Article/Profile: “How Eliud Kipchoge Broke Running’s Mythic Barrier” by Knox Robinson

https://www.gq.com/story/inside-eliud-kipchoge-kenya-training-compound

The profile is about Eliud Kipchoge running a marathon in under 2 hours. Nobody has ever managed to do it before him. The record brought him international fame but also sparked controversy about how innovation in running gear complicates the ethics of the sport of running. The writer traveled to a runner’s training camp in Kenya to spend time with Kipchoge. In the beginning, he wrote about the experience of training with the camp’s runners.

The first few paragraphs are about the morning routine of Kipchoge and some descriptions of the training camp and its surroundings. I think the entire training situation can be seen as an anecdote but even though it’s very interesting it’s a little too long in my opinion. By the time the writer writes about the actual topic – Kipchoge and the controversy around him – I didn’t really know anymore what the article was actually supposed to be about. There is a lot of switches between topics which makes the article chaotic. I also think that the writer puts himself into the story a little too much.

Profile/Article: “For Italy’s Masked Rap Diva, an Era of Face Coverings Poses a Dilemma” by Jason Horowitz

https://www.nytimes.com/2020/10/23/world/europe/italy-myss-keta-masks.html?searchResultPosition=2

The profile is about the Italian rapper Myss Keta. Since 2013 she has been using masks to hide her identity and it has become an unofficial trademark of hers. Before COVID-19 she was on the brink of becoming a celebrity but with everybody wearing face masks now she has more or less lost her most defining characteristic.

The first paragraph in the profile is an anecdote describing how Myss Keta distributed her huge mask collection to her friends when Italy experienced the first surge of COVID-19. Overall, the article is not just about the rapper as a person but also holds some news value as she lost her defining characteristic because of the current pandemic.

The writer used descriptive elements when he wrote about how Myss Keta is taking pictures with fans or sipping on a drink. The writer did not use the inverted pyramid to structure the article because no information seems more important than any other. The article only features Myss Keta as a source for her own story and two other sources about Italy, art, and mask-wearing in general. I think the writer should have used more sources for the actual topic because it would have given different points of view to the profile.

Article: “Is This the End of the Manicure?” by Jessica DeFino

https://www.nytimes.com/2020/11/05/style/self-care-is-this-the-end-of-the-manicure.html?action=click&module=Features&pgtype=Homepage

The author writes about the panic lots of people felt when their nail salons closed because of the pandemic. This panic was followed by a surge of DIY videos and eventually acceptance, as people became comfortable with naked nails. She then describes a manicure kit that was launched in May that only contains a polisher and cuticle oil. This kit is very successful because it is in line with the trend of natural nails.

This article is a feature because the information it contains is not needed to make informed decisions in our lives. It describes a lifestyle trend and is something people want to read rather than what they would need to read. The author writes about the actual trend in the first paragraph which can be seen as the most important information. Overall however, the article is not really in an inverted pyramid shape because there is no information that is more important than other information. It is also not news, because it misses timeliness and impact on the readers.

News Story: “Suspect arrested for allegedly abducting two daughters from home where two boys found dead” by Wilson Wong and The Associated Press

https://www.nbcnews.com/news/us-news/suspect-arrested-allegedly-abducting-two-girls-home-where-two-boys-n1244742

The article and the video are both about a Kansas man killing two boys and abducting his two daughters last Saturday. After a search in three different states the police were able to take the man into custody. His two daughters are safe.

I think the article does a better job of describing what happened in just a few sentences. The main information can all be found in the first paragraph. It seems like they used the inverted pyramid for structure.

The video story starts out rather slow and dramatically with the police radio talk. After that, the facts are mentioned but the content is very different from the written story. The police officer e.g. talks about how the homicide was discovered which isn’t mentioned in the written part.

Additionally, the video focuses more on the homicide that happened at the house while the written story concentrates mostly on the two girls who were abducted. I think the story overall is newsworthy because of its recency and human interest.

Article: “The Lakers’ Winding Path Ends With a Championship” by Scott Cacciola

https://www.nytimes.com/2020/10/11/sports/basketball/lakers-nba-title.html

The author starts by writing about how the LA Lakers had to overcome many obstacles in 2020. Afterward, he writes about the Lakers winning the championship in the end and the impact COVID-19 has had on their season. Cacciola then describes the contribution and role of LeBron James in the title as he became the centerpiece of the team during the season. In the end, he explains the obstacles further that he mentioned in the beginning.

