Political Raid Injustice

      ‘To each is own’ and ‘To each is own opinion.’ We are all entitled to our own thoughts, opinions, views, and statements. Mary Schmich of the Chicago Tribune recently wrote a heart-wrenching piece about a family in Chicago who were the victims of a political raid. She presented the story very professionally and it wasn’t until the very last paragraph, actually the last sentence, that we really saw Schmich’s opinion about the wrong-doing.

      Feature stories and opinion stories can go hand in hand, but not always do. This one does. I do believe that this story reads much like a feature story, one that touches an individual’s soul and makes the reader feel like he or she is the one interviewing the victim(s). At the end of the story, Mrs. Harris says, "It's not the dogs," she finally said. "It's not us. They just want this property." And that is why I termed the piece a political raid. By this point in the story, the reader knew everything necessary about the story. Schmich gave the background, including the reasons why the law enforcement “justified” their wrong doing. But the little complaints here and there should not have been enough to displace a family who had made a home out of the house they bought more than 40 years ago, and that’s Mary Schmich’s point.

      Unfortunately, what Mrs. Harris said about the property is true. Property is worth more than anybody’s life, liberty, or pursuit of happiness when it comes to a city like Chicago’s government and law enforcement. Schmich points out that the two properties owned by the Harris’s is worth more than a million dollars, and the government wants it now. They don’t want to wait because they want to build new homes and buildings much like the ones that the Harris’s neighbors live in. And most of the neighbors are doing anything they can to make this happen.

      Little do the neighbors realize, or care about, but the Harrises are the only ones left in the neighborhood that established the area. They have lived there the longest, and their traditions and customs are what made the neighborhood become what it is today.  The new neighbors are worried about not having traffic, not having visitors, and not having music. But this is home to the Harrises, and this is what they do.

      Schmich uses great quotes in the story, and the quotes, along with everything else, are what make the story so meaningful. She talked to every member of the family that she could, neighbors, and quoted statements from the release about the raid. My favorite quote in the story is probably this one: "Sometimes," said Mr. Harris, with a weak smile, "you just have to move on." At age 77, I wonder what Mr. Harris means by this. Would he rather move on to another life in a different world than have to worry about all of picking up their life and moving it? Mrs. Harris said they have nowhere to go. And I believe this because their children live with them. However, they are a strong family, because Mr. Harris is still smiling, Yvonne stood up at the CAPS meeting, and Mrs. Harris said she’d move on but wonders why she has to.

      In class we have studied different techniques to making a good story. One of Donald Murray’s ideas is to make a line, and follow it. I feel that Mary Schmich made a line with this story. I can see it. She started out with the facts about the raid. This was her introduction, and she gave onomatopoeia: ‘bam bam’, she listed who was in the house, and she described the setting. She used quotes and quoted a neighbor’s blog post. Then the line moves up. She described the events of the rest of the day. It then dipped down, and described the past. She mentioned that R.J. Harris worked for the city for 25 years, and this is why he was so confused. He could not understand why they didn’t get a warning, why this wasn’t happening to anybody else. Then the line evens out. She describes the family; some got into a little trouble but nothing tremendous. The line then makes a steep rise. “Here’s how the police see it:” she says. The police live for problems and love doing things like this. They don’t care that the family doesn’t have some place to go, or that Mr. and Mrs. Harris are getting into their late years. The line then dips back down and this is where the story touches the reader’s heart. She quotes family members and their reactions to the raid. And at the end it comes to an abrupt halt. Schmich states her opinion here; and she does it professionally.

      The story also fits the suggestions Tim Harrower gives about reporting. He says keep it tight and she did. She maintained the facts. She kept the story relevant by sticking to this one particular raid, the issue of the story. He says, “Take a stand” and she did this by stating her opinion at the end, and backing it up with facts. She wasn’t a bully, and didn’t attack any personalities. She only stated the facts and kept the facts simple. Her lead was strong, and her finish was stronger. It’s a great story; one that I will never forget and neither should the rest of the readers. It makes me thankful to live where I live, have the neighbors that I have, and make me aware of what can happen to people.

