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Category Archives: Commentary and Critiques
Deadly choices at Memorial
Sheri Fink does not reveal a biased story to her readers in “Deadly choice at Memorial”. Fink includes herself in the story based on how she obtained her interviewees but not on how she feels towards each of them. She allows the story to tell itself and for each person she interviews to tell their own story through her. She remains neutral throughout this piece to have a story based of facts which is more valid that a story based in someone’s opinion.
The role that ““The full details of what Pou did, and why, may never be known… arise again.” Is important because it leads way into what the story is about. Thus can be seen as a nut Graf. From this Fink, builds on Pou’s character as an individual being under pressure during an unfortunate disaster.
Fink organizes her story as a timeline narrative way. It’s readable and she focuses on Anna Pou, to be portrayed as a character in a novel. This helps to contribute to a much more interesting story. It is very detailed and helps give the reader a sense of what order the disaster occurred.
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‘The Deadly Choices at Memorial’
The investigation of allegations against Dr. Anna Pou of deliberately and lethally injecting patients in the aftermath of Hurricane Katrina is one of enormous significance. In her piece, Sheri Fink explores through over a dozen sources and two years, the reasons the events tragically unfolded at Memorial Hospital, with 45 corpses being carried out by workers afterwards. Despite the gravity of such an occurrence, and seemingly undeniable firsthand testimonies against Pou, Sheri Fink remains a decisively neutral journalist. It seems evident that in this incredibly sensitive topic, Fink wished to avoid taking a side in the story at all costs.
In the eighth paragraph, Fink displays the nutgraf of her article, whereby she implores that whether or not Anna Pou was guilty or not takes a back seat to the potential consequences that may arise from the turnout of events. These are the questionable decision to leave the most ill patients as the last to be evacuated, and the notion that “Medical workers should be virtually immune from prosecution for good-faith work during devastating events…” Both questions, according to Fink, “deserve closer attention”, and seem to be the main point of her article.
Throughout the piece, Sheri Fink remains as neutral as possible. It would be easy for Fink to barrage Dr. Pou with allegations and testimonies, yet she adeptly juxtaposed each negative aspect with another positive, explaining Pou’s position and painting her as a sweet, respected, and capable woman placed into an unbearable and inescapable situation.
Posted in Deadly Choices at Memorial (Fink)
Tagged Ezra Doueck
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Deadly Choices at Memorial
In her article about Anna Pou’s decisions at Memorial Hospital, Sheri Fink takes the side of Ms. Pou in the sense that she is portrayed as a woman that ultimately made unfortunate decisions due to her extreme circumstances. She is detailed in the sense that she was trying to do her job to the best of her ability, and adamantly stands by her decisions. The introduction for the feature establishes the perspective on Ms. Pou to demonstrate her as one of many doctors faced with difficult decisions, and thus attempts to humanize her actions when they seem most inhumane.
The paragraph about Pou’s decisions and their impact on the medical world is important due to the fact that it establishes the event as a pivotal moment, with a lasting impact on the way others may prepare for disasters in the future. The paragraph fits into the rest of the story as a reminder to make a mental note of the weight of her actions, and how they are continuously brought up throughout the progression of the feature. This brings in a perspective of the consequences and events that followed the actions made in the midst of Hurricane Katrina.
Fink organizes her story with an introduction explaining who Ms. Pou is and the background of the decisions she had to make, and then goes into a deeply detailed retelling of the events that unfolded within the hospital, from the perspective of the people that worked there. The feature wraps up with a jump forward to Pou’s trial, bringing the story to a close with her quote on the decisions made during a natural disaster.
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Tagged Willie Diaz
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A Powerful Yet Tragic Story ‘The Deadly Choices at Memorial’
Sheri Fink does take the side of an investigative journalist in her story chronicling the decision made by Anna Pou and other doctors at Memorial Medical Center in New Orleans to categorize intensive care patients as those with “terminal and irreversible conditions” who are not worth saving in times of disasters.
By reflecting how “stunned” morgue workers were at the number of dead bodies they received from the hospital and by mentioning her role as a journalist, interviewing Ms. Pou at length though she declined to comment on any patient deaths, Fink proves her credibility as a reporter and writer.
