TITLE: Demise of Same-Sex Weddings Disheartens Businesses
LINK: http://www.nytimes.com/2008/11/07/us/07marriage.html?em
The article begins with a soft descriptive lede, which gives a verbal picture of one of the businesses suffering as a result of Proposal 8 passing in California. So the lede doesn't answer any of the W's. The second graf kind of does, in a sort of off-handed way.. It basically sets up the image of this sad business owner who has to pack away the man-man wedding cake ornaments and the extra unrented tuxedos.
The article takes awhile to pick up speed, starting off with a collection of small, meaningless quotes from an assortment of business owners in California. Eventually, this gets the ball rolling to move onto bigger topics, like how Arnold Schwarzenegger had hoped the ban wouldn't happen, considering things from an economic standpoint. The article also makes use of more primary sources, like a San Francisco-based marketing executive who specializes in gay tourism. This article seems to utilize it's sources well, given the topic. The article also opens up to whether the economy will be impacted now that California is now not as gay-friendly and tourism from the LGBT community will most likely decline. Again, the article tends to rely on it's numerous sources to deliver the best information to its readers.
The article concludes with a quote from one of the small business owners mentioned in the lede of the article. The format is nice, because it starts out with a smaller topic with quotes from simple business owners, then starts talking about the bigger idea of things with use of more "official" sources, and ends small, which brings readers back home, I think. This article was well-done, considering it was a soft news article.
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5 comments:
Meghan, it was entertaining to read the article through your perspective. You have a very casual and talky way of writing that kept my interest. Also, California is such a disappointment to me right now. Sad. At least Schwarzenegger is upset, too, even if it's only from an economic standpoint.
This is a great article. I think you did a very good job in analyzing it. I agree with you on the fact that it was weirdly structured.
Yeah, what's up with California??? Its weird that they used a soft lede - mine would have been as harsh and to the point as possible!!
Solid analysis, good choice of an article on a rather touchy subject.
Wow, you really did a great job with analyzing this piece. Very thorough.
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