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."