1. The Kids Will be Alright: From the Wall Street Journal, this is an interesting story on birth rates in the US and other countries. Marin is dealing with a birthrate first: the dominant white population is slated to plateau, while the non-white population is booming. For MA, this poses a few issues, namely, how does a while culture school embrace and attract the non-white culture. How might that be a hurdle for MA? As for a localized angle for this story, we might look at the changing or unchanged face of the MA student population. What are you thoughts on bringing this story to campus?
2. Nancy Pelosi Doesn't Care if You Like Her: A solid profile piece from Esquire. Jamie brought this to my attention last week, and when I found out one of my favorite writers wrote the piece, I loved it even more. What are you thoughts on the style? the content? the piece as a whole? Again, how can we take our profile writing up a notch and how can we incorporate such in-depth coverage in The Voice? Might this inspire a bit more pizazz in our Wildcats of the Issue?
19 comments:
Nancy Pelosi Doesn't Care if you like her:
I thoroughly enjoyed this profile piece. The stylized writing style and amount of description made this piece feel almost like a short story. I thought the use of all the short sentences was especially precise and effective in describing the complex figure that is Nancy Pelosi. I also liked the fact that Chiarella focused on her critics and people protesting her political views as a way of explaining something about Pelosi herself.
I think it would be easy to implement this style of writing in articles in The Voice, especially when we have the opportunity to write a longer piece, perhaps about a speaker at a Conference on Democracy or during Lit Fest.
The Kids Will Be Alright:
This article provided a refreshing perspective from the usual "America is done for" attitude that we see so much in our society. The changes in population, and in particular the possibility of whites becoming a minority in Marin, will force the MA community to really becoming accepting and welcoming to other "types" of people. We say we have diversity, but MA students and faculty are almost all extremely motivated, and those who aren't can often be looked down upon.
Nancy Pelosi Doesn't Care if You Like Her:
This piece with it's unique style gave a deep insight into Nancy Pelosi's life. It showed that despite all of the distracting opposers of everything in her life from her policies to her clothes and hair, she stays focused on doing her job which many people in the government can forget.
It would be interesting to try this style with the Wildcats of the Issue. Instead of doing the usual interview format, we could maybe go watch the player in a game, or even get some opinions from their peer fans.
Nancy Pelosi Doesn't Care if You Like Her:
First of all, great title and great tag-line. I think we often struggle to be clever and find puns with our titles, but this is proof that simple can be powerful. I also like the paint-by-numbers-Nancy graphic; a little creepy, but that fits the piece.
I liked how the author took the time to separate the different layers of Pelosi; how people who don't know her see her and how people who do know her see her - together they paint the picture of who the real Nancy Pelosi may be.
This is something we have tripped over in past profiles. The easiest way to write a profile (especially since we always assign them to new writers) is to meet the person, ask a few questions, and put the answers into your own words. However, this ends up reading like: "Meet Mr. Smith. He likes dogs and vegetables. He teaches history and is excited to teach at MA. In his free time he does yoga." Sure, those are probably all valid points, but that isn't the entire person. This ties back for our never-ending search for MORE SOURCES. This author wrote a profile on Pelosi without referencing any formal interview with Pelosi herself. Though they can be helpful, in future profiles we should use people who know the subject-in-question as well.
I also want to mention the author of the Pelosi piece has a ridiculous vocabulary, and I love that it was used alongside "bullshit."
Sarah Strand
Katie Eiseman said...
The Coast of Dystopia
(This is from last week's post but I am not able to comment on that post and found the article really interesting)
I liked this article because I think it was well written and flowed very nicely. I liked the way she so honestly and authentically told of the challenges of her life and the lives of the people around her without sound all sobby and complaining.
I agree with her - that although it is extremely expensive to live in this state and the education system, which once was great is broken, there is so much to be said for the beauty and the "california-ness" of our home. I liked the positive spin and other side to the story she put on the very depressing recent topic of the state of our state. The guy who came and talked to us during Conference on Democracy should read this article.
The Kids Will Be Alright:
I thought the first part of the article was hard to read because of the amount of numbers and the density. I got a general tone of problems with the population increase and the number of problems we have in our nation.
It was the end of the piece that I really liked. The last few paragraphs related almost directly to what we have been talking about in US History this year. The idea that America was built on the American "imaginary vision" and the ideals rather than on a similar race or religion. This is an idea that I am glad is still being discussed and brings me hope through all of the problems of racism and failing systems in our country. Since the birth of our country people have been fighting for the ideals that America was built on and we have to keep fighting today.
