1. Here's a great piece on Nellie McKay. She's a singer/song writer, but this review borders on a feature piece as well. What do you think of the delayed lead? Does it server the article well?
2. A piece recommended by Amanda. This is about the recent death of William Saffire ... and a few other things related to journalism. What news tidbits do you read first? What do MA students read first? How do we balance what readers want to read and what they should read?
7 comments:
When reading the article, I found that there was something special and intriguing about gaining insight into a public figures life. The article, which focuses on the life, career, and upcoming CD release of Nellie McKay could have taken many forms; whether it be an opinion piece, a feature or a news article, however I really enjoyed the writers approach.
I think that starting the article with a quote, an experience that the writer had with the subject, gives the reader a unique peak into the subjects life. I personally love this approach because it makes the average news article a little more interesting.
When the lead is introduced later on in the article we are provoked to keep reading and searching for more answers. This approach could be a fun way to begin Wildcat of the Issue or teacher profiles, rather than running fact after fact which can be redundant.
Before reading this article I had no idea who Nellie McKay was, so I was somewhat uninterested. The lead however drew me in and made me keep reading, intrigued by who this public figure is. Starting with a relatable aspect of her personal everyday life made me feel more compelled to learn about her for her and not just because she is famous. I agree with Amanda when she says that this is a new and interesting way to start an article about average news.
I found the second article extremely shocking, it is an unfortunate truth that people seem to be more interested in the wedding of stupid celebrities. However, I truly don't think this marks a decline or the, even more dramatic, death of journalism. I just think that reading about easy topics such as a celebrity's wedding or their expensive vacation is an easy and guilty pleasure. If anything I think it gives journalists more of a reason to have amazing leads and organize their articles in a way to MAKE people care even though they would rather avoid the hard/real things going on in the world.
Death of William Safire/Journalism: Although I thought that it is true that people seem to know more about celebs than what is going on in the real news, I'm not sure this signifies the death of journalism. I do think it's sad that more and more people look to the internet and TV for their news, and that is an incentive for journalists to look to new ways of presenting information-both in terms of more interesting writing and better stories. I think a major problem is that in the tv news cycle, they have to fill a 24 hr cycle, and it is a seemingly endless string of shootings in Richmond, traffic jams, and weather forcasts. I think that if news was only twice daily for an hour, there would be enough stories both locally, nationally, and globally to fill the time and keep viewers engaged. Also, if there was a better balance of story forms and of different political views, people would be more interested in the news than in the hook-ups and break-ups of celebrities.
This article started with an engaging story. like Ruby, I had no idea who Nellie McKay was and I didn't really care. But, the start of this article was a personable and interesting story that served to pull me inot the article and keep my attention. The relationship that the writer establishes with McKay helped, make this article very interesting and hold my interest.
I thought the article about the death of William Saffire was interesting but I don't know if I necessarily agree with the author or Ruby or Olivia's opinions on the article.
I think that there is a divide between "real news" and entertainment. There are events that have real world significance like the death of William Saffire and then there are events that are merely entertaining like a celebrity marriage. To group these two in the same category seems wrong to me.
America has a culture of escapism and our entertainment and celebrity obsession feeds into this. It is natural that people enjoy their escapes over reality.
However I refuse to believe that Americans have stopped understanding how to separate the significant from the insignificant. So, unlike Ruby, I do not think that this article signifies the death of journalism.
And I don't agree with Olivia that there should only be two hours of news coverage every day because that would make it a lot less accessible to people. However I do agree with her point that news coverage should emphasize events of importance so that they are not lost in the overwhelming amount of day to day information.
Nellie McKay:
In accordance with Ruby and Isaac, I think that writing about someone who is possibly a bit unfamiliar can be a good way to draw the reader in. Also, I think there was a good balance between quotes, facts, and background information about the singer. The one thing about the article that I feel could have been a bit stronger was the "focus". There were a lot of different components of Nellie McKay's personal interests, career, and the upcoming release of her new album blended together, and i think sometimes the information appeared to be a bit jumbled. I think a better approach to writing this piece could have been to separate the different parts of information about Nellie McKay into sections of their own.
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