American Homicides: Not As Deadly, But Better Off

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Recommended: The growth of journalism

On January 8th, 1992, Time magazine published an article by David Elaine Ellis where, in review of the records of the previous year, they found that in 1991 America had it's “deadliest year yet.” This broke the previous record of per-capita homicides with over 25,000 murders. (Ellis, P.18) Eighteen years later, Time magazine did another article, written by David Drehele, but this time taking the time to cover all crimes, including the homicide rate and to quote them on the subject, “Last year's murder rate may be the lowest since the mid-1960s, according to preliminary statistics released by the Department of Justice.” (Drehele. Par.2). Aside from pointing out that the overall crime rate, and by extension murder rate, has actually declined since that record breaking year of 1991, the stark contrast in the both the articles' respective styles and overall format and structure varies greatly. There could be many explanations for such a stark contrast in style in those eighteen years, but the greatest change to the journalism world, and what probably had the most profound effect on Time's reporting style is the widespread use of the internet, and the new web culture that has affected everything, most notably journalism.

The first thing one can notice is the overall style and tone of the the two articles on this rather grim subject. The original article tries to be very factual and to the point, but there is a subtle negative tone that one can pick up on when reading it, and is most notable near the end, when Ellis tells us that at the very end of the year, when many were celebrating, several seemed to turn and fire upon others in an almost heartless manner. (Ellis. Par.8) Even their phrasing on various statistics varies greatly. On...

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...nge through the years in journalism due to the advent of web technology, as evidenced by the stark change between the two articles. From the amount of content actively used within the article, to even the overall tone within the reporting. Clearly the web has permanently and irrevocably changed the landscape of magazine journalism. Will this trend of added optimism and information continue in the future? Further study will need to be done, but one could think so based on what we discussed here.

Works Cited

Ellis, David E. "The Deadliest Year Yet." Time 13 Jan. 1992: 18. Print.

Drehele, David V. "U.S. Crime Rate Drops: Why There Are Fewer Murders – TIME.

"Breaking News, Analysis, Politics, Blogs, News Photos, Video, Tech Reviews - TIME.com. Time Magazine, 22 Feb. 2010. Web. 06 Nov. 2011. .

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