      A work of art is something carefully crafted by the artist and one that sticks out in the viewers mind. This is a piece of art that the Harris family can appreciate, and also so many other citizens of Chicago. Raids may not be a normal occurrence in the Harris’s neighborhood, but I’m sure it happens elsewhere in Chicago. She carefully chooses which quotes to use, and she used respect towards the family. The reader can tell she took the side of the family, rather than the City of Chicago, but she did it in a way that she won’t lose her job or her readership.

      Overall, I feel that Mary Schmich did a wonderful job writing this article, and it seems like she has a heart of gold. She will continue to have the respect of her readers, her employer, and the City of Chicago. She is a professional writer, and follows the ‘rules’ of journalism with precise. If I ever become a journalist, I see myself writing the way Schmich does.

The Complicated Euro

The Complicated Euro

     During my lifetime, I can not think of a time where I thought the countries of Europe were seriously suffering. That statement has recently changed. It seems as though the European countries are having trouble with their currency. Catherine Mayer scrounged to find details that made the story in TIME Magazine named “Germany: Grappling with the Euro, and with Its Own Complicated History” worth reading.

Mayer expresses in her article the immediate importance of the decline in the worth of Europe’s main currency, the Euro. The Euro, which according to Wikipedia, is the second most traded currency next to the US dollar, has decreased in value. The same quote was used in several different articles on this issue: “If the euro fails, the Europe fails.” Chancellor Angela Merkel told her parliament on September 7^th while expressing her concern.

     The picture that was chosen to represent this story fits the story perfectly. It is a photograph of Germans scrambling about outside the European Central Bank dressed in business attire. The background is blurred and the sign of the Euro is very bright and attracts the reader’s attention. It is a beautiful picture. I wondered what the citizens are thinking. Also, how will this huge change in their life change them, their careers, and their life in general? Hopefully, the impact will not continue to grow. I hope the issue settles down miraculously, and everybody’s life will go back to normal. This is not what the Europeans are expecting, however.

     To get this story up to par, Catherine Mayer contacted the president of the ECB, the Chancellor, German citizens, business owners, CEO’s taxpayers, and anybody else who may make up the neighborhoods of Europe. She obtained several wonderful quotes, all adding significance to the article. She also worked very hard to learn each person’s viewpoint on the issue. Each person had something unique to add to the story. I’m sure she spent hours on the telephone, knocking on doors, and asking passerby’s for their input. With such an upstanding issue, everybody she would have encountered would be able to comment.

      By using statistics, she was able to add factual information that is vital to the story. She obtained these statistics by reading about other countries; she was able to make great comparisons. It was probably unusual for somebody in Germany to be comparing themselves to others in Greece for example. This is a new issue, new dealings, and new worries. The time it took Mayer to obtain this information is probably longer than I want to imagine. I am grateful for all of her hard work, as are the rest of her readers, because she was able to come up with a great article. One that is unforgettable is one that readers love to read. The word spreads about a good article, people begin reading, and in today’s society we get involved in the media. Without the media, would this issue even be an issue?

     More often than not, we love to read about hard news. Hard news and hard ledes keep our attention tighter. I think this article is a combination of hard news and soft news. The issue is hard, the article itself is not as hard. Mayer expresses the immediate importance for this issue. The quote stated by the ECB President jean-Claude Trichet said that this has been “the worst crisis since World War II.” The world can only hope that we never re-live that time again.

     Chancellor Angela Merkel’s quote is probably my favorite of all in this article. She says, “The euro is much, much more than a currency. The euro is the guarantee of a united Europe.” Germany is, in fact, at the epicenter of the world. Each country depends on Europe for different things. Europe needs, for the sake of its people, to remain united now and forever. I think that it is important for the world, and especially those with power in Europe, to work together to remain united. I believe that if everybody practices teamwork, there can be much improvement made.

