JOU 61: Top News Story 3

The Top news story I have chosen for this week is from the San Jose Mercury News, entitled, “Vote urged on Little Saigon”. The story was published on 2/12/2008. The article explains that San Jose Mayor Chuck Reed and Councilwoman Madison Nguyen are calling for the decision on whether the one mile strip of retail land on Story Road should be named “Little Saigon” to be put to a city-wide vote.
This story is deemed to be top news because it rates very highly in three areas: currency, conflict and proximity. The decision of the naming of this piece of land has become an ongoing saga that has featured prominently in the news for a considerable period of time now. As a result it has a strong place in the public consciousness currently. The report also contains a large degree of conflict, which is always attractive to readers. The conflict here is between a large proportion of the Vietnamese population of San Jose who have campaigned vehemently for the area to be named “Little Saigon” and the members of the city council, in particular Madison Nguyen, who they feel has let them down. Furthermore, this story is very much local and affects the readership of this newspaper. It involves a piece of land in the reader’s community and their city’s council.
The article also has some impact to it for the local reader’s of the paper. If Mayor Reed and Nguyen get their wish, then of course the residents of San Jose, the principal readers of the newspaper, would be able to voice their opinions on the matter. Moreover, taking the item to a city-wide vote would cost $214,000 of tax-payer’s money, which will be of interest to readers.