Don't mess with the Jazz!

In high school, when I first learned about journalism, my teacher taught me about feature stories and what makes them different from news in a way that I will never forget. He said a feature story is like jazz music. It is smooth and beautiful. It tells a story unlike a news article would. In teaching me about a feature lead, he told my class that it is more artistic and free-forming (when compared to a summary lead). The feature lead can ask a question or tell a story while a summary lead must get straight to the point of the important information. A feature lead, like jazz, has the freedom to move around and eventually make its point.

My first example of a feature lead came from "The Washington Post" on Sunday, February, 15, 2009. Headlined, "Coloring Perception" author Blake Gopnik, a Washington Post staff writer, begins his story with the following lead:

CHICAGO -- Can an artist get much more successful than Kerry James Marshall? Museums everywhere own his work. (The Corcoran was one of his first buyers. And the Baltimore Museum of Art is displaying his "Ladder of Success," a recent purchase.) In 1997, he won the $500,000 MacArthur "genius" award, an ultra-prestigious invitation to Germany's twice-a-decade Documenta show and a place in the Whitney Museum's biennial.

Gopnik begins his feature story with question. The book suggests that it is almost never necessary to use a question lead because as a reporter you should be giving information not quizzing the reader. However, I think in the case of this story the lead works. When I first read the lead, I asked myself why I didn't know who he was. I think this was the authors main intention to pull in the reader.

My second lead came from "The Washington Post" on Monday, February 16, 2009. Headlined, "Venice Dresses Up for Carnevale" author Mathias Wildt wrote the following lead:

On a foggy February morning a few years ago, my wife and I were walking down an alley in Venice when we turned a corner and were confronted by an amazing sight: a procession of 30 human figures seeming to glide on the stone pavement in complete silence, like aliens.

This is a good example of an anecdotal feature lead. In this case, the lead works well as the author tells a story about his own experience at Carnevale, a huge celebration.

Mmmm...the smell of exhaust is hearty in the winter air.

It is good to be back to Towson after a long winter's "break". I say so because a co-worker of mine went on maternity leave just as finals ended and I have been trapped behind a desk that is taller than my short stature and found myself frequently needing to find someone to "cover" me long enough to go to the restroom. I think I am in better spirits than I thought I would be. I am anxious to get back into the swing of things. (Although my clever weekly e-mails to the entire office reminding people to toss their trash before leaving work on Friday afternoons has managed to keep me on my toes.) I learned a lot last semester about my own ability to work in this brave new world of media convergence. I am excited to learn more and have taken it upon myself to learn new ways to maneuver on the internet. I am experimenting more and more with my website and I appreciate any comments and/or suggestions anyone might have!

I think my idol in media, at least in broadcast, is Robin Roberts on ABC's Good Morning America. She is able to dig deep to complete a lot of hard hitting journalism, while she is still able to connect to people. I found her the person on the news I could most relate to as I prepared myself in the early morning hours before work. Roberts, I was stunned to find out, had cancer a few years ago. Through her chemotherapy sessions, she wore a wig to mask her shaved head. Even though I watched her during her struggle, I could not imagine the personal fear and anguish she felt as she literally lived through cancer on television. Her story is remarkable. One of my favorite recent stories of hers is when she met with artist India Arie for a recording session after a job profiling piece suggests she would be best suited in the music industry. On the fly she made the tune and lyrics to a beautiful song I can still hear in my head today. I will try to find a mp3 of the song and post it to my blog (and probably my website too).

As I sat in my car this morning and made myself ready for cold air and exhaust fumes in the garage, I wonder what possibilities lie ahead this semester. I wonder about the people I will meet and the stories I will tell. The possibilities truly are only limited to my own desire. With this in mind, I say "what's up?" to my old friends and a warm "hello" to my new classmates. Each of these people will bring with them a new and fresh perspective on life and journalism.

~Amber :)