‘Good Girls’ Fight to Be Journalists
By Anne Eisenberg
Eisenberg starts off this article by using an example from her own life to highlight the way it used to be for women in journalism (Men were the writers and women were the secretaries. Then she gets right to the subject of the book ‘The Good Girls Revolt’ by Lynn Povich about “the little-known story of how a small band of women at Newsweek successfully challenged this industry wide practice. They fought the men of Newsweek in the early 1970s, becoming the first women in the media to sue on the grounds of sex discrimination.” Of course I’m already interested and it’s only the second paragraph.
The middle section has some history and lots of information about what happened but the use of language and narrative flow works so well it’s almost like watching a movie. Eisenberg uses many quotes from the book throughout the article to keep it interesting. “In one of the many striking sequences in the book, Ms. Povich describes how Ms. Norton forged them into a combat unit, reminding them of their rights and teaching them how to fight management and succeed. ‘Ladies,’ she advised, ‘you have to take off your white gloves.’” Every excerpt fits perfectly and draws me in.
This article is very well focused and uses great words and phrases that really pack a punch much like a revolt (hammered out, recalcitrant editors, plotting an insurrection). I also found the end of the story compelling because it mentions that “feminism is an incomplete revolution”. This gives the reader a sense of hope and reinforces the importance of little-known stories of people who fight to end discrimination.
Caribbean’s ‘unspoiled queen’ is a diver’s dream
Brian Witte
The lede of this feature sets the scene right away. “THE BOTTOM, Saba — The small propeller airplane lands quickly and softly, like a butterfly, on one of the world’s shortest commercial runways on the rainforest-capped island of Saba, which rises stunningly out of the Caribbean. It won’t take long for visitors to see why the sign outside declares: ‘Welcome to The Unspoiled Queen’.” The writer uses flowing descriptions like “coral-encrusted pinnacles” and uses second person putting the reader into the story to keep it interesting. The tone is almost conversational.
This story skips around to different parts without using transitions. For some reason I feel like it works well for this particular story because it keeps the story moving. Witte keeps it interesting by illuminating each feature of the island and then moving to the next almost like a really elaborate travel brochure.
What didn’t work about this story was the ending. It is too abrupt. Throughout the story the reader can picture this paradise and feel like they are there themselves. Then the bubble bursts and you realize you are not on an island where “frogs cling to the dining room window.”
Good comments about the story on Saba. The analysis of the first story is good, but it is a book review, which is a feature style but not the kind of short feature we were covering. We’ll discuss these differences more.