Katie Eiseman said:
Nancy Pelosi Doesn't Care if You Like Her:
The article is very catchy and immediately draws in my attention. I like the title because it tells you that it is going to be a profile on Nancy Pelosi without the bland and boring common theme of profiles.
I agree with Sara that a way in which we can spice up our profiles is to get away from a one-on-one interview with the subject of the piece and focus on other parts of the whole person. How their appearance represents their characteristics and what other people have to say about her. It is hard, however, because I find this can make it even harder to not editorialize in a piece.
Overall, a very well written article.
The Kids Will Be Alright:
I thought this article was quite fascinating. The statistics to back
up their information helped me understand the article better. I found
it exciting that there is finally some positive news for the United
States, rather than all of the negative news about us that has been
circulating lately. I had no idea that by 2050, the United States
will be 50% diverse. This shocked me. As a mainly white culture
school, MA should look at this statistic and see the future of MA.
Although, this should not be a problem since we are a very
progressive school. I think it is great how our country is accepting
of all people, and that we are continuing to grow in population and
diversity.
Nancy Pelosi Doesn't Care if You Like Her:
The writing style in this piece was very original. It felt like a much
more modern style that I rarely read. The title is also quite captivating.
The Voice could definitely benefit from an inventive title like this one
to grab the reader's attention. The way the quotes were incorporated
throughout the article was also nice. Another refreshing piece was the
description of the banker. Rather than a bland introduction, he used
short, choppy sentences when saying, "He's wearing the uniform of a
sixty-four-year-old retired white guy: jeans. Baseball hat."
Interviews like the ones in this article could easily be incorporated into
Wildcats of the Issue. Perhaps coaches, students, and other watchers of
the interviewee's game could give their input on the athlete.
First off, I agree with what Neha said about the different attitude this article conveys. Reading this reminded me of the way young people voted in relation to the previous generation in this past election and how these dynamics might change in the future if the patterns discussed hold.
As far as connecting this to MA, I thought of how the Bay Area is considered a bubble and how much or how little global changes actually affect our attitudes. I feel like there might be an opportunity to reach out to a high school in say, Texas to get some perspective on how different MA is from the rest of the country and the world.
Nancy Pelosi Doesn't Care if You Like Her:
This was an innovative profile piece, rich with varied sentence structure and complex (yet also understandable) vocabulary. The large graphic at the top of the article really caught my eye, which led me to think that perhaps the Voice could use a few more "experimental," quirky graphics.
Stylistically, this piece was also very refreshing. Chiarella, the author, superbly integrates authentic quotes into the article.
I think it would be very simple to implement this style of writing into our profile pieces. As Sarah mentioned, we could spice up our articles a bit by simply talking to more sources. These extra sources would paint a fuller picture of the person we're profiling.
Overall, the piece was a thoroughly enjoyable read, laced with wit, authenticity, and humor.
Nancy Pelosi Doesn't Care if You Like Her:
I've never actually really got why people don't like Nancy Pelosi. But after reading this article I think I have a little bit of a better understanding why: because she is a "functional liberal." Often liberals are to fanatic to even listen to a conservative point of view let alone seriously consider it. As speaker of the house, Nancy Pelosi does not have this luxury and I admire her ability to compromise and to connect to people on a personal level no matter their political views.
The Kids Will Be Alright
I thought this article was interesting. However unlike the opinion of the article which was that population growth in the U.S. is a good thing, I think that it is a bad thing. The environment is already suffering under the burden of a population that it cannot sustain. Americans are the people who live the most environmentally harmful lifestyles. If the American population is growing more than other developed countries, this could cause environmental degradation. If new businesses can make headway into green technology though, population growth would not be such a bad thing for the environment.
Nancy Pelosi Doesn't Care If You Like Her:
When you write about the legislative branch, unless the reader is really into politics, there's a very small middle ground between exaggerated and melodramatic and boring and stuffy. I think Chiarella finds this middle ground and manages to craft a piece that reads like the best written political thriller of the year.
I don't have a ton of familiarity with previous Voice profiles, but it seems to me that, as Sarah mentioned, it's a much better idea to take a lot of sources and paint a picture of what someone may be like than to throw some facts about the person on a word doc and call it a profile. It's great to read a piece where the person in question is called both a "monster" and "one of the kindest people, one of the most principled people that I've met here." I really found interesting that the writer also took the time to paint the protestors as human beings, especially with the banker who tries to reason with the angry
crowd.
I realize that, to be frank, the people we interview tend to be not as interesting as Pelosi, and therefore don't have many people calling them monsters. But, I think we do have some controversial figures on campus and we could work with that; not to name names, but I've heard a couple of students/teachers most people regard as popular, friendly, and generally well-liked been verbally massacred by others. Not that we want to ruin anyone's reputation, and there remains the problem of everybody knowing who an "anonymous source" is, but it's something to think about...