     By reading some of the comments on this article, and other article’s on the same issue I was saddened a little. Several comments by readers point the blame in one certain direction. I feel that this is unfair to do. I believe that a series of devastating events have all helped to create this issue. To point the finger of anybody in one direction is wrong. No matter what country is examined, negative events can be found.

     The tone I found this article to take would have to be a nervous tone. “Germany is in the hot seat,” Catherine Mayer says a little ways into the story. She says that the peoples of the weaker euro zone countries have to be made to behave like sensible Germans. Later, the Greeks are discussed in a negative overtone. “I’m fed up with working hard sot he Greeks can sit in cafes and drink coffee with brandy all day”, Uli “grumbles.” Jens, a sausage vendor agrees by saying, “We’re slaving while Greece parties.” This isn’t a fair situation. As I stated earlier, I feel that teamwork is an important gesture to get the situation back to an acceptable standing.

     People of Europe have a negative attitude about the whole issue but it seems as though each person is looking to his or her left and right and waiting for somebody else to come up with a solution. The sausage vendor, Jens age 28, says Germany “worries too much about history and too little about the future.” Even if this is true, where are these thoughts getting anybody? What would happen to him, his business, and his country if the euro fails? Instead, I feel that business owners should be working together to make more jobs, save money but invest more, and spread knowledge.

     All of the issues mentioned in this story add up to a very unfortunate event that Europe will remember forever. I hope that the problems can be solved before they get even more out of hand. Catherine Mayer is a talented journalist who uses techniques to add emotion to her story. She chose great quotes that exemplify her own feelings. However, even with her own feelings expressed, her article is not biased. Donald Murray’s “line” shows form in this article, and therefore, the story is an interesting read.

Jean and Ally

What an amazing story! Jean and her dog are both heroes. Most people hope to live to 90, while the rest of us dream to be walking our best friend [a dog, Ally] on a daily basis at age 90. Murray talks about the line of a story. From what I understand, he means the layout of the story. He starts with "the line" every time he writes a story. This is a great method. I believe it helps to make a good lede, strong body, and a great "kicker." It also ensures that nothing is boring. We don't like to read boring stuff.

In Bakke's story, the line starts with the background information that he provides about Jean and her dog, Ally. Then there's tension: "As in most farm fields, the ground was uneven and rolling. Jean lost her balance and fell. When she did, she felt intense pain in her right arm. She would find out later that her arm was broken in the fall. But all she knew at the time was that it hurt so much she could barely move."

Conflict: “Nobody was around,” she says. “I didn’t have my cell phone.”
While lying in the field, she examined her options and found out she didn’t have many. She tried using her legs to scoot along the ground, but the pain from her arm stopped that pretty quickly. With her arm useless, she couldn’t pull herself up."

Irony: "Usually when a dog hears coyotes howling, especially if they are nearby, one of two things will happen. The dog will run toward the coyotes. Or the dog will run away from the coyotes. Either way, the dog wishes to be elsewhere. Not this time."

Energy: "But Ally not only stayed by Jean all night, she climbed onto Jean’s cold body and laid there for." The energy is comforting. Without Ally, what would Jean have done?

Play: The sun came up, and she was found by her grandson.

Discovery: Well, I have discovered the "line" of this story. I love this story. It is extremely heart-warming to know that Jean will be OK and her and her dog Ally will continue to spend their lives together.

Music: The voice of the text is happy. I hear melodies of heroism and harmony.

Form: The intro/lede. The strong body. The kicker: Jean saved her dog and her dog saved her. Jean says, "“She saved me,” “We saved each other.” How sweet!

I think this feature story is a combination of both art and craft . Bakke uses craft in the style of his writing. The way he captures the reader's soul is craft. And the knowledge that he has about the story is craft, the way he executes it is the art. The art is his talent and he is an excellent writer.

I noticed a couple techniques that Bakke used to craft a good story. He uses a simile: "She is warm like a blanket." Also, alliteration. "She is big AND furry AND warm." (He saved the most vital term, warm, to list last.) Both of these techniques help to make a great story, one that is unique and not boring.