1. Briefs due: Did you do it?
2. Team check-ins: A Team with Lena, B Team with Julia, C Team with Morgan. How are articles moving forward? Graphics?
3. You all must read the Liam Neeson piece, and then pick either Carmelo or Tyler for your second piece. Post responses to the questions in the comment section.
Liam Neeson: What new information did you learn about Liam Neeson? How would you describe the writer's style in this piece? How can The Voice employ this style? When would it be most effective? Ineffective?
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Carmelo Anthony: What stands out in this profile piece? All articles (even straight profiles) must have a conflict, a so what. What is it in this piece?
OR
Tyler Phinney: What stands out in this profile? What's the conflict?
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11 comments:
Liam Neeson: I learned more about how Neeson is as a person from this article. The writing style was very personal and the author spoke from the I perspective quite often. The article seemed to be more about him and Neeson and less about Neeson. This style would be effective in articles where the writer has a connection to the topic/interviewees and could use that to help build the article.
Carmelo Anthony: The profile dives into more than just Anthony and his success in sports, but also features information about the New York sports environment and trends among athletes. Contrasting this two things with Anthony's behavior and life helps to make the article more interesting and helps to create a conflict.
Liam Neeson -- The way that the writer went back into the past built the article dramatically and it made the reader still want to read all 5 pages. The writing was very sensitive, and I can see why Neeson was willing to talk to him about his wife because sometimes you just read these vicious articles that make the celebrity sound almost inhuman, but this just showed Neeson just how he is. I don't really know how the Voice would use this because we usually are not profiling one person, we interview many people. But if we were to do a feature on one person, I think it would be cool to mix up the style like that.
Taylor Phinney -- I think the thing that stood out for me was how he continued biking even though he knew there was no way he was going to come close to winning. The conflict was whether to abandon the race, or to finish solo, both of which are tough.
Liam Neeson:
I've never really read about Liam Neeson before, so most of this information was new to me. In terms of his personal life, I learnt that he grew up in a small 'box' in Ballymena, Northern Ireland. I learned that he still has his wife's little poodle, who he takes for walks at his farm upstate. I learnt that he has a teenage son.
In terms of his career, I learnt about the many movies he's starred in and the roles he has played (ex. Clash of the Titans, Taken.)
The writer's style in this piece was easy to read and absorb- he did not use unnecessarily complex words, and blended his story with the world around him at that time to engage our interest. He also included Neeson's various expressions, reactions, and sounds during the interview. Overall, I found the writing style very effective.
The Voice can employ this style when writing out interviews, to make the article or brief richer and not mono tonal (he said, she said). The Voice can also employ this writer's choice to use smaller details, to make the interviews seem more lifelike. Sentence and detail variety is especially important in journalism- which is real-life and not creative writing- because one cannot layer adjectives and personal descriptions to add interest.
Liam Neeson: To be honest, I never really knew much about Liam Neeson before this article. I probably knew he was married to Natasha, but I didn't really know a large extent of his work. The writer of this article seems very sincere, almost like a close friend. The author profiles Neeson very carefully, as if not wanting to push any buttons. He seems almost fatherly as if trying to protect Neeson and not push him. The Voice could use this very calming notion when talking to shy people, or when interviewing people about something sad or disturbing. I would not use this tone of voice for someone who is boisterous and loud because the tone of voice in the article is very subdued.
Carmelo Anthony: This piece about Carmelo Anthony is profiled very well. It gives the reader an aspect of leadership, rebelliousness, and business tycoon all in one. They contrast what seems to be Anthony's "sweet side" with his behavior towards Garnett. This profile helps understand not only Anthony's athletic career but his views as a business man and as a family man.
