Narratives on 9/11

The Wall Street Journal won the 2002 Pulitzer Prize for Breaking News Reporting on their coverage of 9/11. Perhaps the most compelling story that was done was published on 9/12, titled "Terrorists Destroy World Trade Center, Hit Pentagon in Raid With Hijacked Jets."

The reason that this article is so compelling is because it is so raw, so personal. At the time, people were still trying to grasp what happened. This article uses both external and internal dialogue. An amazing example of the external dialogue comes early on:

"More than 100 floors above him at the Trade Center offices of Cantor Fitzgerald, someone put a call from the company's Los Angeles office on the speaker phone. What was happening there? The Los Angeles people heard someone say, 'I think a plane just hit us.' For more than five minutes, the Los Angeles people listened in horror as the sounds of chaos came through the speaker phone, people screaming, 'Somebody's got to help us. . . . We can't get out. . . . The place is filling with smoke.' Then the phone went dead."

I believe that Andrew Lenney, a financial analyst, said what was on most people's minds at the time. At first, he thought that it had to be a movie, it was that surreal:

"'It was coming down the Hudson. It was banking toward me. I saw the tops of both wings,' he said. 'It was turning to make sure it hit the intended target. It plowed in about 20 stories down dead center into the north face of the building. I thought it was a movie,' Mr. Lenney said. 'I couldn't believe it. It was such a perfect pyrotechnic display. It was symmetrical.'"

It is impossible to write anything about 9/11 and not have it contain dramatic action. To say that any one example is more dramatic than another is also impossible.

"The top floors of the buildings were engulfed in smoke, and people began leaping from windows, one at a time, hitting the ground, shrubbery, and awnings. On the Brooklyn Bridge, dust-covered New Yorkers trooping homeward jammed the pedestrian walkway. A man in shorts and a T-shirt, running toward Manhattan with a radio to his ear, shouted 'The Pentagon is burning, the Pentagon is burning!' and a young woman talking on her cellphone shouted, 'My mother works there. I don't know where she is. What is happening? What is happening?'"

The most accurate quote that came from all of this is from Sen. John Warner, who said, "I was in Washington when I heard about the Japanese attack on Pearl Harbor. This is another Pearl Harbor, and now your generation will have to meet the challenge."

Eye on "The Wire"

In Margaret Talbot's article, "Stealing Life," she speaks with David Simon, former Baltimore Sun reporter and creator of the television show The Wire. If nothing else, this article proves that Simon is, and always will be, a reporter at heart.

For this entry, we are asked to find some examples of a reporter's way of thinking. This first example really shows the attention to detail that a reporter needs; what one person may overlook, Simon noticed and capitalized on:

"Some of the dialogue from the fifth season is taken word for word from the Sun’s newsroom. Simon recalled, 'There was this writer, Carl, who every day would eat the same thing for lunch: cottage cheese. One day, somebody walked by and saw him staring down into his cottage cheese, poking it with a spoon and saying to himself, "Fuck, fuck, fuckity fuck." That’s in there.'"

This passage helps a potential career in a newsroom by always keeping your eyes peeled. An act as mundane as someone eating cottage cheese every day may delvelop into a story. If nothing else, it will become great material for a television show.

The next passage comes much later in the article.

"Rebecca Corbett, the former Sun editor, told me that Simon 'saw the cop beat as a whole window onto the sociology of the city, a way of examining the failings of government, a way to think about policy, especially drug policy, and a way of telling stories.'"

This shows the passion that Simon has. Truth be told, he is exactly right about a cop beat being a window to the sociology of the city.

Two for One! How Good Writers Approach Features and Steve Lopez

First things first, the "I" was filed off of typewriters in Murray's old office, but we already knew that. This, of course, would make things difficult if the same thing were done in Illinois; or Iowa, for that matter. In all actuality, it would make a lot of things difficult, especially if a nice, old lady by the name of Irma Idlewild was being interviewed.

In all seriousness, the use of first person must be used carefully. It doesn't work for hard news stories, for obvious reasons. But it can be effective in feature stories. When I think of first person being used in feature writing (which is pretty much all the time), I typically think of Rolling Stone. Many stories in that magazine contain the first person, which gives the reader the idea that they are there during the interview.

