Silence Over Abuse
The Longreads article “An Inquiry Into Abuse” focused on the possible abuse of Pat Nixon, from her husband Richard Nixon. In the first half, the article focuses on three separate accounts of possible abuse, which were all discounted because of the difficulty to verify any of the claims. This difficulty of verification is taken with great respect in this article, however, in the second half, the article focuses on the people within the Nixon campaigns that have their own stories of abuse. These allegations, along with commentary from former Nixon staffer Roger Morris, paint the picture that the abuse of Pat Nixon and others in the life of Richard Nixon was real.
The story itself is good, however, the lead could use rewriting that would capture the readers attention, had the headline not been enough. The original lead reads: Allegations that Richard Nixon beat his wife, Pat Nixon, have circulated for decades without serious examination by the journalists who covered his presidency. It’s time to look more closely at what’s been hiding in plain view.
My possibilities for the lead are as follows:
Richard Nixon abused many things in his life, his power included. However, longstanding allegations that he abused his wife may be true.
The Nixon story is dampened by lies and secrets. However, there may be truth in the stories that the former President beat his wife.
Former President Richard Nixon stepped on everyone to ever challenge him. Years of consideration have led to the belief that one of those victims was his own wife.
As I said in class, I like the leads, but they do suggest a bit of bias against Nixon.
Without the second headline, it takes a long time to get to the point of the story. Your leads are much more direct. I think they fit the story.