Analysis 2: Family shattered after raid, home loss

       Reading the article Family Shattered after Raid, Home Loss, written by Mary Schmich was discomforting to say the least. The article profiles the outcome of a family, dealing with the loss of there home after police raided their home “out of the blue” in search of evidence of illegal drug production and animal fighting, of which no evidence of either was found in the home. The raid consisted of officers in masks busting in with rifles and smokes bombs. According to the article,
 
       Mr. Harris, standing in the middle of the house that he bought 41 years
       ago, that has lodged his large family through the neighborhood's
       gentrification, kept thinking: All you had to do was knock.

       Schmich continually makes it clear that the family was wrongly accused. She clearly state “No drugs. No guns. No dogfighting.” Although, she does not give her opinion in a straightforward way, the way she presents the facts makes shows that she does not feel that the family was treated fairly. Even the given title, Family shattered after raid, home loss, has leads this reader to believe a family is facing an undeserved tragedy.

       Inside A Practical Guide to the Craft of Journalism, the author, Tim Harrower, provides these tips on how to write an editorial:
Keep it tight.
Keep it relevant.
Take a stand.
Attack issues, not personalities.
Don't be a bully.
Control your anger.
Write a strong lead and a solid finish. (270)       Mary Schmich’s article is a prime example of how to utilize these tips. She keeps it tight and relevant. She is able to give the facts and make a story of it. She avoid extra fluff and gets to the point, while giving life and personality to the story. She infuses the articles with quotes and emotions of the people involved. Her stand on the issue is very clear, and she manages to control her anger and not be a bully.

       Harrower also tells his readers, "Base your opinions on facts - and present those facts. It's a delicate balancing act: If you leap to conclusions without providing facts to support them, readers will think you're just a raving loon. Yet if the facts crowd out your commentary, you're just rehashing old news."

Analysis 1: Germany and the Euro

       In the article, Germany, Grapplin with the Euro, and Its own Complicated History, by Catherine Meyer, Germany’s Frankfurt is first described almost as if one were reading a travel log. She describes the boom of Frankfurt after the war and gives the city an image of being Germanys financial hot spot. This is what she says, makes it the “natural choice” for the location of the European Central bank, which is responsible for overseeing the monetary policy of the Euro. The article begins with a proud sounding representation of Frankfurt, with nicknames such as “Bankfurt” or “Mainhatten”.
     
       The second paragraph changes pace and jumps into the financial crisis now in effect after the European Central Bank’s emergency bailout of Greece, Ireland and Portugal. Meyer describes this as “an economic pileup that threatens the existence of the European currency itself” and she quotes in the article ECB president Jean-Claude Trichet as saying that this is "the worst crisis since World War II." Meyer describes the importance of Germanys next moves in the bailout efforts. “Germany, as the biggest player in the euro zone, has no choice but to determine the fate of the euro zone”
    
       She describes the attitudes of Frankfurters, quoting local business owners and taxpayers towards the bailouts and the bitterness some are feeling towards the benefiting countries. She covers man viewpoints and feelings in the matters, while covering possibilities fir Germanys future and the future of the euro zone based on Germanys actions, and infuses all of this with lively quotes and bits of historical backing.
   
       Meyer’s article is a combination of a hard and soft news story. Not only does she include facts about the current economic system but she includes human interest though her quotes and background coverage. While, the economic crisis is not something to be taken lightly, she does not break into the story with hard force and fact but rather she gives the story interest with a soft lede depicting Frankfurt recovering and then further success after the affects of two world wars.

       All journalism is craft. It has a functional purpose; to inform. It serves a purpose beyond inspiration. However, journalism also contains elements of art.