COMM 150, COMM 337: online news magazine - link to story for 3rd adv. writing blog post - magazine feature - ASSIGNMENT

From our syllabus: "Students will create a web Log (blog) and write analyses professional writing of 1,000 words each of: (a) a newspaper feature story, (b) a magazine feature, (c) a piece of public affairs reporting and (d) an opinion or op-ed piece on the blog." As you read the story, be thinking about Donald Murry's "little green book that won't go away" and be sure to discuss these points in your analysis of the story:

• What does Murray mean by "craft?" What do you mean by it? How does "craft" differ from "art?"
  
• What the @#$%!& does that have to do with writing? What does it have to do with reporting?
  
• What is the relationship between the craft of reporting and of writing? To Murray? How important is reporting to this story?

Post your analysis to the blog, and email me at peterellertsen-at[spelled out this way here to discourage spammers]-yahoo.com when you do.

This piece appeared in the St. Louis Beacon, an online magazine subsidized by grant funding and staffed by experienced journalists in St. Louis, Missouri and Illinois. It prints the kind of long-form journalism that newspapers no longer feel they can afford.

This story is a pre-election analysis by Mary Delach Leonard, who was a reporter and features editor for the St. Louis Post Dispatch for 17 years before joining the St. Louis Beacon in 2008.

The story is headlined "Are Illinois voters too turned off by corruption to vote?"

Some key points ... she quotes Cindi Canary, director of the Illinois Campaign for Political Reform:

Canary is concerned when she hears voters saying in interviews that they are turning down the volume of their radios and televisions and not listening to the advertising.

"The truth of the matter is that voters who take their responsibility seriously have to choose between one or the other screaming, angry candidate," Canary said. "And it's particularly disheartening coming on the heels of Blagojevich when my hope would be that we would be talking about leadership. We should be talking about public responsibility to the citizens and the electorate and we should be talking about the very serious problems that we have."

Canary worries that the negative tone of the campaigns will further suppress voter turnout, which tends to be low in midterm elections anyway.

"I think it's very hard not to be cynical in this kind of environment," she said.

At the same time, Illinoisans say they are ready for state government reform, according to a recent poll of likely voters by the Paul Simon Public Policy Institute at Southern Illinois University Carbondale.

More of the Beacon ... from its "about" page: "Founded by veteran journalists, the Beacon aims to serve and engage citizens by offering a distinctive new news medium. Join in this effort by sharing your experience, insight and suggestions. Together, we can build a Beacon that illuminates our region and shines outward to the world."