Last week we introduced News Comparisons on our site, in response to the overwhelming support this feature received in our recent survey. Of about 223 survey respondents so far, 165 said they favored News Comparisons over our other features in development right now (UPDATE: Check our blog post on the final survey results).
You may have noticed our new 'News Comparison' box in the top-right corner of our home page. Every day we'll post in this box three stories that are related to our featured story -- stories that present different perspectives on the same topic -- and invite you to review them. This is a prototype for what we hope will grow into a full-featured service for comparing related stories.
With News
Comparisons, our goal is to get the most comprehensive and trustworthy coverage
of an issue as possible by having our community review and comment on clusters
of stories on the same topic. As our community has judged, it's often not
enough to review a single story, particularly in the case of breaking news,
when a topic hasn't been fully vetted yet.
UPDATE 6/5: We have gotten some great feedback on News Comparisons from our community so far. Here's what a couple reviewers had to say:
Deborah Plummer
Tell us your thoughts! Leave a comment here on our blog, on our Feedback page, or email us at [email protected].
Today's News Comparison: Judge Sotomayor
This week,
we're looking at each day's major news stories for our News Comparisons. Yesterday,
we compared news stories on North Korea's Nuclear Test. Today, the nomination
of Judge Sonia Sotomayor to the Supreme Court dominates news headlines -- and
we're comparing news and opinion on the impact of President Barack Obama's
nomination of a Hispanic woman to the Supreme Court.
Our highest rated story for this topic yesterday came from SCOTUSblog, in which Tom Goldstein outlined the four major lines of attack he anticipates from Sotomayor's opponents in the coming weeks. Vincent Camintini called it "a delightful read that brimmed with sanity. Oddly and sadly, the article is about observing a dysfunctional body politique and how we have become a series of strategists operating in huddles in order to select a representative from a small group of Americans - to represent the Judicial word of the land as it pertains to the Constitution."
We compared this story to three others well-received by our community. 'The Sotomayor Mystery,' from Slate, focused on how challenges to Sotomayor's opinion in the case of Ricci v. DeSetfano may complicate her confirmation hearings. The Hill asked how the Republican Party will criticize Sotomayor without alienating Hispanic voters, while Mother Jones went further, predicting that Sotomayor's confirmation could split social conservatives and moderates in the GOP.
How you can Help
Today, we're
continuing to focus on Sotomayor's nomination. Can you help us find the best
coverage of this topic? Review a story in the News Comparison box on our home
page – or on our Supreme Court topic page.
If you've come across a good story that relates to this topic, please submit it under 'Supreme Court' on our site - or 'link' it to an
existing story on this topic, using the Links
tool in the
review form.
News Comparisons on the Economy
Last week, we featured News Comparisons on the Economy. We focused on clusters of stories that covered a range of economy-related subtopics, from jobs to globalization to finance. Here are a few of the most notable comparisons.
Green-collar Jobs
In our
top news comparison this week, we looked for good journalism on green-collar
jobs. Time Magazine's 'It Will Pay to Save the Planet,' gave a concise overview of the
potential for green-collar jobs help pull the economy out of recession and
create new employment opportunities. Grist
profiled the Climate Corps, a group
of MBAs dedicated to helping big businesses become more energy
efficient. Washington Business Journal, on the other hand, warned of a
"bandwagon effect" in green-collar jobs that could harm
accountability in energy and other projects.
Here are other News Comparisons we featured last week:
Economic relations between China and the United States:
Will China
Still Bankroll U.S. - New York
Times
As
Detroit crumbles, China emerges as auto epicenter - Washington Post
"We hate
you guys... but there is nothing much we can do" - Council on Foreign Relations
Youth in the workplace:
'Youth
magnet' cities hit midlife crisis - Wall Street Journal
Why boomers
can't quit - Time
Even in
hostile working environments, employees reluctant to leave jobs - Science Daily
Thanks to our Reviewers!
We'd like
to give a big thanks to all our NewsTrust reviewers who participated in our
first round of News Comparisons. Your enthusiasm and involvement is an
inspiration to all of us as we continue to develop this new feature. Kudos to
Vincint Camintini and Glenn LaBauve for
their excellent reviews on our story clusters.
-- Derek Hawkins, with Fabrice Florin and Kaizar Campwala
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