Fink implies that the eventual death of intensive care patients was wrong, but maintains her status as an objective journalist by including that although the Life Care staff members asked on Tuesday for their 52 patients be added to the transport plans, Tenet Healthcare, the hospital’s main healthcare provider, said that Life Care staff members turned down several opportunities to receive evacuation assistance the same day.
What is important to Fink’s storytelling technique is her ability to create Anna Pou as a character in a novel. She does not go into the personal details of Anna, simply that she has a tiny build, is passionate, and likes to wear pearls. But yet despite her calm demeanor, she was able to make such an important decision that cost numerous lives. “The full details of what Pou did, and why, may never be known,” Fink wrote. This statement lends itself to a more insightful portrayal of Ms. Pou as an individual.
Fink organizes her story from the most current news of Ms. Pou trying to save herself from three suits through advocacy of her decision, to the lack of public awareness of her idea on what doctors should due in the sake of “disaster preparedness,” then to leading up to the days handled by tiers of medical workers left with the aftermath of a bad decision, and finally to the inevitable deaths of so many intensive care patients, and the angry relatives they left behind in confusion.
Posted in Deadly Choices at Memorial (Fink), Uncategorized
Tagged Kamelia Kilawan
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Blog Assignment for “The Deadly Choices at Memorial” by Sheri Fink
Before you answer these questions, please click on the ProPublica link (on the syllabus) and read the entire STORY. There are five parts, with extensive public commentary. I only distributed Part 1.
After you read, this material, please upload a post, answering the following questions:
1. Does the reporter, Sheri Fink, take sides in the story and, if so, where and how? If not, how does she avoid doing so?
2. What is the importance of the paragraph that begins with the sentence: “The full details of what Pou did, and why, may never be known. (Paragraph ends with words, “arise again.” This is an important para. What role does it play in the story?
3. How does Fink organize her story?
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Joe Gould’s Secret commentary
I don’t think that Joseph Mitchell’s writing style is outdated or old fashioned. He has a very descriptive writing style that allows the reader to create an image of how Gould looked and how he went about his life. Considering the unusual life of Joe Gould and the story telling style of Mitchell, it feels like one is reading a fictional story. His two pieces on Joe Gould are definitely feature articles. These two profiles on Gould, are good examples that aspiring feature writers can go by.
The second piece on Gould introduces him in a more negative light. Mitchell used sentences like “Gould looked like a bum and lived like a bum.” “He was generally pretty dirty.” “His voice was distractingly nasal. On occasion, he stole.”I feel that Mitchell chose to portray Gould as a bum and not as a literary genius the second time around because he wanted to make it believable when readers found out that his Oral History was a lie.
Reading the first profile, I was skeptical about the Oral History. What made it hard for me to believe was its supposed length. “It is already eleven times as long as the Bible.” This statement threw me off, because I am currently in the process of reading the whole Bible. It has been a couple of months and I am still not done. The Bible is a very long book and just to imagine a book eleven times its size seems unreal.
Amanda Burden Profile Response
Julie Satow wrote a fair profile of Amanda Burden. I feel like she introduced who she was, where she came from and gave us a little background history on Burden. Satow did not just jump into what Burden was doing with the New York City Project. First she mentioned her qualifications, her family background, and how she stumbled upon this task. Satow used percentages to show how much of New York Burden rezoned and was knowledgable about how many blocks were covered in her zoning plans. Satow was also aware of all the things Burden did in each neighborhood.
I liked how Satow gave two sides to the story. At first, I thought she was only going to write about the positive things but I was pleasantly surprised. Satow broke down both perspectives first because otherwise it would seem she was attacking her. This way Satow seemed unbiased and more informative.
I don’t feel Satow revealed her own point-of-view. I feel she did a lot of research, wrote facts and had many sources. Having a variety of sources backed up the points she was making. Satow spoke to people from community boards, tenants’ association, and the Regional Plan Association. I don’t think she left anyone out and depicted everyone’s point-of-view.
To me it seems like Burden is the right person for the job. I must admit she had for a lot accomplished, especially with High Line park. Burden appears to be a no nonsense taking woman who is focused on getting things done. She seems to have everything planned out and is very meticulous when it comes to how she wants neighborhoods to look. I feel she has a vision to make the city a better place for the future. Burden is very passionate about what she does and hopes to achieve everything she has set out to do.