Ilana Salant
Nancy Pelosi Doesn't Care if You Like Her:
I thought that Tom Chiarella's profile piece on Nancy Pelosi was original and witty. Though originality and wit are two very good aspects for an article to include, I thought that what "worked" the best in his piece was the approach. In the first paragraph, Chiarella writes, "The most powerful woman in the nation. You'd know her anywhere.” The sentences leading up to this were complex and imaginative. Paired with the bold two sentences quoted above, Chiarella’s writing style, along with his profile piece, is very distinguishable. In my opinion, our Wildcats on the Issue lacks risk, something Chiarella was clearly not afraid to take. I admire the way he writes, “Today her empathy seems practiced, her concern meted out, as if there were somewhere else to be. She often looks, in truth, a little less than thrilled, seems jumpy and bedeviled and just a smidge frozen.” The author’s words are bordering on harsh, and definitely opinionated, but that’s what makes the piece interesting. I don’t think that it would be in anyone’s best interest to criticize the Wildcats of the issue. I do, however, think the profile pieces could be a little bit more risky or quirky, as Sam mentioned.
The Kids Will Be Alright:
In my opinion, Joel Kotkin’s article inspires a little bit of hope amongst a nation that has a lot on their plate. The Unites States is not in the best shape right now; China practically owns us; our president has incredibly low approval ratings; millions of people are unemployed. Despite all of this, our country still has an edge. We “boast a youthful demographic” and our forthcoming baby boom will “bring new economic vitality,” which we desperately need. Although I wish I was as optimistic as Kotkin is, I agree with Sara in the sense that the population growth will not be entirely “good.” According to the Bureau of Labor Statistics, the United States is facing a 10% unemployment rate. With the expanding population “the country needs to add more than 125,000 jobs a month simply to keep pace with population growth in 2010.” My main concern is where are these jobs going to come from?
Nancy Pelosi Doesn't Care if You Like Her:
I thought that this piece was incredibly effective in portraying and analyzing Nancy Pelosi, both as a person and as a politician. Chiarella explored various aspects of her personality, and showed how they affect her work ethic and how she presents herself. I found it interesting that the author was able to paint such a clear picture of Nancy Pelosi without ever speaking to her; however, as several people have said, a profile can seem cut-and-dried if it is based solely on an interview with the subject.
I also found it interesting that the graphic, which does look somewhat like a paint-by-numbers diagram, fit the theme of the piece by examining Pelosi in layers and pieces, rather than focusing on the "big picture".
Kids Will be Alright:
This article at the start talks about the fact that some populations in places such as parts of the European Union, Japan and Korea, have declining, "old" populations. I find this interesting because when countries like the United States are rapidly increasing inhabitant number, these countries are actually on the verge of decreasing population.It also mentions statistics for these declining countries in regards to work, economy etc. In the first half of this article, i found it quite dull, and hard to read. In the second half of the article it talks about immigration and how it is the future of the millennium. I agree with this and think it was written a lot better, in a clearer more relatable way. Author talks a lot about America, and immigration is based off the american dream.
Nancy Pelosi:Unlike everyone else in the class, I hated this article. I don't like the writers sense of style and his use of details and stupid attempts at humor came across as creepy and made the author look foolish. I found this article chopped full of useless information and quotes which I didn't need to read, I couldn't even read it without wanting to gouge my eyes out. I mean, its totally unnecessary to ramble on about maxi pads for 3 paragraphs. This author does not suit my taste at all. Yes he got the point across Pelosi is doing her job, and trying really hard not wasting a minute, but he was just annoying. This style could be good, but not in a situation where he is using it to express useless information. I don't like this as an article, but I shot myself in the foot for waiting until the last minute.
The Kids Will Be Alright:
I was fascinated by these statistics, and by the positive mood that this piece has that is often lacking in many current articles. Although knew that the Earth's population growth was slowing, I did not know that population was nearly stagnant in Europe, or that the U.S. was continuing to grow. While population growth may be a driving factor of the economy, I agree with Sara and Ilana that population growth may not necessarily be a good thing. While population growth will provide a new workforce and help to create great diversity in the U.S., it will also exacerbate our problems with excessive consumption (and thus excess waste) and harm to the environment. I can only hope that as America moves forward, its citizens will become more conscious of the world around them and innovate to create a better world in the future.
Marshall Levensohn
The Kids Will Be Alright:
The Russian health references in this article were very interesting to me as I will soon represent them on the "World Health Organization"in Model UN. Life expectancy in Russia is extremely low, although improved and currently stands at approximately 59 years for men. Infant mortality rates have decreased significantly in Russia in the past years but still with a scarce population, Vladimir Putin has placed financial incentives on mothers who chose to produce more offspring.
