Thirsty Anyone?

So today it was pronounced that drum roll..... there is water on the moon! Here's a short version of their discovery- A satellite known as Lcross crashed into a crater near the moon's south pole about a month ago. This crash caused a hole 60-100 feet wide revealing over 26 gallons of water.  For decades scientists have wondered whether this was indeed true, helping prove that water has been in the solar system for billions of years. This article was posted in the New York Times (Times http://www.nytimes.com/2009/11/14/science/14moon.html?ref=todayspaper) and goes more in depth with science and their discoveries. I'm not going to lie, I tuned out. Yes, I read and finished the article but do I remember anything towards the end? No, not really. What interested me was the fact that water is on the moon. 

Having worked on my presentation today, I want tobring up the fact that when it comes to stories you're not going to capture everyone at once. Some people are engaged, slightly interested or not interested at all. In this particular case i would be the right in the middle. I did read the article. The headline on the New York Times website did catch my interest and pull me in as a reader. But do I really care about all the logistics and findings of this story? Not really. There are some people that do. There are people who live for science or outer space and were exstatic to hear of this discovery. Unlike me, they have probably heard about this before the article was even released. Even after it was released on the web, they will read the story again today when it comes out on print.  Then there's people who would even read the first line of this article. They only care about what personally benefits them and knowing that there's water on the moon is not one of them. 

What I have concluded based off my personal opinion and the readings I read based on the roles of citizens is that as journalists we need to cater to all types of people. In the Role of Journalist's article it described how the front page of the paper shouldn't be biased. It shouldn't only cover sports, or politics. A successful paper focuses on putting out a good variety of stories that will appeal to different people. Journalists and newspaper companies want to be known for delivering the facts and stories that people want to hear. Showing many different viewpoints and topics while staying unbiased is key. 

Sometimes though this is easier said than done. Your boss tells you that you have to write on a certain topic and you have no other choice. The Deseret News is more family oriented while the Slat Lake Tribune takesa more liberal stance. Sometimes people want to read about things that aren't in your opinion news worthy. Because people are talking about it and making it news you have to report it. When Michael Jackson dies people were going on and on long after his death about his life and story as a performer. Things were going on in the world but what made it to the front countless times? Michael Jackson. Was this because journalists wanted to cover this or was it because they knew this is what their audience wanted to read? There will be articles that you might not want to read but that's where the freedom lies. You can do what you want. You can read what you want. You can go to whatever website you desire. The option lies in you and that's the beauty.