This is a great and educational story about the increased expenses in a poor person's life. It reads more like a magazine story than a news story, however. The tone is a bit condescending, but the message is clear.

The Times offers well-balanced coverage of the New York Assembly's passage of the gay marriage bill. Reporter Jeremy Peters spoke with not only supporters and detractorsl, but also those Democrats and Republicans who had previously voted no and changed to yes—an important element to a story that depicts not only the sole event of the bill passage, but also a political shift in opinion on gay marriage.

This is a quality blog, written in engaging sarcasm (typical of WIRED). Something's fishy about these unmanned drones, and Noah Shachtman correctly points out that the media haven't quite gotten the story right either. The one change I'd recommend is minor (and not usually the author's fault). The headline says "CIA: Our Drones are Killing Terrorists. Promise" but the story contain information about not only CIA drones, but U.S. military and potentially Pakistani military drones as well.

This is an interesting blog post on the meeting of disparate political big wigs on education. While the author quoted the three in attendance: Newt Gingrich, Michael Bloomberg and Rev. Al Sharpton, he failed to get a statement from the Obama administration, a key point considering the meeting was held at the White House with Obama himself. Also, this piece reads more like a news story than a blog. I'm curious what the author thinks about this meeting and whether or not it did any good?

As a grad student soon to be faced with student loan bills, this story was particularly poignant. I commend the Seattle Times for its coverage of a less-talked-about Obama initiative. There was a nice balance of quotes from supporters and detractors. I was curious to read exactly how the plan and new law would work, however, this story was a bit sparse on the details.

Another look at Obama's student loan proposal. While the story highlighted benefits and detriments to getting rid of FFELP, I noticed that the writer Aldo Svaldi only quotes those who oppose cutting the program. This article would benefit from a deeper analysis—for example, Svaldi says that "another concern is whether the U.S. Dept. of Education can duplicate the local outreach that lenders provide, especially in rural states." What local outreach? And why is there more in rural ... More »

I found this story more than a little convoluted, not to mention a bit irresponsible. While the Times acknowledges that the news media incorporated the Global Climate Coalition's message in order to "balance" the story, they don't necessarily take blame for helping to perpetrate the confusion about climate change. In fact, in the very next paragraph, the author incorporates a quote from a GCC representative who once again questions the science of global warming. It appears the Times ... More »

While this is a straight forward analysis of polls outlining changing public opinion on Obama's first 100 days, there is very little original reporting. Charts and graphs illuminate poll results, however, there isn't a single quote from polling staff members or voters about their reactions to Obama's job performance.

This story about the ways in which HIV infection spreads is well-reported but a little difficult to understand. Hayden uses quite a lot of scientific and medical jargon (though, to be fair, the readers of Nature probably understand that jargon much better than a general audience). I would have liked to see more in the story about the implications of the findings. What does this mean for creating a vaccine? Hayden scratches the surface, but doesn't quite give a definitive answer. ... More »

An excellent overview, but could use a little more analysis.

I found this story more than a little convoluted, not to mention a bit irresponsible. While the Times acknowledges that the news media incorporated the Global Climate Coalition's message in order to "balance" the story, they don't necessarily take blame for helping to perpetrate the confusion about climate change. In fact, in the very next paragraph, the author incorporates a quote from a GCC representative who once again questions the science of global warming. It appears the Times ... More »

This is a well-written story with an interesting, subversive theme: climate change is important, sure, but let's not forget the impact of the rain forest. One thing I would have liked to learn is exactly what is happening to these natural habitats. For example, how many acres were destroyed by man in 2008? Which areas are most in danger?

There's quite a lot of loaded language in this story. The writer refers to Greg Mortenson's book as an "inspirational story." In describing Mortenson's daughter, she says, "It quickly became clear that she has a confidence and self-possession far beyond her years." This article seems more like a valentine than a news story.

This money story balances facts and figures with context. It is well-written, well-researched and easy to understand.

The story is informative, however a bit imbalanced. There are no quotes from Republicans or others who might object to the education funding.

Yes, because the reporters not only wrote about the event—the military strike—but also gave it context. The reporter gave broad background to the incident: Bush's administration has been ramping up attacks in Pakistan, Pakistanis are hoping for more peaceful negotiations, Clinton and other high-profile senators are pushing for more humanitarian aid and transparency in its spending. One thing I thought was a little misleading was the headline and lead. Although this occurred under ... More »