Little League Controversy

1) Title/Headline: Nepal’s Bureaucracy is Blamed as Earthquake Relief Supplies Pile Up

    Byline: Gardiner Harris

    Publication: New York Times

    Dateline: Kathmandu, Nepal

    Date of Publication: May 3, 2015

    Summary: Authorities in Nepal are insisting on adhering to regular searches for items going through customs, even though said items are to help the survivors of the earthquake which recently rocked the small nation.

5C’s (in order of intrinsic interest to readers)

1. Conflict: relief supplies aren’t getting to refugees/survivors of the earthquake
2. Contradiction: relief supplies shouldn’t be subjected to customs
3. Controversy: government of Nepal wants to adhere to its rules and make sure everything is safe, but people are suffering due to lack of supplies
4. Colorful Language: “...all the red tape will be stopped.”
5. Cast of Characters: Nepalese authorities and western nations

2) Title/Headline: Iran Nuclear Talks Open a Tangled Path to Ending Syria’s War

    Byline: Somini Sengupta

    Publication: New York Times

    Dateline: United Nations (though it said at the bottom that reporting contribution came from Beirut, Lebanon)

    Date of Publication: May 4, 2015

    Summary: The United Nations envoy for Syria announced that the Syrian government would stop bombing the rebels, but were unsure if the rebels would do them the same courtesy. However, everyone already knew that while the airstrikes might stop, the Syrian government was already encircling the area where the rebel camps were located. Iran backs the Syrian government when it comes to the fighting and nuclear talks could prolong the fighting.

5C’s (in order of intrinsic interest to readers)

1. Conflict: War torn nation could be continuously ravaged due to nuclear talks with a backer for one of the sides

2. Contradiction: the United Nations envoy is supposed to have private peace talks with boths sides, but may not have the background necessary to deal with this issue

3. Controversy: the issue needs to be resolved, but that may not happen if the person conducting/officiating them is not up to the task

4. Colorful Language: The United Nations Syrian envoy compared his work in Syria to a doctor attempting to treat a terminally ill patient

5. Cast of Characters: The rebels in Syria, the Syrian government, the Syrian United Nations Envoy, Iran, those attending the Geneva convention, and the United Nations themselves

3) Title/Headline: Why You Can’t Solve Income Inequality by Sending People to College

    Byline: Max Ehrenfreund

    Publication: Washington Post

    Dateline: (there was no dateline, most likely because the article was in the blog section)

    Date of Publication: March 31, 2015

    Summary: While the idea of sending more people to college might seem like a good solution to helping solve income inequality at first, simply thinking the idea through destroys the hope that it could work.

5C’s (in order of intrinsic interest to readers)

1. Conflict: Corporate executives earn larger salaries each year while the earnings for people with a bachelors degree declines

2. Contradiction: despite this, people think sending more people to college will fix the issue

3. Controversy: while helping the less fortunate achieve higher education is good, it shouldn’t be confused with the larger goal of more equal distribution of wealth

4. Colorful Language: talking about waving magick wands to fix issues

5. Cast of Characters: the 1%, federal government, American citizens

4) Title/Headline: A United Army for the Arab World?

    Byline: Hussein Ibish

    Publication: New York Times

    Dateline: Washington

    Date of Publication: May 3, 2015

    Summary: When the Arab League announced it intended to create a unified army, many people rolled their eyes and thought it wouldn’t happen because the Arab states are extremely divided. However, it seems the Arab governments are insisting that this will happen.

5C’s (in order of intrinsic interest to readers)

1. Conflict: Middle Eastern states are often conflicting with one another

2. Contradiction: Despite all the disagreements, they want to have a unified militia

3. Controversy: Even if they could come together, the coordination and integration required for such a task might prove too great a challenge

4. Colorful Language: the idea that a joint Arab force is an oxymoron

5. Cast of Characters: Middle Eastern nations, United States

5) Title/Headline: Why Couldn’t $130 Million Transform One of Baltimore’s Poorest Places?

    Byline: Michael S. Rosenwald and Michael A. Fletcher

    Publication: Washington Post

    Dateline: Baltimore, MD

    Date of Publication: May 2, 2015

    Summary: Despite the fact that $130 million was poured into the neighborhood where Freddie Gray lived in an effort to help transform it almost two decades ago, little to nothing has changed.

5C’s (in order of intrinsic interest to readers)

1. Conflict: Despite the large amount of money poured into the ghettos, it didn't change

2. Contradiction: No new jobs or businesses arose despite the money that poured in so there was nothing to sustain the attempted improvements

3. Controversy: Growing drug markets only continue to destabilize the area

4. Colorful Language: certain pockets of the slums are an ‘oasis’

5. Cast of Characters: former Baltimore mayors, the citizens of West and East Baltimore, John Hopkins students