In A Word

By now I am sure most students are pretty familiar with the Onion, and hopefully know that it is a satirical publication. I think fewer people are aware of how funny the New Yorker’s Shouts and Murmurs section is, which is also a satirical/sarcastic writing outlet.

This post, which pokes fun at the recent changes to the SAT show the strength of the New Yorker to bring both visual and textual aspects together. I personally love the way they strike through words, showing how the kind of vocab words that used to appear on the test will now be replaced with dumb-downed synonyms.

On another almost meta level I think this post appropriately pokes fun at the lack of appreciation younger generations have for form. In a world where information is distributed and analyzed into bite sized pieces like tweets and such, forms like this may not be fully appreciated.

Also I really like how most posts to Shouts and Murmurs, not just this one, are usually in response to quotes from articles by other publications. While this one was in response to the New York Times, others poke fun not so much at the reporting but at issues addressed in such publications as the Huffington Post and the Wall Street Journal.

The New York times has long been affectionately termed “the Gray Lady” of journalism due to its position as the premier print news outlet worldwide and for its history of ethical journalism and groundbreaking coverage.

While it often falters, as in institution it is unafraid to apologize and criticize itself.

This morning the NYT led its print and online editions with this story exposing how Medicare funding is flowing disproportionately (in the millions of dollars) to the hands of a small number of medical specialists.

On the surface it appears a well articulated coverage of the facts, filled with infographics and pictures that likewise keep the reader engaged. It was missing one piece though: most of the information came directly from the Wall Street Journal and not from the NYT’s own sources.

The NYT’s Public Editor, a position outside of the normal reporting and editing structure which seeks to address the public’s questions about coverage, immediately came forward and said that while the NYT’s reporter’s did an excellent job of explaining, analyzing, and further expanding upon the significance of the facts, they or their editors should have made a clear nod to the WSJ in their coverage.

To me this marks the greatness of an institution like the New York Times. In an age of ever-abundant digital news outlets that try to push the news as it breaks with less regard for what has happened in the recent past, the fact that the New York Times takes the time to publicly address what it could have done better. The objective to get the news out there is unsubstantiated without good writing and more importantly good journalism, which is why the Gray Lady still stands proud.

Usually The Daily Beast is good for short 1-2 paragraph long stories  that often take a humorous twist to something pop culture or politics related. Which is why this much longer explanation of why it is okay to admit you like Coldplay is such a gem from them.

I myself am pretty neutral when it comes to Coldplay. They are the kind of band that’s good for studying or driving, and I am sure they are really cool live but at the same time I couldn’t listen to the radio for the 6 months after Viva La Vida came out because it got to be too annoying. Which is why this guide to why so many people do vehemently hate Coldplay, and why it is okay to admit that you may secretly enjoy them was so funny to me.

What I liked most about this article was the fact that the writer made fun of himself and his friends, saying that he feels”The need to insist that Actually, no, I’m not the sort of person who would like Coldplay ,” his snobby music appreciating friends. I especially was impressed with his conclusion that people say they hate Coldplay as a way of saying how cool they are.  “Coldplay is not edgy, ergo I am edgy. Coldplay is not adventurous, ergo I am adventurous. Coldplay is sentimental, ergo I am not sentimental.”

As much as I enjoyed reading this article on my phone as I waited for a class to start, the writer’s repetition of the fact he sensed the imminent demise of Gweneth Paltrow and Chris Martin’s marriage got to be a bit annoying. We get it, you were in the room with them and saw them being less than tender with one another, you are definitely an expert on the relationships of strangers.

Journalism is dying. That phrase has been repeated over and over to the point that to this reporter it almost fails to bring a ping of sadness anymore. But articles like this in depth analysis of the events surrounding the 2008 financial crisis and the Federal Reserve’s actions to weaken the blow, helped to show how journalism is fighting back.

While it may not be an in depth long form article evaluating the subtleties of the events that led up to the bottoming out of Wall Street, which I believe is still necessary, it does however  present a concise examination of the Fed’s actions in response to it. The timeline is organized into different categories, with comments and quotes adding to the context. Each item on the timeline is interactive, and leads to either a transcript, a graph, or some other feature to further add to the story being told.

What strikes me most in this story is the nuanced way that it leads the reader through events not just in the time dimension, but following along with certain themes.

