Day 8

Today it's off to the Metro! The Metro is the most widely-read print newspaper in the United States. This is almost certainly due to the fact that it is free, handed out at subway stations and other public places and frequently found hanging around the locker room of my school gym. I have here the Boston edition. There were no articles pertaining to national government issues in today's edition, but as I'm leaving tomorrow on break for a place where there are no subway stations, it's my last chance to blog about an article in this paper. I chose one about the Boston Police Department.

"Report: $11 Minimum Wage in Massachusetts Would Cost $1.16 Billion by 2016." Metro, November 27, 2013. Morgan Rousseau.

This article is about the proposed minimum wage increase in Massachusetts, some potential effects of the increase, and some arguments for and against the increase. It is about two-and-a-quarter laptop screens long. It includes some background information on the bill and statistical estimates on the effects of the bill, such as the number of people reached and total increase in wages; however, the statistics are somewhat unclear - for instance, although it says that the wage increase would cost $201 million by 2014, it does not specify to whom this would be a cost. This article is an example of objective reporting. There are 3 extensive quotations: one from a business leader opposed to a minimum wage increase, one from a pro-increase state senator, and one from a state senator with moderate views who thinks minimum wage increases should be weighed with the potential effects on businesses. This shows a fairly balanced, objective viewpoint towards the issue.

Although this article is somewhat vague on how exactly workers would be affected by the minimum wage bill (despite making statements such as "less than 10 percent of the workforce in communities like Newton, Brookline, Needham and Wellesley would be affected by a minimum wage hike"), it was an effective summary of the minimum wage bill now up for debate in the Massachusetts legislature. It was objective and did not seem to lean towards a particular side of the debate. However, reading it, I felt as though the author was not highly informed on the subject. Half of the article was made up of numerical statistics that seemed directly taken from a report (significantly, the source of the report was unspecified, which casts its validity into question), and the other half was made up of long quotes from opinionators on the bill. Usually, the Metro is not a very informative source, and personally, I often feel dumber after reading it. It is significant that I could not find any national news articles directly from Metro reporters on the website, and had to use this one from Massachusetts. This article was more informative than most; however, I would encourage readers to seek more in-depth information on this minimum wage bill if they wish to know more about it.