Moving on to Steve Lopez (not to be confused with George), in a story found here, Lopez uses many of the narrative techniques that Murray describes. The top three that he uses in this story, in my opinion, are character, dramatic action and scene.

The first, character, is very prevalent in this story. Lopez makes sure that we know each of the players in this column before any action takes place:

"Ten-year-old Danny White, red-haired and freckled, was riding his skateboard while his mother walked a friend's dog.

"Ron Dobson was on the corner after a day of revisions on a screenplay, enjoying the feel of the afternoon sun on his face, eyes closed and head tilted back.

"Myra Crowe was on her way to a ballet class for one of her three kids, all of whom were in her Honda Pilot as she headed out of her town house driveway and onto Palisades Circle at the very moment Danny approached."

Character gives way to dramatic action. When reading this story, I couldn't help but see it play in my mind as if it were a major motion picture starring that creepy kid from The Omen. I believe that if a reporter can pull this off, then he's done his job effectively.

"The car wasn't going very fast as it approached the intersection, but Dobson wondered how long Danny could hold on. It was like a scene out of a movie -- this young child pulling off what looked like an impossible stunt, using all his strength to hold his head up off the pavement. If he let go, Dobson thought, he could be crushed by the low undercarriage, or be thrown under the wheels."

The final technique that Lopez uses, scene, ties everything together in a nice, shiny bow. We see how these people interact with one another.

"Dobson broke out running up the street, headed straight toward the moving car with his hands up.

"'Stop!' he yelled, and Crowe had no choice but to hit the brakes.

"When the car came to a halt, Danny crawled out, darted clear of the car and ran a short distance. Dobson went after him, fearing he was badly injured and didn't even know it. He had been dragged roughly 80 feet.

"Carole White came running down the street, heart racing. Danny, a fifth-grader at Marquez Charter Elementary, looked bewildered but OK.

"Crowe was climbing out of her car, shaken, but still not sure what had happened.

"'Lady, you were dragging a kid under your car,' Dobson told her, and Crowe slumped to the ground in shock."

In my opinion, these narrative techniques are not required for a story. That being said, it is very difficult to have a well-written story without them.

Oh, My God! Wendy's Killed Wilbur!

1) I don't think that he is doing either. He is more or less commenting on the sad state of affairs that allows a company to sell such a product and the idea that some people have actually purchased said product.
2) While I agree with what Morford is saying, I'm not sure that I understand what he is saying. He uses some VERY big words in his article. If I were reading this for myself, and not for an assignment, I might have stopped reading after the first paragraph.
3) I think that San Francisco, being a major city that it is, has more than its fair share of yuppies like Morford who would not touch a Baconator (what a terrible name for ANYTHING) with a 10-foot pole. That being said, I think that his style fits.
4) Morford's column would undoubtedly have mixed reactions if it were put in the SJ-R. I can imagine the comments posted in the online edition: people who agree with the idea behind the column, and those who, if only because they need SOMETHING to complain about, will say that if we were to do as Morford suggests and outlaw this type of product, we would be comprimising the very idea that our forefathers had in mind. Maybe they're right. Maybe good ole Ben Franklin was chowing down on an early version of the Baconator during the Constitutional Convention. You never know.
I don't think, for this column at least, that demographics play that big of a role. It could be broken down into those who agree with him; those may agree with the idea, but not with his pretentiousness; those who don't agree at all and think that the Baconator is the best thing since the fried Twinkie; and those who have no idea what he is saying. That being said, if I must choose which demo would work more with Morford's column, it would be the younger demo.

Feature, Smeature

For this assignment, I chose an article that talks about college students dressing as their favorite anime (a type of Japanese cartoon) characters.

The lede, while not necessarily original, does drag the reader in and makes them wonder just what the author is talking about:

"It's a typical scene on most college campuses: A student group is gathered in a dining area, talking about upcoming meetings, rules and regulations, who has a TV they can borrow for the next party.
And yet the group gathered at the food court inside the College of DuPage's student resource center in Glen Ellyn draws stares from passing students."

Going on to the second page, I was astounded by what Glenn Jeffers tells his readers:

"'People spend up to thousands of dollars on a costume and they take pride in it,' Borowiec says. 'I just like making something and seeing my own abilities. If you can't make it, then buy.'
"Roelandt, who wants to design costumes after college, normally buys about $100 in fabric at a time. From that fabric she can usually create at least two costumes."

