Nov 07 2018
News Comment #11 – 1.4 Million Floridians With Felonies Win Long-Denied Right to Vote
Looking at this article from the New York Times and specifically the lead, it is very tough to figure out what the story is talking about just based on the lead. The lead does not do a good job on telling me what this story will be about. The story for all I know could just be biographical on a guy named Keith Ivey.
Looking at the rest of story you can tell it’s not a biographical, but instead is a story about the ballot measure that was passed in Florida granting felons their voting rights again. This follows the news value of the relevance due to the fact that this measure was just passed last night in the midterm elections.
Another news value this follows is the prevalence of this story in this election cycle. This story has been prevalent due to the fact that 1.5 million Americans with felonies in Florida are getting their voting rights restored and the fact that this could change the political landscape in Florida for decades to come and could have major implications already in 2020.
One response so far
This is pretty much an anecdote lead. It’s using one individual — Ivey — to put a human face on an otherwise impersonal story. Like most features, it takes a bit of patience to get past the lead.