Feature Journal Dec 10

Through this weeks readings, feature writing has proven to be one of the most versatile forms of journalism,Evan Ratliff’s Vanish is a great example of a first person narrative. It’s justification is implied, as it serves to portray the happenings of this game that the journalist is a part of. What I found to be working really well in this piece, was the way in which the first person narrative is able to pose evocative philosophical questions through the activity of the journalist. While he explicitly asks them, they reiterated through his actions and determination.
Larissa MacFarQuhar's piece "The Kindest Cut", exemplified a great use of character description. I found it particularly interesting, how she used the girl's Myspace profile to describe her. While I am not sure if this description was sardonic or not, I was able to grasp a good understanding of the very selfless girl. Furthermore, when describing someone so one-dimensionally (which I think was obviously intentional) MacFarQuhar does some foreshadowing. I asked myself "So, now what is going to happen to incredibly nice girl?" When I found out she was disappointed with the man who received her transplant, I was pleasantly surprised. The girl who was initially painted as, obnoxiously chipper, became someone who I related to. MacFarQuhar allows her character to unfold skillfully. Additionally, MacFarQuhar includes excellent reporting. She even has quotes from the surgery. She describes the procedure in great detail, substituting it with what would be the more mundane explanatory graph. This is accessible for two reasons: Because there is no real medical jargon, and because she is essentially describing it as it is going on, which is inevitably entrancing.
In "This is your brain on Football" the American pastime becomes its own character. Although this seems rather literary, Jeanne Marie Laskas uses colloquial terms such as "diva" to characterize it. I have mixed feelings about the way she uses slang, but here I find it effective. Furthermore, Laskas is terse. She uses longer graphs, followed by one liners for a dramatic effect. For example, when Mike Webster dies she writes: "And now he was dead." In a way, this makes the story seem far more about his brain than him (although it kind of is.) It emphasizes the obscureness of the article, and while it does not undermine his life, the style exemplifies the finality of death within itself.
While writing my feature story, I found these articles extremely helpful. Most influential was MacFarQuhar, because she showed me how the internet can become a real tool of reporting. It is of course important to mix it with in person reporting, however, the internet can be humorous, reveal something else about the other person. Ratliff's piece is undeniably admirable. In terms of technology, he poses fascinating questions through his volition, and gripping style of writing. Laskas took a subject seemingly unimportant to me, and made it interesting.