AJC gets A in breaking news for the day

I think the AJC did a very good job today in covering the breaking news at Woodstock High School. For anyone who doesn't know, two students now face weapons-related charges for a gun that was found inside Woodstock High School today. A third student was questioned by the police, but later was released. I first heard about the incident on the television news around noon and was impressed to see that the AJC had not one, but two articles about it not long after.

The articles have been updated throughout the day to include the most recent information. I particularly like the first one I listed, 'Cellphones help keep calm during lockdown.' The lead really drew me in as a reader.

The day had barely begun at Woodstock High School. Suddenly, their children were locked down in advanced chemistry class, ensconced in the auditorium or huddled in the corner of a locked classroom crouching behind desks for safety.

If I could change on part of it, though, it would be the word "ensconced." And, I will admit that it's because I did not immediately know what the word meant. A quick visit to thesaurus.com told me that some of its synonyms are "protected," "shielded" and "sheltered." I think any of those words would work better, because it allows the reader to flow more quickly through the sentence without having to stop and wonder, "what does 'ensconced' mean?"

What I like most about this story is the human element it brings to the table. In a situation where it is all too easy to begin to analyze and deconstruct the students being charged, the reporter in this story decided to get the perspective of parents of Woodstock High students. I found it particularly interesting that many of the parents and their children corresponded via text message to exchange information about the situation as it was unfolding. I haven't been in high school in about 4 years, but when I was, it was very easy to get your cell phone taken up if you were using it in class. I'm wondering if maybe this incident will make teachers/administrators think twice about telling students not to bring their cell phones to school.

Although I really do like this article and found it difficult to pick it apart, I do wish the reporter had spoken to some students. I'm not sure if it just wasn't possible to speak with them at the time the story was being written, or if the reporter just wanted to take a parental angle, but I think student input would have helped add another dimension to the story. There's also a paraphrased quote saying that the school is huge, but there is no numbers to back that up. I'm not very familiar with Cherokee County schools, so it would be nice to have some information about how many students the school has, and how many were thought to be in school this morning during the incident.

I think this type of spot/breaking news reporting is something newspapers have to stay on top of if they want to survive and continue to serve the community. It's expected that your local tv news station will cover an event like this, but the most you get is the same 2 minute segment three or four times throughout the day.

What newspapers can offer is that human element and the ability to move a story forward. I was impressed by the AJC's coverage of this today because, as someone who appreciates print journalism, it was my first instinct to go to the newspaper's Web site to find out more information than the telecast gave me. And when I found it, right there on the home page, I was happy. I think one of the biggest issues in Web-based news is not knowing where or how to present the information. I don't have the answer, but I know the AJC did well with this instance, at least in my book.

-Brittany Cofer