This article, entitled "Financial Crisis Takes a Toll on Already-Squeezed Cities," examines the effects of the recession on those who live and work in non major cities. It is a hard news story because it is about the recent failures of the stock market and receding economy. The lede focuses on who and what this crisis affects (160 full-time & part-time city workers and volunteer/recreation programs), why it is happening (a bad year for the municipal budget due to the economic recession), and where it is happening (Duluth, Minn. and cities like it). The next sentence then elaborates on the first, explaining exactly how much debt the city of Duluth is in and what measures they have taken to try and improve their economy. The nut graph is in the third paragraph, where the writer relates Duluth's financial crisis to the recent stock market crash and how it "eats away at the core sources of municipal revenue."
The story definitely follows the structure of "The Wall Street Journal formula" because it uses Duluth's financial situation as an example of a small city being affected by a major crisis.
This story also has an interesting "ABAB" structure. For one or two paragraphs, the author discusses the economic state of the overall country, and then he switches back to talking about how the failing economy affects small cities like Duluth and Tempe, Arizona. I think that this structure is very effective for this article because she is putting a global issue into a specific context, and providing the reader with the concrete effects (160 layoffs, cuts in funding) of a global crisis.
The story ends with a "quote kicker" that expresses the grim future of American finances.
Overall, I thought that the organization of the story was very effective in communicating the small-town effects of a big issue. I also believe that the use of a specific city like Duluth made the story a lot more relatable because it allows the reader to connect with and understand the financial pressure on the town. I think that if the writer only focused on the financial effects on a place like New York City the story would not be as effective because the impact would not be so clearly visible.
The article can be found here: http://www.nytimes.com/2008/10/07/us/07citybudgets.html?ref=us
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2 comments:
Your analysis of the story was very thorough, and I thought it was good how you explained your opinions on the article and its organization at the very end.
This is a really good article. I agree with the last comment you said about the article not making sense if it focused on financial issues of many states.
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