Top News #4

The article that I chose to analyze is all about the drought that Northern California has experienced. Although it has been raining for the past couple of weeks, and raining heavily at that, it is still not enough water to fill the reservoirs that supply us with federal water. Because of this, water will be rationed for the summer and it will bring heavy consequences to California's population. The article mentioned that farmer will be feeling the effects significantly because they will receive very little federal water and will have to provide their own. This may lead to a huge decrease in jobs available and plants being able to be produced, which is just what our economy needs right now. Apparently, the rain that has been coming down has just been filling in the dry soil and ground instead of running into the reservoirs and water supply.

This article applies to a number of news values. These include impact, timeliness, proximity, and currency. Impact would be a news value because this will effect almost all of the population of California. The article mentioned that Northern California all the way down to Los Angeles relies on this water and will experience rationing. It also includes timeliness because since our economy is going through a rough time, this water rationing is just what we need. Proximity is part of this article because obviously we live in California, so we will see this come into play first hand. Lastly, currency is a news value of this article because this topic is definitely of public concern and is a topic we care about as Californian citizens. It will have an affect on all of us one way or another.

The link to the article is: http://www.mercurynews.com/ci_11751949?source=most_viewed