Park River Robbery

There was very little local news coverage of the event that I saw. STN was there to get footage first and we had a story on it during our broadcast the next day. We covered the event itself and what exactly happened. The only other news story I saw was quickly on NBC 30. They covered the possible issue of the alert not going out fast and effective enough. I think that issue is one of the more important ones out of the experience to get covered. As the robbery was going on STN 2 tried to update our website and alert on the channel as frequently as possible but information was hard to come by. CBS channel 3 had a scrolling banner at the bottom of their channel with a little bit of information as it was going on. I think the text alerts went out too late to be as effective as they should have been. The robbery reportedly occurred at 5:20 but the first text wasn’t received until about 7:00. And for those not signed up for text alert system there was no email sent out until after the situation was over. There was a good deal of inaccurate information out there like a hostage situation or even a sniper. If the school had more effectively communicated with its students and news outlets some fear and panic could have been avoided. There still seems to be a lack of concrete information on what actually happened. What was taken? Who did it? Was there another motive besides money? But I think the most important thing to find out for now is why exactly the school made the decisions it did in regards to informing the public and students.

Italy Earthquake

Photo by: Ciro Fusco/European Pressphoto Agency

http://www.nytimes.com/2009/04/11/world/europe/11italy.html?hpw

I chose this image because it is one of the more powerful images of the funeral that took place for the 200+ victims of the earthquake. Papers and news agencies seemed to prefer images like this because they provoke emotions and show the large scale impact of this disaster.

UK: More G20 Protest News

http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/uk_news/england/london/7999277.stm

This article was top news in the UK section of BBC news online. Still the top story is about the protests at the G2o summit. Apparently it is a top news story and something that is really cared about in the UK. Here, however, not much news has been seen about it. The day it happened it was news but it hasn't continued on as it seems to there.

Disney's "Earth"

http://www.nytimes.com/2009/04/11/movies/11earth.html?_r=1&ref=earth

This article is about Disney's upcoming film entitled "Earth." It is a response to the green trend and marks the upstart of a new Disney label called Disneynature. "Earth" is so far a controversial documentary style film that intends to get kids involved with nature. The controversy comes from its G rating while showing heart-wrenching "Bambi" moments that some parents don't wish to expose their children too.

This article makes it seem skeptical that the film and new label will be very successful. I wonder why this is when a company like Disney seems to always be so successful.

Solar Cooker

http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/science/nature/7991654.stm

This article is about the creation of a cheap and simple solar cooker. All that is required to make one is cardboard boxes, foil, and black paint. This invention won in a contest for green ideas. The box can be used as an alternative to burning wood.

UK: G20 Protester Update

http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/uk_news/england/london/7990423.stm

This article is another about the man that died during the G20 protests. This one is about how an investigation will be opened up to find out what exactly happened and if the police are really to blame.

This article (although its on BBC its actually from the Guardian) seems to take a moreobjective view on the situation. The previous article on the subject seemed less so and seemed like they blamed the police.

Global Warming Rising

http://abcnews.go.com/Technology/wireStory?id=7277746

This article is about the threat of global warming. The projected 2 degree Celsius increase is expected to be passed. The majority of experts asked seemed to feel that global warming is a man made issue.

I think it's interesting that you can easily find news like this. It's not very urgent or unexpected. It feels like there's so much over exposure to the subject that the news on it doesn't seem new or important.

Green Good Housekeeping Seal

http://www.cbsnews.com/stories/2009/03/17/tech/livinggreen/main4871319.shtml

This article is about how the Good Housekeeping Seal is expanding its territory to green products. They have introduced the Green Good Housekeeping Seal to products that they have deemed environmentally conscious. They felt that many people today want to be eco-friendly but get lost in the phases that make a product seem green. Now Good Housekeeping has jumped on the bandwagon of the trend to help out.

Everglades Restoration Scaled Back

http://www.nytimes.com/2009/04/02/us/02everglades.html?_r=1&ref=earth

This article reports that Florida, in light of the fragile economy, is scaling back its plans to buy land from one of the U.S.'s biggest sugar providers in order to restore the Everglades. The governor announced that they will be spending half as much money and purchasing significantly less land than previously decided. Most of the feedback about the plan in this article is positive except for the final remarks from a scientist at the Everglades Foundation warning that there may be unpleasant consequences to this decision.

UK: A Death During the G20 Protests

http://www.guardian.co.uk/world/2009/apr/05/g20-protest-ian-tomlinson

This article is covering the death of a man during the protests at the G20 summit in England. This article reports that he was an innocent bystander and not part of the protest. It seems to say that it may have been the police's fault and that they may have hit him or pushed him. He later had a heart attack.

This article is put in the perspective of questioning the police and their role in this man's death.

UK:G20

http://www.timesonline.co.uk/tol/news/politics/G20/article6023388.ece

This article is about the G20 summit being held in the UK. I thought that this important event that is covered well here in the U.S. would be interesting to see from the perspective of the UK. This article is a mostly positive report on the summit so far. They report that the countries are working well together and that they've already on a trillion dollar world boost.

UK: New Artificial Heart

http://www.economist.com/science/tm/displayStory.cfm?story_id=13400718&source=hptextfeature

This is an article out of the UK that describes a new artificial heart. It is based on a cockroaches heart and is currently going through testing in the UK.

I thought it was interesting that this article along with others from the UK puts money in dollar form not pounds.

Bad Green Spending in Britain

http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/science/nature/7971183.stm

This article says that there is a think tank in Britain that believes the Prime Minister has placed inadequate emphasis in the Green area. Britain apparently has invested the least in clean technologies despite being one of the wealthiest nations. The article expresses the views of some that there should be a closer look taken at clean technologies and it should be addressed in the G20 conference.