It's no secret newspapers are struggling financially. Virtually every week brings new reports about vast layoffs and cutbacks. There are fewer pages with fewer stories. So it's more than a little confusing to see a major metropolitan daily send a reporter halfway around the world to tell half a story.
The St. Petersburg Times on Monday offered readers just that in a heart-tugging update on Mazen Al-Najjar and his new life in Egypt.
Al-Najjar, whose sister is Sami Al-Arian's wife, was deported by the U.S. in 2002 after a five-year fight in which he was held without bond for more than four years based in part on secret evidence linking him to the Palestinian Islamic Jihad.
Al-Najjar's saga made news in Florida for more than five years leading up to his deportation. The Times' news stories adopted a sympathetic narrative early on, casting him as a humble, peace-loving family man caught up in an overzealous federal investigation that had little to do with him and everything to do with his brother-in-law. That continued with reporter Meg Laughlin's front-page profile of Al-Najjar's life today. Read more ...
The St. Petersburg Times on Monday offered readers just that in a heart-tugging update on Mazen Al-Najjar and his new life in Egypt.
Al-Najjar, whose sister is Sami Al-Arian's wife, was deported by the U.S. in 2002 after a five-year fight in which he was held without bond for more than four years based in part on secret evidence linking him to the Palestinian Islamic Jihad.
Al-Najjar's saga made news in Florida for more than five years leading up to his deportation. The Times' news stories adopted a sympathetic narrative early on, casting him as a humble, peace-loving family man caught up in an overzealous federal investigation that had little to do with him and everything to do with his brother-in-law. That continued with reporter Meg Laughlin's front-page profile of Al-Najjar's life today. Read more ...
Source: IPT News
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