On the front page of Thursday's USA TODAY, a headline stated "D.C. snow closures puzzle former Chicago resident," which referred to President Obama and his children's school closure due to snowy conditions. Skimming this headline, President Obama didn't come to mind until I read the first line of the lead. After I read the full 12 inches, I questioned the story's relevance to the front page of the newspaper. Washington D.C. experienced some snow and icy roads, so the city closed down the school of Obama's children just to be safe. An interesting article to say the least, and the story did have an argument, but I felt the content was lacking a journalistic personality you would expect from a major newspaper: And a front page piece. This article makes me wonder: Is every issue concerning the President (i.e. wife, kids, diet, hobbies, snow-closing-D.C. schools, etc) game for front-page coverage?
What the reader saw was what the reader got in this article.: No continuation on another page, but a small sidebar to the right. And the headline did not even mention the President or the President's name. The title referred to the President of the United States as a "former Chicago resident." Does that reference do him justice? This article provoked several questions about the way the President is reported in the news, and the events revolved around him that are considered front-page priority. Is the spotlight on Obama too extreme, even for the President of the United States? Looks like his children will get to build snowmen this year.
Subscribe to:
Post Comments (Atom)
This was a very good observation done by Brooke. I think she took a good stand-point here asking very plausible questions. Are we suddenly that interested in the President, as well as his life, that a story such as the one described by Brooke seems to be important enough for the front page? When did we get to this point? You would think that President Obamas stimulus plan would be reason for a front page story, or the war that is taking place in Irag; however, his children and their school suddenly has a higher value on our list? It puzzles me as to where our system of importance dissappeared to.
ReplyDelete