OP-ED Column

This article really makes you think and feel something.   This article does a good job of stating everything that happened and makes you feel for this family.  At the beginning I thought that this family had done something against the law and that is why they were in trouble.  By the end of the article you realize they haven’t don’t anything wrong except for living on valuable land.   This writer did a good job of stating everything that happened and then at the end say how she feels about the story. 

I think this is an opinion piece.  I am sure there are some details that she has left out of this article that didn’t further her cause with the article.  There are always two sides to every story.  We are only getting one side of the story with this article.  She may wait till the end to state her opinion, but through the whole article you can tell where she is heading.  She makes the family out to be victims.  I dislike animal cruelty so I don’t see them as victims.  There is no possible way for a dog to be malnourished if you are feeding them every day and giving them water.  So I think they should have gotten in trouble for that.  I think their eviction is a little steep.  I think that people wanted that family out of their neighborhood because they did not fit in socially, so they found a way to push them out.

I think that she made this article pretty long.  There was a lot of detail in this story.  She could have cut the length of this article down, but I think she made it long to be suspenseful and keep people reading.  She uses very short paragraph.  That is a good way to keep people reading, keep it simple.  This is a story that will always be relevant, because there will always be issue with race.  Also there will always be an issue with the difference between the rich and the poor.  These things will always be an issue because people always make it an issue.  Taking a stand is sometimes not the easiest thing to do.  She has definitely chosen a side on this subject.  She thought what happened to this family is wrong and should never have happened.  I am sure there are many people who think what happened to this family was right and what was needed to be done. 

I think that she is putting the blame on certain people in this article.  She mentions the police and her neighbors that complained about her.  She points out that she believes this is more of an issue of race and income, but she still puts some blame on a few people.  I think she kept herself under control and didn’t seem too angry or out of control.   This is something that she feels really strongly about.  She feels that Chicago is better than this and it should never have happened.  This article would have been better if she would have talked to someone from the opposition.  She only talked to people who liked this family and said good things about them.  I would have liked to hear why people didn’t want this family living there.

In conclusion, this was a very interesting article.  There were some things that I really liked such as, the way she wrote it, she made people really feel for this family.  I also liked how she used paragraphs, only using a few sentences.  I also enjoyed how she found something that she feels so much passion for, she thought this family was not treated right and she wanted to do something about it.  There were also things I didn’t enjoy about the article.  She just skips over the animal cruelty.  That is a big crime in my book and people should get in trouble for that kind of behavior.  I also don’t like that this story is so one sided.  She doesn’t talk to any of the people, which she claims are harassing this family.  I want all the facts, not just the ones that give you a good story.  This is my favorite type of article because I like to really feel for a subject.  With articles like these you have to make an opinion on your own.  There is also a responsibility with these articles to research and find out everything before you make your mind because the reporter might not be giving all the information. 

Public Affairs Reporting

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. 

Reporting for Surprise

                “The best writers seek surprise, delight in what they do not expect to find.”  Murray explains about surprise.  A journalist should look for things that are not always obvious.  To understand good writing, a writer must look beyond what is front of their face.  Reporting for surprise means something different to each person.  To me I see it as meaning find the aspect of the story that hasn’t been reported on.   Keep looking at the information until a new direction is found.  A direction that no one else has reported on.   

            A writer must use all of their senses to produce a good story.  They must be constantly aware of what is going on around them.  Look everywhere and observe everything going on.  A journalist must always be aware of their surroundings.  Look for the unexpected.  A writer must learn to listen when they ask questions.  They should learn to understand what the person is saying, not just wait for their mouths to stop moving so they can talk again.  Really listen and understand their point of view.  Touch is something not many reporters rely on.  When writing a story a person should feel the words on the page.  The same goes for taste and smell, they are not used often, but when writing a good story a writer should remember them.

            A good journalist should anticipate the questions a reader will ask.  Questions that should always be asked is who, what, when, where, and how.  Then those answers should be answered in the order the reader will want to know the information.  While asking these questions the writer might find out information that hasn’t been brought up yet.  The story should answer every question that the reader might have.  That’s the basis for a good story, if there are no questions left unanswered. 

            “The reader’s appetite for fresh stories is never satisfied, and as soon as you get an idea it’s used up,” says Murray about finding new ideas.  He says a writer should inventory the obvious.  List what is going on in the lives of the people around and see if there is a story in there that people will want to hear about and learn more about.  A writer can also change their point of view.  They can do something out of the ordinary for them.  Such as, drive a different route or sit at a park at a different hour each day.  Observe the difference and the reason for the differences.  A writer can also create a notebook or journal to keep track of different ideas they might have during the day.  The notebook should be kept on them at all times so that no idea goes without being considered.  Writers should also read things outside their interests to stay in touch with things they wouldn’t normally know about.  A writer should also free write as much as possible and let the words lead them to their news story.  Take a step back and look at what is written.  What things didn’t get in the story that should be in the story, and what things are in the story that should be taken out?  

Blogging in Communications

Blogging is very important to the communication field.  It is a chance to promote yourself and a product or service you are interested in.  I personally have never blogged before, but I think learning about blogging could help me in my future career.  I want to work in PR and being educated in blogging could be helpful because that is a job requirement in alot of establishments.  I want to be prepared to go into the field of communications with all the tools of the trade.