For spending that much money on costumes, no wonder they take every opportunity they can get to go out in public dressed as their favorite character from "Sailor Moon."

Update on "People Watching"

From my “People Watching” entry, I think that the best observation to make into a story number 9: “Speaking of unattended children, how many parents just drop off their kids at the mall?”

I would do this article by asking mall security and store managers what kind of issues they have had with this issue. If I’m feeling rather “investigative reporter-y,” I might catch a parent dropping off their child and ask them why they are doing this.

The Line on "The War"

The line of the “The War” is personal accounts. Ken Burns wanted to make sure that this epic was different than any other film done on WWII, and he did that by relying heavily on personal accounts. Burns did not want a “historical analysis;” in fact, he mentioned that the only people who were allowed to appear were those who were either in the war or those who were waiting for someone to come back from the war.

People Watching

I would like to start off by saying that making 25 different observations was rather difficult. That being said, here's what I found:

1. It appears that that guy shaves his head because he's going bald, not because he thinks he looks cool, since part of his head is stubbly (is that even a word?), and part is smooth and shiny.

2. That couple just bought a new cell phone; they are looking over the owner's manual.

3. That young couple is on a date.

4. So is that old couple.

5. That guy doesn't think anyone sees him picking his nose.

6. That guy just tripped and is trying to play it off.

7. Is this her first week on the job? She looks scared.

8. It's amazing to see the amount of kids go off to Aladdin's Castle once they are done eating.

9. Speaking of unattended children, how many parents just drop off their kids at the mall?

10. There's a girl's soccer team. Did they win?

Unfortunately, those were the only observations I was able to make.

Surprise Party!

Not really. However, the third chapter in Murray's text is all about surprise. I think that the first paragraph really sums up his idea of surprise:

"The best writers seek surprise, delight in what they do not expect to find. They come to the story with a focus, an expectation, but they treasure the contradiction, the traitor fact, the quotation that goes against the grain, the unexpected that reveals."

I also found his "study" that he did while at the supermarket to be rather interesting, as well. While none of these observations would make for a very good story, it shows that he always has his eye out for when a story does present itself.

Tips for Professional Writing Students

Who woulda thunk that reading a book on journalism would show one ways to improve their writing skills?

There are two main points that I would like to bring up from chapter 2.

First off, Murray gives a few tips on editing your own writing. Personally, I hardly edit myself. I'll glance over something I've written, but I don't put it under a microscope.

The next one was during an interview with David Arnold. In it, Arnold gives rules and principles to try to follow when writing, one of them being "don't lead with a quote." While this is not common practice for me, I have lead with a quote before, if I thought that what the person said was more interesting and informative than I would have come up with.

The Marvelous Mehegan Interview

There are two quotes that I found to be very helpful in the David Mehegan interview. The first one, Mehegan is asked how he prepares for interviews. This is his response:

I need to know enough about what I’m writing about so that I don’t
ask questions that make me look foolish. … But I do not worry
about being ignorant because my theory is that we are all professional
ignoramuses, it’s our job not to know something and then to find it out.

Overall, what Mehegan is saying here is that one must go in with enough information about the interviewee to know what questions to ask.

The next jewel of information is about voice. Mehegan says:

I try to write every story with such a voice and tone that the reader is
aware that here is a person on this side of the keyboard. … Without
being excessively colloquial, I try to tell the story as I would if I were
telling it to someone standing next to me at a bar or at a party.

I find that the stories written the way Mehegan describes is a more entertaining read that the “conventional” way. He goes on to say that sometimes, whether it be a lack of time or the severity of a story, a writer must tell a story using raw facts.

Donald Murray

“Good writing may be magical, but it's not magic. It's a process, a rational series of steps and decisions that all writers take.”

This is a quote from late journalist Donald Murray. I had never even heard of Murray until Doc made this assignment. It was very interesting to read this obituary, as morbid as that sounds.

It was truly an inspiring story. To think that he would pass up a promotion just because he wanted to continue to challenge himself is amazing.

Then I started to read some of his columns. The columns were entertaining to read, as they kind of told his life story along the way. His last column, which was basically a “thank you” to all of his friends, almost makes one wonder if he had any idea that he was that close to death.

All in all, Murray’s life – and his work – is something to be admired. To still do what you love doing right up until the end should be something that everyone should try to achieve.