Liam Neeson:
I didn’t know much about Liam before reading this piece beyond his obvious roles, and the fact that he was an incredible actor. The depth of the interview and the range of topics was surprising, and truly incredible. I didn’t know that he’d had a motorcycle accident, or even that his wife recently passed away, and for someone who came into the article not knowing anything about Liam, it was truly an interesting read. The writer, Tom Chiarella, took an interesting approach starting and the end and working his way towards the beginning. The informal, easy to read, yet insightful tone used throughout really made it feel like the readers were in that restaurant, or in the hospital room with them. Although I really enjoyed reading this informal, conversational style, I don’t think it would necessarily be too effective in The Voice. The reason I see this style working for Chiarella in this case is because the entire piece is on one interview, and in that interview the two men were talking in the same informal tone. However, for us all of our articles are comprised of many interviews with (usually) a myriad of different tones. That being said, I could see this working if someone tried to make a features length pieces on one person around campus (ex. If we turned a staff spotlight into a full article).
Carmelo Anthony
Most professional athletes are seen as that, and only that now days. When someone mentions an athlete it is usually either for their performance, or for something they did that a reporter saw (ex. Going into Garnett’s bus). The conflict, and part of this piece that makes it such an interesting read, is that the author, Jason Gay, really tried to not avoid Anthony’s athletics, but balance his athletics and everything else equally. He shows Anthony as a person, he gives us insight into Anthony’s professional and personal lives. He shows not only how Anthony has evolved as a basketball player from his time on the Nuggets to the present, but how he has grown up from a 19 year old kid making his dream come true, to a full fledged New York adult icon.
Dylan Jones-I Learned a lot more about Liam Neeson than I think I ever would reading a People magazine, or something of the sort. The Author didn't attempt to make him seem any greater than he was or any worse; he presented him as he truly was. I'm not used to reading about celebrities in a light where they are displayed as human beings, not gods or fake idols.The author wrote the article in a reverse time order, which I think does a lot to build suspense and keep a reader interested. I think the voice could apply it to profiles on specific people, but it would be a kuch more challenging way to write, and I don't know if any of us could pull it off a effectively.
1. I learned a lot about Liam Neeson. I knew him from the parts he has played before, but I had never heard that much about his life; where he's from, how his wife died. I think that the author's writing style was very visual and similar to story telling. It had a lot of personal comments, which we usually don't include in our writing, but I think that we could find a place for this writing style in pieces such as editorials.
2. Carmelo Anthony: this article shows more than just Anthony as an athlete. The author talks about his interactions with his new team and his new city. It shows the contrast between his mature, business man, family man, side and his other, less mature side. The author does a great job of illustrating these and connecting them.
Liam Neeson: I learned a lot about Liam Neeson's personal life and the way in which he carries himself. The writer's style in this piece was very sensitive and intimate, as the writer seemed to contrast himself with Neeson. This personal style is very important in this piece because the writer is asking Neeson about very private and tragic things. However, the piece was still riveting, and the clear details and informative descriptions made me want to read the whole article. The Voice could employ this style when writing about sensitive topics, but moreover could use even more details in not only profiles but all types of articles.
Carmelo Anthony: Anthony's confidence and sureness of himself shines in this piece. It's kind of about growing up and discovering who you are, and Anthony seems to be in the late stages of this. There isn't much of an apparent conflict, but it seems as though it is his transition into New York.
Liam Neeson
The Liam Neeson piece is a mixture of opinion and profile as Tom Chiarella includes his opinions and perspective in the story while featuring Neeson. I have not encountered this perspective before, but I think its adds another dimension to the piece. The Voice could employ this style, however I believe that it would not be as effective in the type of pieces that we write. This style is most effective in very large profiles, unlike anything the Voice does.
Carmelo Anthony
Jason Gay's profile of Carmelo Anthony has many facets that add up to a very interesting piece. The piece not only covers Anthony's exploits and development as a player, but his personal life and business strategies as well as his growth and development since moving to New York. The main theme of the piece is Anthony's recent ascension as both a player and public figure.
Taylor Phinney:
What stood out to me in this piece was Phinney's decision to finish the race, despite his knowing that he was far behind everyone else.
The conflict was whether to quit riding on the difficult slopes in bad weather, or continue, realizing that winning was impossible.
The writer portrayed Phinney's perseverance in the cold rain, his dedication to the sport, and love for his father in a positive light- that his spirit won him the race in the end.
What stands out to me about the Carmelo Anthony piece is that it glorifies him while at the same time treating him like a human. I think the main conflict is his rapid rise to fame and how he is going to deal with it
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