For rugged Montanans such as ourselves a skiff of snow might not seem like a big deal. But this is Seattle, where it snows only occasionally and where, unlike the Flathead, few old beater pickups have snowplows bolted on. Municipalities don't have fleets of snowplows either. Place matters when it comes to news. Six inches in Kalispell is ho hum page 2 fodder. In Seattle its a sign the Apocalypse is upon us.
What I'd like you to think about is the seriousness of the Times coverage of a significant event that affected just about everyone in the newspaper's circulation area. Even though the newspaper did fun stuff such as posting reader's "pet in the snow" fotos, coverage reflected events with an appropriate level of seriousness. Contrast that to that inane "Wake up it's Ashley" bit from CNN John Stewart hilariously mocked.
There are times to play it straight and there are times to have fun. Learn to make the distinction between the two.
No need to post a response. We'll discuss more in class. Here are some fotos one of my old students from NAU took that appeared on Page 1 of the Times. Erika has been a photographer on staff for a few years now.
