Here I will give a review of good articles that I find during the week for my COM 358, specialized writing class.

Monday, March 05, 2007

Agriculture: Governor Daniels and biofuels

I read an article from Hoosier Ag Today called "Daniels: Agriculture Central to Indiana’s Future", published March 1, 2007. Hoosier Ag Today is a radio program broadcast state-wide on several stations that carry farm radio shows. Gary Truitt, the producer of the program, also publishes the prominent stories online. I think this article would be called a "quick hit", but I think the writer could have done just a little extra research to provide the reader with other resources to learn more about the biofuel program. Having read other stories involving Governor Daniels, I believe he frequently speaks about the specific people that will benefit from his programs. However, I think the quotes here are pretty dry and economic. I think better quotes could have been chosen to highlight who Daniels thinks will benefit from the expansion of biofuels in Indiana. It could also link to Purdue's BioEnergy page to provide general and agricultural readers information about what biofuels are and some of the issues associated with its proliferation. This would allow mainstream media to also pick up the story, if they could make it relevant (since it really is) to general readers. It could also have explained the difference between corn-based ethanol and this new, second-generation biofuel. Also, the lead is very specific, and therefore dry: if it would have been more colorful, again it would appeal to people who aren't sure what biofuels are and why they're important to them.

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