Catherine Mayer is an interesting writer. She actually made the European debt crisis something I could understand. She didn’t use big words that most people wouldn’t understand. She brought the facts out, but didn’t make it seem like it was just a news story. There is a lot of people writing about the crisis, but she found a way to standout from the crowd. I enjoyed reading the article which is a surprise because I am not usually a person that reads anything about finance. After reading this I have realized how this crisis could affect me and the rest of the world.
Mayer talked about the views of many different kinds of people. She talked about important people, such as the current Chancellor of Germany, Angela Merkel. Merkel has the unfortunate task of determining the fate of the euro. She also talked to people who run small businesses, or as Germans call them Mittelstand companies. These certain people are worried about how exporting and the countries workforce will be affected. Mayer even talked to people on the street such as sausage vendor and a man who “hawks” beer steins. They talked about their disgust with what is happening in Greece. She didn’t use that many book or magazines to get her information. She got most important information from interviews. I don’t think she wasted her time on this article. She brought light to something that is important and something people need to be aware about.
I would say that Mayer is using both hard news and soft news. She explains exactly what is happening, but keeps it conversational. She makes it so that everyone can understand it. I would say that she begins with a soft lede. She starts off by just talking about Germany and some of its cities. The tone of this article is that she wants people to really understand what is going on in Europe and how it will affect people all around the world. Most people are probably shrugging this crisis off because it is half way across the world. She seems very intelligent on this subject and it seems that she really did her research before writing this article. She knows all the key players and all the important facts. She is being objective in the sense that she sees a couple of different outcomes, but you can tell she is pushing for Germany to get the job done. She writes “But what Merkel has been more reluctant to acknowledge is that Germany, as the biggest player in the euro zone, has no choice but to determine the fate of the euro zone, whether by doing a lot or doing not very much at all.”
What Murray means by craft is an activity involving skill. A craft is something that you have honed and worked on until you can call yourself experienced. Something that you have learned and will use in future endeavors. Art is work produced by skill and imagination. These two themes are very similar. Art is something a person does and doesn’t necessarily have to be good at; it is just wherever their creative process takes them. A craft is something that is worked on and other people will see and judge.
I think that craft has a lot to do with writing. A good writer is usually an experienced writer. The more you write the better you will become. Writing isn’t something that you just start and you are wonderful. It takes time to understand all the rules of writing and how to make them understandable. Then you must learn what voice you want to have what audience you are writing to. There are so many things a writer needs to understand such as, mood, audience, voice, and why the subject is important to you. Writing is something that people need to work on to make themselves better.
Reporting is what makes the writing. You cannot write a story without reporting or researching it first. Reporting is very important to journalism because it is the way we get our news. Reporting is also a craft. People have to learn the proper way of reporting. Reporting gets better with time and experience. I haven’t done much reporting in my life, but I think that with practice and time could help me learn how to be a good reporter. Journalism is something that is learned and perfected. No one starts out being a wonderful writer, journalist, or reporter.
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