“Delta Sigma Theta Sorority celebrates 100 years of black sisterhood in D.C.” by Michael Livingston
This story illustrates the foundation and present of Delta Sigma Theta sorority to readers. The feature is written in order to capture the sorority in a single snapshot for those unfamiliar with them. While the headline indicates that the story is about the 100-year mark of the organization – the bulk of the story is an informative human-interest piece about the sisterhood.
“There, in crimson peacoats buttoned high over cream sweaters, the women greeted one another, hugged and posed for photographs…” wrote Livingston. This part is just after the lead, where the author “shows” the reader instead of “telling”. It was a compelling choice for the author since it would be easy to simply state where the event took place and describe the highlights. This excerpt makes the piece more of a feature for me.
About halfway into the article, the author dives into background information that is essential for the audience. We learn about the history of Delta and particular how the sorority maintained high standards of social activism for the past century.
This article primarily uses scene-setting and particular individuals to make the Delta story relatable to readers. While it’s not a typical story I would pick up for reading, I found it well written and organized in a manner that was easy to follow.
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“Springfield’s online course offerings win back students” by Susan Palmer
“Winter term ends on Jan. 30, but first-grader Mason Gifford is already done with his core math, language and science classes” author Palmer uses as her article’s lead. She begins the article with character development of a first grade student. She uses Mason to illuminate the new course offerings instead of simply explaining the changes.
This article does a particularly good job at guiding readers through a natural narration of events. For example, the first five paragraphs or so explain a basic outline of the new program offered by the Springfield School District. Just as I found myself wondering ‘why?’ – the bulk of the article shifts to explain why many public school students shifted to charter schools that offered online courses. Under the “Self Management is Key” segment, the author uses a variety of quotes from students to explain how they feel about the classes. I find that this portion keeps the piece from becoming too informative and adds an interesting human-interest aspect.
I also noticed that this article doesn’t use the inverted pyramid model of news reporting. This piece flows from thought to thought and utilizes chunks of interesting information to pull it together. For example, the lead and capper both use anecdotes from students (beginning with a 1st grader and ending with a high school senior). The middle uses background information and other student interviews to successfully touch on all aspects of the story.
By Cari Johnson
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