Nancy Pelosi Doesn't Care if You Like Her
In concurrence with Julia, I too agree that this piece was stylistically sound. The title was catchy and brought the reader in with interest and curiosity on what incite the article offers. The descriptions get very up-close and personal, with adequate references to what define Pelosi as a political figure. The depth of description allows the reader to delve into her stance in politics and her devotion to winning, and making a beneficial difference for the country.
Alec
Nancy Pelosi does not care if you like her
I find this not too surprising. Even though I agree with Pelosi on the issues, I am not too impressed with her leadership in the House.
Also, I will admit I have heard alot of stories of what goes on behind the scenes in the House. Alot of people really care about getting the work done and even though it would not be a bad thing to enthusiastically support a bill, supporting the bill grudingly is also one vote. There are alot of Blue Dog Democrats (moderate Democrats) who are not large fans of Pelosi's ideas so she has to win them over. Even if Pelosi does not always care if you like her, she does reward people she does like. She gave George Miller (D) Martinez the Chairmanship of the Education and Labor committee and they are pretty good friends. Overall, Pelosi probably does not care if you like her if you will just support the bills and you are a low profile Congressman. If you are high up in leadership and you do not like her...I think you will start to lose your power.
"The Kids Will Be Alright"
This article surprised me that the US will need to create 125,000 jobs each month to satisfy the increasing population in 2010. Although it is great that the US work force is increasing, I feel that the competition for jobs will be so great, that many Americans will be left without jobs. For MA the increase of non-white American populations will be beneficial, since although MA considers itself "diverse", it would be better for the increased acceptance of a variety of different races. As MA students move on with their lives, they will have to learn the culture and how to interact with other "types of people", therefore an increase of different ethnicities and backgrounds would help MA as a whole.
"Nancy Pelosi Doesn't Care if you like her"
I like that Pelosi cares so much about succeeding as the Speaker of the House, that she does not care what others say about her. Therefore, this signifies that she is not corrupt because she values her sole opinion more than that of others. Also, it was interesting that Pelosi rather take more criticism from the press, in order to direct it away from her fellow Democrats. This article was successful in conveying all of its important points because it had a tremendous amount of sources. Although not all of the sources included the person's first and last name; all of the sources were cited. If the MA voice can encorporate a larger variety of sources, and cite them correctly and specifically, the Voice will improve to a great extent.
Nancy Pelosi doesn't care if you like her:
This writing piece was very different than many other profiles I have read on political leaders. It was dangerously honest; the honesty made the piece unique and refreshing. It was quite a long profile, and yet each part seemed necessary in the story that was told about Nancy. I liked that the piece opened the reader's eyes to different aspects of the politician he/she wouldn't necessarily know about. The complexity and modernity to the article definitely made it enjoyable to read.
As some previous commenters have said, the graphic was different and exciting. It was unique to Esquire and I think that the graphic heightened the piece even more than language.
This profile piece makes me think that doing something similar in The Voice would be interesting for MA students. Whether it was a notable student, teacher, or faculty member, I think it would be interesting to feature someone in an article. The less newsy and more personable approach to this style of writing could be refreshing for the Voice.
Jamie Muresanu
The Kids Will Be Alright:
Reading this piece filled me with a certain sense of relief. Despite the current economic rut, the War in Afghanistan, and our failing healthcare system, the US is in good hands. Unlike many of the world powers whose populations are waning, the US is on a steady upward trend. Recent economic times have created a generation of "millenials", adept at cost effective management and streamlining business' expenditures. This new generation possesses traits similar to those of our Founding Fathers: pragmatism and acceptance. The new US will be a melting pot of cultures, comprised of many immigrants bringing innovation and a strong work ethic with them. What really resonated with me in this article were Joel Kotkin's closing remarks on what it is that will bind the people of America together, regardless of their differing backgrounds: "it is a fundamentally spiritual idea of a national raison d'être."
Nancy Pelosi Doesn't Care if You Like Her:
Amongst the filibustering, tabling, and deal brokering; it's nice to know someone's doing work. While she may lack a keen sense of humor, the ability to enthrall an audience, and composure when facing tough questions from the press; nothing can be said about Nancy when she's operating in her own element: the House.
Stylistically I enjoyed this piece. Like many other people have said it didn't have the dry, humorless composition of most profiles (especially political ones). Yet amongst the varied sentence structures, the imaginative vocabulary, and the lack of an interview with the woman the entire article is about, emerges a picture, piecemeal and second-handedly, but a genuine picture nonetheless.
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