I think the part about the championship can be seen as news as it just happened last week. However, the author never mentions a date and the rest of the article is not very recent or impacting so it is probably a feature. As for the lead, I think the when is missing but other than that it gives a quick overview over the topics in the article.

The article is in an inverted pyramid structure as the most important information (the title) is at the beginning and the less important facts (like what fuels LeBron James’ motivation). I don’t like that the fourth paragraph consists of one sentence with close to 60 words and that there are several other sentences just as long. I think the author needs to shorten his sentences to make the article less confusing.

Article: “Trump Objects to Commission’s Virtual Debate Plan” by Michael M. Grynbaum and Maggie Haberman

https://www.nytimes.com/2020/10/08/business/media/trump-biden-debate-virtual.html?action=click&module=Spotlight&pgtype=Homepage

The article is about President Trump refusing to do the second presidential debate in a virtual format. The commission planned to do this because of the pandemic and because the recent infection of Trump with the virus. Trump says that the shift to the virtual format is a try of the commission to protect democratic candidate Joe Biden.

The article was listed as “breaking” on the NYT website so I wanted to check it for its newsworthiness. I think the article is newsworthy because the presidential debate affects every American citizen. Trump refusing the virtual format could also impact the elections. The article was published today (Thursday) and so it definitely is recent.

The lead is good because it sums up the most important point of the article and includes the who, what, and why. The first paragraph is one whole sentence and should be parted into two. Thes structure of the article is an inverted pyramid structure with the top news (the whole objection situation) first and then less important information like the integrity of the commission and comparisons to other presidential debates from prior election years.

Article: “How Vienna’s opera houses are staying open in the pandemic” by Julia Belluz

https://www.vox.com/2020/9/30/21454127/vienna-austria-covid-19-opera-risk-singing

The author writes about opera houses in Vienna that reopened in September after being shut for six months due to COVID-19. She also writes about how event locations have adapted to the pandemic while the case numbers are on the rise again. For her article, Belluz interviewed baritone Klemens Sander about his experience in the last few months.

I don’t think this article is very newsworthy because to people who read the news on vox.com who I believe are mainly living in the US the topic is not in proximity. And while it may be timely, the impact of the article is relatively low.

As for the lead, Belluz chose to only include how the opera houses manage to stay open which is not the main point of the article. She also chose to start the first sentence with the who (Klemens Sander) and I’m pretty sure that that name means nothing to a lot of people so I wouldn’t have started with it.

Article: “The Nose Needed for This Coronavirus Test Isn’t Yours. It’s a Dog’s.” by Elian Peltier

https://www.nytimes.com/2020/09/23/world/europe/finland-dogs-airport-coronavirus.html?action=click&module=News&pgtype=Homepage

Peltier writes about dogs in Finland that were trained to sniff out COVID-19 in arriving passengers at Helsinki airport. The tests are voluntary and are according to researchers not only faster but also cheaper and more effective. Several other countries including the US, France, and Germany have followed suit and conducted research on whether dogs can detect the virus by scent.

Peltier starts with a good lead covering the who, what, where, and how questions. The why and when is then answered in the first few paragraphs. Most of the time the author mentions specific sources (e.g. Hielm-Bjorkman from the University of Helsinki) but there are two or three times where he just attributes the information to non-specific “researchers”. To me, it would be important to mention which researchers those were. For quotes, he uses “said” which is good. I’m not sure if he got the information out of a public statement or a personal interview but I think he got all the important information he needed.

Interview/Video: Julie Ertz on Women’s Soccer World Cup Support by Cari Champion from ESPN

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gH_E-cGyZuo

The interview starts with the interviewer Cari Champion asking what national women’s soccer team player Julie Ertz enjoyed most during the world cup and what she is looking forward to now that it is over. She also asks how the support of all the fans was and how it felt like when the crowd was screaming “Equal Pay” during games to support the movement towards equal pay for the women’s national soccer team. Champion also includes questions about Ertz’s position as a role model and what her personal motivation is.

I think the interviewer does a very good job because she came in prepared and asked interesting questions about a variety of topics. She also adapts to Ertz’s answers and spontaneously asks further questions about it if she thinks it’s something the audience would want to hear more about. For that she uses phrases like “speaking of…” and “circling back to…” which makes the transitions between the questions smooth and the interview seem more like a conversation. The interview has positive energy and neither of them interrupts the other. I think the interviewer made the best out of her time and got a lot of good information in these eight minutes.