An on-line discussion forum for Ashland University's Advanced Reporting class, fall 2009.
Wednesday, September 23, 2009
The Budget is big news
First in the New York Times, now the L.A. Times, the Budget in Sugarcreek is popular around the country. Why do you think so many people are so fascinated with this story? Is it because it's about Amish, or is there more to it?
I wasn't particularly interested in this article. I didn't think the story was so great. I was interested in the idea of The Budget, and it really made me want to read a copy. I think people are so fascinated by this story because it revolves around the Amish, and the Amish seem so mysterious to many. They're mysterious to me and I often see them at Walmart or riding their buggies down Claremont. The Amish seem to be interesting to most Americans because they are people who live in our own country yet live such different lives and it's fascinating.
I enjoyed the story and I do find The Budget interesting, but I'm not sure I understand why it's becoming interesting to the press right now. The New York Times, at least, had a recent angle to work with - this past summer's intern and the transition to being online. That's kind of cool. But why the story in the LA Times, too? It was pretty much an explanation of what The Budget is, which is interesting to learn about, but it seems random. I think the most intriguing thing about The Budget is the type of news it covers - every day life. A lot of it is stuff most people tell a friend in an e-mail or chat about over lunch. I'm fascinated by the idea that people from around the country care about Joe Schmoe's daily activities. But if it's been around for so long, why are major papers writing about it now? Again, NYT did have a reason, but the LA Times article confuses me. As a side note about the article itself, I think it was heavy on the quotes from letters. After awhile, it seemed like the reporter started throwing them in just to give more examples rather than to actually say something new about the paper.
2 comments:
I wasn't particularly interested in this article. I didn't think the story was so great. I was interested in the idea of The Budget, and it really made me want to read a copy. I think people are so fascinated by this story because it revolves around the Amish, and the Amish seem so mysterious to many. They're mysterious to me and I often see them at Walmart or riding their buggies down Claremont. The Amish seem to be interesting to most Americans because they are people who live in our own country yet live such different lives and it's fascinating.
I enjoyed the story and I do find The Budget interesting, but I'm not sure I understand why it's becoming interesting to the press right now. The New York Times, at least, had a recent angle to work with - this past summer's intern and the transition to being online. That's kind of cool. But why the story in the LA Times, too? It was pretty much an explanation of what The Budget is, which is interesting to learn about, but it seems random. I think the most intriguing thing about The Budget is the type of news it covers - every day life. A lot of it is stuff most people tell a friend in an e-mail or chat about over lunch. I'm fascinated by the idea that people from around the country care about Joe Schmoe's daily activities. But if it's been around for so long, why are major papers writing about it now? Again, NYT did have a reason, but the LA Times article confuses me. As a side note about the article itself, I think it was heavy on the quotes from letters. After awhile, it seemed like the reporter started throwing them in just to give more examples rather than to actually say something new about the paper.
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