By Laetitia Béraud.

  • Business Profile : New attorney finds her niche in immigration law, by Jane Burek for The Register-Guard

This is a short newspaper profile. It most likely explains the lack of details, expecially a description of the office of the new attorney. The lead anounces perfectly what is coming. The journalist uses background information effectively to explain the particularity of this new attorney’s job. There is no scene described, nor dialog. The only source is Andersen, the new attorney.

I like the second part of the article better. The first part focuses on immigration laws, whereas the second part tells us about how Andersen’s personal background affected her choice in life and still affects her job today. There is a good balance between general information about immigration laws and Andersen’s point of view.

The ending is nice, the journalist tells us what Andersen’s would like to see happening in the future for immigrants. It would have been nice to have at least another source, a client, or a member of the family. The writing style is ok, nothing special.

  • Principled and Pragmatic, as activist, volunteer and dad, William Gates Sr. leads by doing, by Paula Bock, for The Pacific Northwest magazine

This is a  magazine profile story. There are a lot of anecdotes, scenes, sources, this must have taken for ever for the journalist but when you are done with the article you have a very precise idea of what kind of person William Gates Sr. is.

The lead grabed me almost immediately. It’s a mix of everyday life things and what makes him an extraordinary person. You are intrigued, you have to continue. The description is detailed, with insights from Gates Sr. himself.

The writing style is enjoyable. We are given many details, about his life, and every detail is carefully reported by someone close to him. There are many sources, Gates Sr., family members, friends, colleagues. This must have taken a long time.

I like how the writer puts things together, Gates Sr.’s personal convictions and how they manifest in his life. Because of the length, we have a great panorama of many aspects of his life: personal and profesionnal. The story is jumping from one topic to another, but there is always a transition. The writer did a remarquable job on the structure.

He is an old man, the journalist finishes the article with the legacy Gates Sr. wishes to leave. It’s a thoughful and powerful ending.