2.5.10

1. http://www.latimes.com/entertainment/news/la-et-sawyer5-2010feb05,0,7909343.story

A.Our text messaging, facebooking, microwave only generation waits in a constant state of expectation of entertainment. The time of the two hour fireside chat is as gone as FDR and we sit in a stupor until we are yanked from our catatonic state by something (or someone) quick, snappy, young. We have grown accustomed to Jessica Simpson entertainment, but Diane Sawyer is leading us back into the realm of Katherine Hepburn. And although not much can be said for our current attention span, Sawyer wets our appetites for the kind of frigid and removed state that was once characteristic of a news broadcast.

B. In journalism it is increasingly difficult to find the balance between a pop tart ( overly sugary, sweet, substance less) way of telling a story and the oatmeal( dull ) way. Diane Sawyer goes for a more oatmeal approach, as opposed to Katie Couric, who is all pop tart. Finding the balance in good story telling is essential for good journalism.

C. I can use this in my reporting to remember how to find balance in the story it said "Women are still perceived as being, in general, more emotional, more conversational than men" I suppose I enter the work force with this kind of prejudice still intact, therefore I must maintain my objectivity even more and report facts in the most way possible. The story also mentioned that we expect "a kitchen-table tone to our news, an intimacy that a generation ago would have been considered too domestic to be smart." so dumbing down information is also an important tactic in finding good news writing.

2. http://www.nytimes.com/2010/02/04/health/04brain.html?scp=7&sq=Feb%204,%202010&st=cse

This story is great because the lead is AH-MAY-ZING. There is nothing more cliche than a lead that starts with something like " Imagine...(enter cliche description here)" but this lead just jumps right into the story and the reader can not help begging for more and finishing the story. The reporter also uses a good variety of sources and tells the story fluid, entertaining way.