Continuing his series on Skid Row, Steve Lopez offered a perspecitve of Dr. Dennis Bleakley in "Offering Compassion, Not a Cure." Bleakley chose to work at a 6th street hospital and is now confronted daily with cases of Tuberculosis, hepatitis, and HIV from patients living on Skid Row. Along with confronting diseases, Bleakley tackles many patients' illiteracy, mental illness and struggle to survive. Lopez used Bleakley to raise the issue of whether addiction should be treated as a disease or as a "moral choice." Lopez combines an appeal to emotion through a heroic doctor and his devastating patients with a tie to morality and people's frequent ignorance concerning those in poverty. Lopez takes the reader with him to discover the dismal condition of Bleakley's patients and gains support in an effective way. He lets the reader distinguish if the government is acting properly towards drug addiction and what should be done. Overall, Lopez effectively communicates the stories of Bleakley and his patients. Since one of the most important aspect of journalism is telling a meaningful story that can spark change, Lopez demonstrates journalism at its finest in this heart breaking piece.

http://www.latimes.com/news/printedition/la-me-lopez18oct18,1,6719432.column?page=2

A fashionable spin on politics? Booth Moore made it possible with his coverage of Fashion Week in Paris in "Big End to Anything-Goes Week." Moore mainly discussed the contraversial John Galliano show in which the designer featured models to represent the "post-trend" era. There were short models, old models, fat models, and cross-dressing models of all races and sexual orientations. The show demonstrated the growing understanding of beauty that has not been adequately represented in the fashion world. According to Moore, Galliano was also commenting on the gay marriage issue in the United States, contrasting it to France's more accepting policies. The featured homosexuality showed that not only does the fashion world need to be more open-minded on beauty, but the government on who deserves fair treatment. The article then continued to address different designers. I though Moore did a fantastic job on this piece because he appealed to one audience through fashion and managed to tie in politics. He vividly described the clothing and the shows, but took it to the next level that most people don't. The sophistication of that connection shows me that politics truly is in everything, and that such seemingly diverged interests could come together in America's "post-trend" era.

http://www.latimes.com/features/lifestyle/cl-et-fashion11oct11,0,4281979.story?coll=la-home-style

In "Catholics, Gays and Mixed Signals" Michael McGough investigates the recent contradictory language of the Catholic Church in terms of homosexuality. According to the commentary, in previous writing, the Catholic Church linked homosexuality to birth or early years of development. However, more recent language stated that homosexuality can be treated with intense therapy to help achieve "Christian perfection." Also, the Catholic churh has implied a connection between homosexuality and pedophilia, almost creating a scape-goat for the scandal of recent years. The position of the church implies a possibility of banning homosexuals from priesthood, even if they remain completely celebate. McGough provides countless examples of the contradictory language and seems to have done extensive research. He acknowledges the difficulty of grasping the exact position of the Catholic Church as well as the exceptions in the conservative beliefs. McGough also recognizes that although writing has implied that the church is considering a ban, such a discrimination would be "un-Christian." He demonstrates a lot of journalistic responsability by showing both sides of the issue. He also clarifies that "perhaps the pedophilia scandal was about pedophilia," reminding readers to be fair and not to generalize. McGough tackles the contraversial issue with tact, grace, and fairness.
http://www.latimes.com/news/opinion/commentary/la-oe-mcgough3oct03,0,7150751.story?coll=la-news-comment-opinions