Article Link:http://www.chicagotribune.com/entertainment/chi-talk-stpats-05-mar05,0,5700717.story
I was surprised and excited to find this article on the Chicago Tribune's website. Me being a freshman, I've been pretty blown away by all the hype that surrounds Unofficial and I've found myself wondering if it's really that big of a deal. But apparantly it's pretty infamous if the Tribune thinks it's newsworthy.
The story starts out with a nice feature lead:
"College students drink. College students go to class."
The next two paragraphs describe the general scene on campus during Unofficial. She gives us the nut graf in the fourth paragraph, which is that campus officials will be cracking down on intoxicated behavior. I would say this is kind of a narrative lead, since the reporter decribes an event and then gives us what's newsworthy.
The story only has two quotes, both from the same "U of I spokesperson." I think the reporter definitely needed some more sources to make this story more interesting...a quote from a student, a teacher and maybe a cop would have been cool. It also has a pretty flat ending, just saying that 19-year-olds won't be able to get in the bars. This story definitely needed some sort of colorful quote to end it, especially since it started out very feature-like. Another weak aspect of the story (I think) is the use of the word "you" at the end, which is usually avoided unless the reporter is trying to deliberately stylize the story. Here, it just seems kind of lazy and out-of-place.
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Ew, yeah, you're right...that was a poorly-written article. Also, it wasn't very balanced...the only perspective depicted is that of an andministrator. I think the point of view of a student which participates would have served well to show the other side.
ReplyDeleteI also agree that the article was poorly written. The lead was not the least bit catchy. If the author did want to use a feature lead, it should have been much more interesting. (I think a scene-setter would have worked better.)
ReplyDeleteThere was no focus to the article. She talks about what unofficial is, then discusses the bars, confiscation of alcohol, dangers from previous years, and then the bars again. Most of her article was what people already know about unofficial; nothing was new or enlightening.
I completely agree with the fact that she needs more sources. A spokesperson from U of I obviously disapproves of the "holiday." Other sources would make the article more unbiased and interesting. The quote is also useless. I mean, the whole purpose is to go to class drunk. Obviously, students want to drink and go to class. Tell us something we don't know.
Not to mention, her article does not properly portray unofficial. There were cops all over campus, but they had very little interaction with students. Backpacks were not checked before students entered buildings. The author should have done more research into the topic and interviewed many more sources.