Stories like these grab the readers attention, and tell a story that might be too chaotic to in a traditional news article. If the New York Times and other print mediums keep this up, the argument that the craft is on the decline will lose a talking point.

In a world where print journalism is supposedly on the decline it is not surprising that alt-weekly’s (which try to cover events and issues unaddressed in the daily newspaper..think the Village Voice to the New York Times), are falling out of business left and right.

In this opinion piece an editor for a one such alt-weekly in Baltimore examines if a decline in this form of journalism really needs to go away. Alt-weekly’s cover things that go unnoticed in big papers. They give a voice to counterculture, and in their print form bring the news to those who cannot afford computers and the internet that many daily papers are trying to bring to the forefront.

In the piece one point in particular stood out to me.

“The glib techno-utopians who not only foresee a paperless tomorrow, but also lobby for a paperless present, are ready to forget about these people. Alt weeklies might not always reach everyone in the city, but at least, like the dailies, they try to be available and relevant to everyone.”

Journalism is field that is facing great changes, but I do not think it is close to an end. Great institutes like the New York Times, the Washington Post etc. seem to be finally finding a model to generate revenue, but it should not come at the expense of other smaller papers. Alt-Weekly’s serve their purpose and should be supported.

Zadie Smith has long been one of my favorite authors, and one of the things I love about her is the fact that she doesn’t just publish novels, but short stories and just general insights into her life as well.

This past week she published a short story in The New Yorker that really differed from her normal style. While most of her books and other short stories have dealt with issues concerning ethnicity, culture, and being British, in this story she examined human nature on a more general level.

The story focuses on the Minister of Interior of some unnamed island in the wake of a natural disaster, following him as he tries to get to the airport to get on a private plane to Paris. Along the way he faces mobs of the thirsty, and the hijacking of his limo.

What makes the story so great is Smith’s attention to detail. While she never reveals the given name of her protagonist, or the island where he lives his character, flaws and all, shine through. The ending is particularly gripping, with no real denouement, just the hinted criticism of the Minister’s conformity and the desertion of his previously held principles.

As a reporter for the Daily Collegian I know that interviewing people can sometimes be hard. For me it’s usually that the answers they are giving aren’t lining up with the angle I’m going for, but in this article by my fellow Collegian reporter Morganne Mallon it was the emotional depth that made it such a challenging task for a freshman writer.

Morganne handles the difficult task of remembering and celebrating the life of Penn State alumnus Michael Murphy with grace and maturity. I know for a fact that she was given only a week to do all of her interviewing and write the several thousand word story, which is not easy while juggling classes, homework and the other day to day stresses of being a college student.

What stands out to me in this story is the natural structure of it. All of the information taken at once could seem chaotic, but Morganne lets the story unfold on its own, only nudging it forward a little bit at times to reveal a new insight or avenue.

Morganne found some rather beautiful quotes and she knew what to do with them, spacing them out as little treats for the reader who made it through the whole thing.

Overall I think this is one of the stronger pieces to come out of the Collegian so far this semester, and it makes me proud that a fellow student and reporter produced it.

http://www.newyorker.com/reporting/2014/01/13/140113fa_fact_gopnik

In last week’s New Yorker, which I just got around to reading yesterday, one of the strongest pieces of non-fiction storytelling appeared in the form of Adam Gopnik’s feature “The People Who Pass: Pickpockets and Paranoia in France.”

The beauty of the New Yorker’s style is most evident in the way that articles are never just the facts in cold hard type. In this six page spread the real-life drama behind France’s policy towards Romani immigrants comes to life.

The Romani , known more commonly in pop-culture as gypsies or in french as the tsigane, have a long history as a displaced people. This article hilights the rising tension in France between the influx of Romani into the country. Under European Union policies citizens of member states can live and pass freely into all other member states, and so the influx of Romani has caused friction lately.

Glopnik, mixes in history, interviews with politicians and academics with his own observations to draw an image of modern discrimination and stereotyping. According to even the modern french, the Romani are nothing but thieves and public nuisances.

“A waitress, coming out of the cafe, sees the reporter’s cell phone on the table. ‘Pay attention to your phone,’ she says anxiously ‘because there are…’ She notices the company. ‘There are people who pass,’ she says.”

Though this issue is not exactly pertinent to an American audience, Glopnik weaves together a story that is poignant and moving. Definitely worth a read.