.com/world/2013/04/24/accusations-against-nigeria-soldiers-in-village-attack-recalls-other-military/

http://www.voanews.com/content/nigerian-violence-escalates/1648704.html

http://www.tribune.com.ng/news2013/index.php/en/component/k2/item/10348-baga-massacre-why-we-struck-jtf

http://pmnewsnigeria.com/2013/04/25/baga-massacre-acn-holds-jonathan-culpable-alerts-icc/

At the end of your paper you address the existence of posttraumatic stress. What exactly is “the damage, and the danger, lie in wait,” that is not being addressed by the military and the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs are failing to address?

You mention The Iliad as being “the greatest work of art centering on war,” Do you still feel this way? What are some tactics you suggest writers take to accurately cover war?

By Earl Mays

Sources: The New York Times, Reuters, Yahoo, Forbes, The Huffington Post, CNN

The general conclusion made by the news organization is that the market is recovering, but for how long and is another bubble looming.

The New York Times article “Investors vs. Occupants” from the Economix blog questions the sustainability of the housing market. The key perspective sentence of this article reads as follows, “Investors have helped a very depressed market recover, but they have also been outbidding owner-occupants, particularly since many investors can finance their purchases entirely in cash rather than having to wait for a loan.” This sentence reveals the perspective of the piece as overall informative to the consumer as to what is trending in the housing market. The purpose of the article seems to want to get the opinions of its readers.

Yahoo’s The Daily ticker article titled “This Housing Recovery Is Different: Investors Are Now Big Buyers” explores what the large involvement of investors implies for the market in general. The overall perspective of the article is a warning to occupant buyers and investors that the actions may result in another crisis cautioning that “While these investor purchases are boosting the housing market they are also creating more risks because investors are not necessarily in the market for the long-run as the typical individual home owner usually is.”

The remaining articles from CNN’s Fortune, Forbes, Reuters and The Huffington Post are all about the current state of mortgage rates in the recovering market.  The Associated Press article found on The Huffington Post website gives a breakdown of how mortgages rates have changed and looks to want to inform the potential consumer of the current market opportunity. This is seen in this sentence, “The lowest mortgage rates in decades are spurring more home purchases and refinancing.” Reuters adds more encouragement attacking the issue by examining how banks are helping struggling borrowers pay their mortgages. Fortune’s article attacks the same issue but adds a cautionary perspective by suggesting, “Freddie and Fannie could also set the recovery back. Because delinquency is a criteria in Freddie and Fannie’s plan, it risks encouraging other struggling borrowers to fall behind on their payments just to qualify for the program.” Forbes develops a different perspective by looking at another angle that being the reformation of the mortgage interest deduction. The article explains the pros and cons of doing such and concludes that, “the housing market seems to be recovering, and mortgage rates have begun to creep up from their historic lows last summer. The politics of the mortgage deduction will surely change again.”

The housing market recovery is vital to the economy it will be interesting to see the steps that will be taken to prevent further economic issues in the market.

http://economix.blogs.nytimes.com/2013/03/27/investors-vs-occupants-in-the-housing-recovery/

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/huff-wires/20130321/us-mortgage-rates/?utm_hp_ref=sports&ir=sports

http://finance.fortune.cnn.com/2013/03/29/freddie-mac-fannie-mae/

http://www.reuters.com/article/2013/03/27/us-usa-housing-foreclosures-idUSBRE92Q0M420130327

http://www.forbes.com/sites/beltway/2013/03/28/this-may-be-the-ideal-time-to-reform-the-mortgage-interest-deduction/

http://finance.yahoo.com/blogs/daily-ticker/housing-recovery-different-investors-now-big-buyers-145259693.html#more-id

The housing market seems to be making a comeback at least according to Yahoo, CNN, Forbes, The Huffington Post, and Reuters. Each publication had a different way of covering the topic. Yahoo, CNN and The Huffington Post seem to cover the topic from a perspective that seem geared toward the average consumer. Forbes and Reuters geared their content towards business people.  The difference is seen in Forbes decision to lead off the discussion with an analysis of Fortune Brands Home & Security experiencing profits because of the housing market regaining strength. Reuters followed suit with an angle dealing with the Federal Reserve. Each publication varied on their sources, however each managed to seek out a profession market analysis or economist for their interviews. This brief analysis shows how different publications write for different readers.

http://finance.yahoo.com/blogs/daily-ticker/rebound-housing-creating-another-bubble-170506273.html

http://money.cnn.com/2013/02/26/news/economy/housing-recovery/index.html

http://www.reuters.com/article/2013/03/01/usa-fed-evans-idUSL1N0BSMSV20130301

http://www.forbes.com/sites/zacks/2013/02/20/fbhs-shares-take-off-with-housing-market-turnaround/

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/jed-kolko/is-your-housing-market-bo_b_2624852.html

Hello,

I realized I did not post my final list of sources.

They are the following:

Yahoo, CNN, Forbes, The Huffington Post, and Reuters. The Wallstreet Journal needed to be omitted because of limited access and MSNBC did not have the content needed.

Blog Topic: Housing Market its recovery and the current mortgage scandal

Possible sources: CNN, Wall Street Journal, Yahoo, Forbes, MSNBC