The World Beyond BetterMost > The Culture Tent
In the New Yorker...
Jeff Wrangler:
--- Quote from: Front-Ranger on April 25, 2023, 10:48:39 am ---The article on Manford, "Family Values" was good. She is the person who started PFLAG.
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The publisher of the Philadelphia Gay News was at Stonewall, and was one of the founders of the Gay Activists' Alliance. It's been on my mind to write to him to ask if he knew the Manfords.
--- Quote ---But the highlight of the reviews section is an unassuming piece, "Oddballs and Odysseys" by Casey Cep about the little-known author Charles Portis.
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That's next up on my TNY reading list.
--- Quote ---It was also bittersweet to read the fiction "Evensong" by Laurie Colwin, the food and fiction author who died in 1992.
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There was something about her in TNY some time ago.
But taking the Manford article as an example, have you ever noticed there is a distinct pattern to these TNY articles about people? I would say almost invariably, they start out with something about why the subject is notable, then they go into the person's background (family background, where they grew up, education, and so forth), and then they come back to the activity for which the subject is notable.
I'm not criticizing here. It's just something I've noticed. Sort of like what we've discussed about how articles will quote someone, then in the same sentence describe who the person is (sometimes at length), and then on the end of the sentence tack on "said."
Front-Ranger:
--- Quote from: Jeff Wrangler on April 25, 2023, 11:25:49 am ---But taking the Manford article as an example, have you ever noticed there is a distinct pattern to these TNY articles about people? I would say almost invariably, they start out with something about why the subject is notable, then they go into the person's background (family background, where they grew up, education, and so forth), and then they come back to the activity for which the subject is notable.
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That is a fairly conventional structure in journalism. It was developed by the Wall Street Journal (although TNY and others would probably claim ownership). The first sentence or two grabs your attention, followed by the "nut graph" that gives the context. For instance, in the article about Portis, the author starts out by referring to his wish that Shakespeare had written about Arkansas. You don't often find those two names together.
serious crayons:
--- Quote from: Front-Ranger on April 25, 2023, 03:45:24 pm ---That is a fairly conventional structure in journalism. It was developed by the Wall Street Journal (although TNY and others would probably claim ownership). The first sentence or two grabs your attention, followed by the "nut graph" that gives the context. For instance, in the article about Portis, the author starts out by referring to his wish that Shakespeare had written about Arkansas. You don't often find those two names together.
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Yes, but following the nut graph immediately with the person's background is not ideal, IMO, unless their background really determined whatever they do that's the story's subject (hypothetical e.g., Joe Blow grew up homeless and now he helps homeless people). Personally, I'd do another section on the present day and then go into their past.
I hadn't noticed TNY doing this excessively, but if they do that's another irritating thing. And yes, add that to "Joe Blow, who grew up homeless and now helps homeless people, said." And starting almost all articles with a particular date and place. So instead of something more general or quirky -- "Joe Blow weeps whenever he thinks about homeless people" -- it's "On July 14, 2022, Joe Blow entered a homeless shelter on the north side of Milwaukee."
And throw in their use of diareses and -- the worst -- spelling out large numbers.
Jeff Wrangler:
--- Quote from: serious crayons on April 25, 2023, 04:43:31 pm ---I hadn't noticed TNY doing this excessively, but if they do that's another irritating thing.
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(You want irritating? I'll give you irritating. I just wrote a response to this, and when I clicked on Preview, I got that "Only Registered Members" B.S. again, and had to log in again. >:( )
Anyway, I guess I don't really find that TNY pattern irritating, really. I just noticed that there seems to be a form that everybody follows--maybe has to follow.
OK, well, maybe it does irritate me--at least a little.
Jeff Wrangler:
--- Quote from: Front-Ranger on April 21, 2023, 08:09:26 pm ---I'm just settling down to read that one. I didn't finish "The History of Fatigue" in that issue. Not one of Adam Gopnik's finest.
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Yeah, that was kind of ... eh.
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