Posted in Amanda Burden, Commentary and Critiques
Tagged Amanda Buden, Danielle Russell, Profiles
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Prospect Heights
Prospect Heights, Brooklyn is becoming the hip place to be. Although small, this neighborhood has been experiencing quite a buzz over night. Prospect Heights is known for its long rows of brownstones with tree-lined streets. An area that was once quiet is becoming packed with tourists, music lovers, and anyone looking for a good time.
I have been following the Barclays Center in the news since the start of it’s project. It has brought about community resistance from residents. Many who originally are from the area are not too pleased with it. There has been many lawsuits because of the demolition of residential buildings and businesses. The neighborhood has also experienced popularity since MTV held their Video Music Awards there, this past summer. Many celebrities are also coming to the Barclays Center, especially since rapper Jay-Z owns shares. West of the neighborhood is Brooklyn High School of the Arts, whish is the first academic arts school in Brooklyn. It would be interesting to see if the Barclays Center has given back to the schools in the neighborhood.
Many newcomers are flocking to this area to live. It is becoming crowded and more diverse. Younger people are moving into the area blending the well established with up comers. New condos and lofts are being built in order to house people who are willing to pay top-dollar to live here. Prices are also going up in the area. According to the recent census houses are going for 1.6 million. There are many small business owners, food truck drivers, and long time residents I can profile.
On Atlantic Avenue there are also small businesses, restaurants, and churches. I commute to Atlantic Terminal train station each morning, which has a whopping nine subway lines, and not to mention the Long Island Rail Road (LIRR). There is also is the Atlantic Terminal Mall, which has many businesses like Target, Buffalo Wild Wings, Cold Stone Creamery, and they are even building a Uniqlo! As if the area was not already crowded, with the new arena traffic has gone from bad to worse. There are constant traffic jams, and it is a hassle to get around. Prospect Heights is a neighborhood that is flushing with new thing continuing to take place. There is a lot going on, with even more to discover.
Fink Chooses Sides But Acknowledges Issues
Sheri Fink’s “The Deadly Choices at Memorial” depicts the fallout from Hurricane Katrina at Memorial Medical Center in Uptown New Orleans. Due to isolation, limited resources, and insufficient preparation for disaster on the government’s part, the hospital was forced to triage their patients, sorting them according to their medical conditions. The healthiest patients were given priority evacuation status, while the sickest patients were left at the bottom of the list. Fink’s narrative of the events during this catastrophe, explained in chronological order, sometimes abandoning chronology for topical arrangement, illustrate what may have led to some patients allegedly being euthanized by nurses and doctors. The piece focuses on Dr. Ann Pou’s involvement in the alleged acts, her indictment, and the discussion about triage medicine.
Though a very fair, well reported article, readers can determine Fink opposes Dr. Pou’s actions. Before exploring Dr. Pou’s involvement at Memorial Medical Center after Hurricane Katrina, Fink quotes Dr. Ewing Cook, who explained why he “hastened the demise” of a patient. “I gave her medicine so I could get rid of her faster… get the nurses off the floor.” Dr. Cook acknowledges consulting with Dr. Pou regarding prescriptions that would “hasten” the death of patients. Placing this, rather blunt, explanation of the situation before Dr. Pou’s side of the story (though much is expressed through her lawyers), makes the doctor’s actions look questionable. Not to mention, Fink spends a lot of time (deservedly) reporting why Emmett Everett, a nearly four hundred pound quadriplegic, “was given something for his dizziness” by Dr. Pou and ended up passing away shortly after.
Still, Fink doesn’t depict the doctor as an evil mastermind, but as a medical professional struggling under extreme conditions and little rest to provide care to patients and evacuate a hospital. At one point, Fink illustrates Dr. Pou sitting on a bench, exhausted with “less than an hour’s sleep.”
Most importantly, Fink acknowledges that it will never be known what Dr. Pou actually did or why, and that the arguments the doctor makes regarding emergency situation (triage) protocol are worth looking at. Fink writes, “This is particularly important as health officials are now weighing, with little public discussion and insufficient scientific evidence, protocols for making the kind of agonizing decisions that will, no doubt, arise again.”
All things considered, Fink sympathizes with Dr. Pou’s predicament but believes the doctor went too far. But the writer can only report the information, much of which as Fink indicates, we will never know. Her beliefs are merely speculatory, and she does a good job masking them.