War & Violence
By John Dvorak
Weblog: I am covering the general patterns in violence
that have been occurring during these two weeks. The
first couple of days are questions because the Northern
Alliance made a quick push south recently. The story
progresses as one of escalation.
Nov. 13 - NY Times.com vs. Boston Globe
The Times' article was about the shifting of rule
in Afghanistan as the Taliban leave Kabul. I think this
is excellently written by John Burns, it doesn't need
much else to substantiate itself, and the site doesn't
really give it anything. The Boston Globe article is
actually an editorial. Why are they plastered in the
back pages. They are well written, more interesting,
and can offer people perspective on what other people
are thinking about important issues. I think the web
medium features editorials still a lot more proudly.
Nov. 14 - USA Today vs. Salon.com
Just one day after the Times talked of past violence
and questioning what will happen this time, journalists
reported of massacres of Taliban prisoners. Maybe it
USA Today's content, but this story was more prominent
in most other publications. USA Today is similar to
a lot of websites because it is flashy and the articles
are quick and almost entertaining. Lots of pictures
and images and graphs and different things to look at.
Salon.com is one that slightly shifts from that mold
in that its stories aren't much of an informational
resource. This article questions what will happen in
the next phase against terrorism. Everyone wants to
know where Osama is, so why not ponder and guess what
anybody can - anywhere.
Nov. 15 - NY Times vs. CNN.com
The print version of the Times today put three photographs
together dominating above the fold of Afghans in recently
changed hands Kabul. But none of the stories flanking
them are about Kabul but in the hunt for Bin Laden.
Government officials say we have 100 commandos tracking
down Osama. It's really just an update in a continuing
story. CNN.com has run similar stories about the caves
in Afghanistan, and they have the best little diagram
that you can go to from related stories that shows how
some are designed to withstand bombing and booby traps
and the like. Very intriguing after reading that US
troops will have to go down there.
Nov. 16 - Village Voice vs. DrudgeReport
The Voice of course has an inherent tone, cynical
of the government's handling of events. The author thinks
the government is spending too much, while committing
themselves to keeping order in Afghanistan for years
to come. He is concerned with the refugees, and is helped
by a picture of some poor little refugee youths. I don't
like reading this without any back up. The writer isn't
even there. I find the Drudge report a good spot to
get AP stories. For each day the main ones have headlines,
and you can search for the obscure.
Nov. 18 - Newsday vs. Santa Barbara News Press Online
This is the kind of reporting that an independent internet
company probably couldn't pull off. The reporter's are
right up in there, risking their lives, and probably
getting paid pretty well or just crazy. The story includes
a few photographs, including one that the writer even
mentioned in the story being taken because the reporting
team was so shocked to actually be seeing what was going
on that they couldn't believe they were getting it on
film. This was an interesting post from my home town
page. It was an editorial from a local resident who
was skeptic of any outcome from this war. It was interesting
because the page they used was different from the other
content pages. It was just grey background. Maybe the
advertisers didn't want to be linked to that. But it
seemed separated from the other stuff because of the
presentation.
Nov. 19 - Salon.com vs. Washington Square News
Well, Salon.com can afford stories from reporters over
there - but they're not as good. We're now around Konduz,
bombing the shit out of them, and he's talking about
the refugees feeling north. Salon.com makes an effort
to be pretty formal with some of their stuff, maybe
because they take some off the wire. But the war features
aren't as good. The WSN's article is a column by Joe
Waddell discussing something about "violence or
compassion?" It's a big bore actually, he doesn't
say anything substantial, only some ranting about extremists
on both ends, and the text's only outside help is a
picture of the writer. Blah. He makes a good point at
the beginning - who are these allies of ours who are
not much better than the enemy - but leaves it and never
comes back.
Nov. 20 - LA Times.com vs. New York Post
LATimes.com is very similar to their print edition,
except that to the left of the stories, there is a very
long bar linking to information on summer camps, jobs,
horoscope, cross word, everything a paper could offer
you can get to from wherever. The Post has a flashy
news site. Once you click into a story it's just you
and the content and advertising. But the home page includes
video, pictures, a couple things to offer that they
can't in print.
Nov. 21 - Newsday vs. Slate.com
The Newsday piece has a byline from Combined News Services,
and is very formal update on the fate of the Taliban
soldiers. It is a main story on page four, it's like
an AP read. Slate.com has a politics writer, David Plotz,
and he asking how we control the Northern Alliance now
from killing innocents too. Slate.com is orientated
for self-promotion more than reader enlightenment it
seems to me. There were links to other topics in slate.com,
but not to related stories or background information.
Nov. 22 - New York Times vs. alternet.org
A Nation Challenged is devoted to everything WTC related,
including still giving memorials to each victim in the
back of each edition. There are really good pictures
everywhere, and two pictures stand alone here almost
as their own story. The article just cites officials
as escalating more troops, but the pictures show the
chaos and prisons and killing. Alternet.org is a leftist
online publication that posts articles about various
topics. This one is about Hindus in Bangladesh being
violently persecuted by Muslims. The story stands alone,
formal and serious. It has an option to go to an online
forum where alternet.org readers can debate the often
times controversial slants presented.
Nov. 23 - New York Times vs. VillageVoice.com
The Times article in A Nation Challenged starts its
headline with "Fierce Fighting Erupts
"
I've started to notice the violence increase, but people
can't really come up with clear numbers. It is becoming
clear that neither side is very trustworthy. But again,
the pictures are always in color on this page and are
really gripping. They can be a lot bigger in print than
online. VillageVoice.com is great for the publication
because its stories have a broader reach. Because they
like to talk it up in their features. Their illustrations
are famous, but their stories are very informative and
well researched. And the news does take the forefront
in the publication.
Nov. 24 - The Toronto Star vs. CNN.com
CNN.com is my favorite news site online. The war in
Afghanistan is probably what the average person going
to the site is interested in. So they have a picture,
and a lede, with bullets outlining other key developments.
The story is much the same way, short paragraphs with
facts and numbers and up to minute reports. They offer
video, audio, and visual elements straight from the
home page. I think they do an excellent job at prioritizing
stories. The front page of the Toronto Star reported
the Northern Alliance fighters vowed to kill any foreign
Taliban prisoners. The article included other developments
too, and was basically the general news article that
every publication has for this war. Most big market
papers don't experiment too drastically.
Nov. 25 - The Economist vs. LA Times.com
Nothing new from the Times, except that they gave a
little bio on the writer before the story which I really
liked. She had some authority in the field of how the
United Nations gives help and it was nice to see that.
Now her reasons for why Afghanistan is difficult for
the UN to control are now a lot more valid. The Economist
chose to run a story about the fighters off the front
lines who are experiencing some kind of freedom for
a while. They have a fighting terrorism section, and
although its tone is hopeful, it reports a different
story. New Warlords like that of Somalia are taking
shape it seems.
Nov. 26 - Time.com vs. New York Times
This story in time is great. The magazine sites follow
their parents just like print. The story says it is
part photo essay, but there aren't any visible. In the
middle of the story is a navigation bar linking to diagrams
and images and related stories and up to date stories.
This is why I would buy a print magazine, it's a lot
quicker. Pictures can be bigger, and you can look at
the text and images at the same time. It's a shame the
pictures aren't there with the story. And today we get
reports that an American may have been killed in a prison
uprising. New York Times had a picture of a wounded
man scrambling over a wall that was posted everywhere.
But all signs continue to point towards a messy conflict.
And today Bush has talked about more deaths, and this
war isn't close to being over with.
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