Monday, February 18, 2013

Two-day bail hearing for Pistorius to start Tuesday

http://www.dispatch.com/content/stories/sports/2013/02/18/0218-pistorius-case.html

The article was about Olympian runner Oscar Pistorius from South Africa.  In the London Olympics, he became the first double-amputee track runner to appear in the Olympics.  He soon became known as "The Blade Runner" which refers to the fiber blades he uses when he runs.  Pistorius began dating a South African celebrity named Reeva Steenkamp.  Steenkamp was shot on Feb. 14 at Pistorius' home.  Police recovered a gun and have taken Pistorius into custody.  He is scheduled to have a bail hearing on Tuesday and Wednesday.

I found this story to be very interesting.  At first I was confused about the layout of the article.  It is not one continuous story, but instead is divided up into sections with different headings.  After reading, I liked this set up.  It gave you a brief introduction then told backgrounds of both Pistorius and Steenkamp then told the police report followed by what the trial will be like and South Africa's judicial policies.  All of these divisions gave me more insight in order to analyze every component of the story.

16 comments:

  1. I completly agree with Jackie in the layout. I have not read an article quite like this but it made the whole situation very clear. I believe the layout was important for this story because the story would not of been written about in the first place if it was not about someone prominent. With that being said, Pistorious background and his Olympic career is important to the story for those who do not know who he is. Once you get the background on him, the next headings are directed towards the girlfriend and the case. I think the layout was important for this story because the background was necessary. I enjoyed this story and applaud how it was written.

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  2. I thought the layout of the article was great. Personally I like the implementation of headings in a piece of writing. It breaks parts of a story up and provides a better understanding of different components that overall play a part in the bigger idea. The article was pretty newsworthy. Athletes and sports are a big part of culture, and whenever one does something extreme or is involved with something extreme people want to know about it. Overall, I enjoyed the article.

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  3. I tend to dislike headings, because I feel they're a crutch, of sorts, for writers unable to tie together story details in a flowing, cohesive way. I'll concede they have their uses in rare instances, though, this story as an example; though a narrative unimpeded by line breaks would've been more skillful, titles designating details is a lot easier to glance at, to read quickly.

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  4. I didn't really care for the layout either. The blocked paragraphs seemed very choppy to me and it seemed like the author wanted to try something different for the sake of being unique. The wording was fine; I found the article very informative and to-the-point. The formatting needs improvement. On to the actual meat, though. An olympic athlete that overcame incredible odds that goes on to allegedly murder his model/actress girlfriend. This all seems very Hollywood drama to me. It's just the thing people want to read.

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  5. I liked the layout of the article and found it easier to understand and comprehend. The different headings and information were all short and concise and as we talked about today, no one wants to sit there and read one giant paragraph at a time. When I first heard that Pistorius killed his girlfriend, I was in shock because I immediately recognized his name from the Olympics. Pistorius will most likely continue to lose all of his endorsements and I hope that he serves a significant time in jail.

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  6. No doubt, the format is different, but I don't really know if I care for it or not. In a way it seems a bit choppy, but with the headings, it's also very clear what each paragraph is speaking to you about. I suppose I just favor a more traditional format. The story itself, however, is certainly one that's extremely interesting. With all the things it encompasses, such as running, Olympics, prosthetics, murder and the hero that Pistorious was to many, it can appeal to a very wide audience.

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  7. I actually really liked the layout of this article. It was different and helped reveal the story in an easily comprehendable manner. It also allows the reader to jump to different parts of the story...whether you wanted to know who exactly he was, who the girlfriend was, or what happened to the girlfriend, it was all layed out right there in front of you to easily find and access.

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  8. I think the article was really informative, however, I think the layout allowed the author to talk about each element separately instead of transitioning through the story. At this point I am not sure if it was a good thing or bad thing. I think it lends a thoroughness to the article but it also removes the feeling that each bit of information is crucial to the whole story.

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  9. I liked the layout. I felt that it gave the story a clearer meaning and also made the order of events simpler. The story itself is very interesting. There are always two sides to the story but from the news i've heard about it, much of the evidence seems to contradict. I don't know if i think he is guilty or not but I am excited to see this play out.

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  10. I found this article to be interesting. It was about a famous amputee track racer, that some or most of us have heard about him. The article does have a good layout, I think. It states the W's, the who, what, where, when and also how. Then the story has all the parts about the evidence and what went down. I have no idea whether he is guilty or not.

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  11. The layout of the article could be beneficial, or it could be too complicated. having the individual stories laid out as this article does could make a reader feel like they are doing too much work in reading it. It's unusual style of investigative/ reporting writing style could discredit the writer's professionalism. On the other hand, the layout easily separates the different sides and details in a still unclear case. Pistorius was a hopeful and optimisitic public figure for many people, and they could still be hoping for his innocence. Overall, good amount of information and unbiasedly delivered article.

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  12. The layout was very cool and it did a decent job of almost alegorically summarizing the case around the story. There have been different details about this case emerging almost daily and they have changed some of the dynamics of the case itself. I personally liked how it broke down and analyzed everything separately.

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  13. I really enjoyed the multiple sections of the story. It was good to get background on both Pistorious and his girlfriend and I think it also showed that the Dispatch did their research. I am also happy they informed us on South Africa’s Justice system and the reaction by advertising companies to remove billboards. Overall I think this piece is well written and very informative.

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  14. I found the layout of the story helpful and it proved good background information for a reader who previously might not know Pistorius or Steenkamp. The article does give the feeling of celebrity drama and especially because the murder occurred on Valentine's day. If Pistorious wasn't the famous "Blade Runner" of the Olympic Games I doubt few would take interest in the story. Regardless of the content, the story was well written and organized.

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  15. I liked it - first it introduced you to the subject of the article, then in each section afterwards, offered more and more information on what exactly was going on.

    I really don't have any gripes on this one.

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