Critical Analysis

Selina Poiesz

COM 300: Critical Analysis Mini-Project

January 30, 2007

I compared two articles on Mexican President Felipe Calderone’s new agenda to crack down on drug trafficking. One was from the January 30, print edition of the Philadelphia Inquirer and the other was from the Christian Science Monitor online from January 22.

Both leads were only one sentence, but with different approaches. The Inquirer took more of a hard news(ish) approach, while the Christian Science Monitor painted a descriptive picture. A descriptive online lead is generally discouraged, but this one was executed well.

The online article was longer then the one in print and could have been shortened. I started to lose interest about half way through.

I found it interesting that the online article had 15 sources, while the print edition had nine. The Christian Science Monitor did go more in depth into problems in the local communities over drugs and how Calderone is doing things differently from past leaders. Some of its sources included drugs experts, army generals, a national security expert in Mexico City and a Mexican citizen from Patzcuaro. The Inquirer cited the Los Angeles Times, a Mexican historian, a Mexican newspaper poll and a law professor among others. Both newspapers cited “analysts.”

The two articles seemed pretty objective. The print one might have glorified Calderone’s work, if only slightly. It also spent a good amount of space describing the United State’s response to the problem and what officials are doing that might not help the drug situation. On the other hand, the Christian Science Monitor showed a more well-rounded view of the entire problem.

Overall, both were well written, though maybe not for their selected audiences. I would have switched the two articles to the opposite medium. I do not know if the Christian Science Monitor simply pasted a copy of its print article online, but the online story would have been more effective in print. The Inquirer story was fine as it was, but of the two, would have made the better online article.