The first story appeared on Los Angeles Times on September 13, 2012. It is entitled “U.S. vows ‘justice’ for attackâ€. The story is mainly based on the assertion that the events surrounding the death of the American ambassador to Libya were not spontaneous but planned. There are several news determinants to this lead story. The first one is based on how I first reacted when I saw the headline. A few days before, I had learnt about the killing of the U.S. ambassador to Libya. When I saw this headline, the negative feelings I had towards the killers struck me again. The editors of the newspaper must have been aware that such emotive issues would attract public interest and reaction. Therefore, the killing of the ambassador itself was the main news determinant. In addition, the American people would be angered by the killing of their fellow countryman in another country. Perhaps the editors used this to capture the readership of the story. The second news determinant is based on the ‘justice’ that U.S. vows to win. Reading the headline, I was strongly thinking about how exactly the U.S. forces would go about establishing the people and circumstances leading to the reported killings. The first thought upon seeing the newspaper story was that it was justified for the U.S to go ahead and avenge the death of the ambassador. However, the fact that ‘justice’ was in quotes got me thinking that perhaps the circumstances were not planned, as reported.
The second story is entitled “Heading for Brazil, but this time by choiceâ€. It explains how Africans have recently been flocking to Brazil on their own volition but not by force as was evident during the days of slave trade. The major impact on me was a feeling of awe and wonder at the contradiction that is manifested in the ‘pouring’ of Africans to Brazil. It also got me thinking about what could be leading to these migrations to Brazil yet the same Africans were held captive in the past in sugar plantations in Brazil. In other words, the news determinant is that curiosity created by the editor on the reader to long to know what attracts Africans towards Brazil. The second news determinant emanates from the phrase ‘by choice’. Upon reading it, what came into mind was not actually slave trade but the opportunities available in Brazil. Other people would also think that there are emerging opportunities in Brazil. For instance, the business community would be interested in reading the story as the first step to determining where to invest. Moreover, reading the article further, I also learnt that the country has its own challenges.
The third story is entitled “Hezbollah leads protestâ€. The Associated Press story talks about the role of Hezbollah in the Lebanon protests following mocking of Prophet Muhammad in a film. The main news determinant is the contempt arising from the fact that the creators of the film disrespected the founder of Islam. Moreover, the impact to other people would depend on whether one was a Muslim or not. For those who are not Muslims, they would be interested in knowing the role of Hezbollah in organizing the protests over the same matter. Therefore, the role of Hezbollah is the second news determinant. When I read the headline, I was also interested in knowing whether the leader of protests was arrested or not. Actually, I wanted to see Hezbollah’s photograph. The editors were also aware that upon the publishing of the story, the rest of the citizens would be more cautious and tolerant of other religions lest the same anger ensued.