I have been assigned several readings by the World Journalism Institute to complete and compose responses to. I'm posting my first one here. The reading in this case was an article by Gay Talese titled "Frank Sinatra Has a Cold."
The article, published in April of 1966 at Esquire magazine, is well known as a pioneering example of so called, "New Journalism." What is intriguing about this piece is not its content (it is simply a celebrity biographical sketch), but the way in which it is presented. From a narrative point of view one could say that the article tells one of the dullest stories conceivable, Frank Sinatra hanging out at a bar and later getting upset at some T.V. crews, while struggling with a cold. But what makes this so memorable and holds it all together is the amount of meat that Talese hangs on such a skimpy narrative skeleton.
Talese intertwines the life of Sinatra with a highly descriptive account of what amounts to only a few hours. Talese draws connections from little things. Like an Internet link he attaches pages and pages of material to a glance or a tone of voice. The story has depth but doesn't get mired in the details.
Today we live in a world where we have infinite information and opinions available at our fingertips. The task of the journalist is no longer simply to provide facts and information, but to arrange and to link up that information in a way that is accessible and informative. As we write, we must not fail to provide additional information allowing the reader to delve further into the story, but we can't pile on data without a structure and a purpose.
The article, published in April of 1966 at Esquire magazine, is well known as a pioneering example of so called, "New Journalism." What is intriguing about this piece is not its content (it is simply a celebrity biographical sketch), but the way in which it is presented. From a narrative point of view one could say that the article tells one of the dullest stories conceivable, Frank Sinatra hanging out at a bar and later getting upset at some T.V. crews, while struggling with a cold. But what makes this so memorable and holds it all together is the amount of meat that Talese hangs on such a skimpy narrative skeleton.
Talese intertwines the life of Sinatra with a highly descriptive account of what amounts to only a few hours. Talese draws connections from little things. Like an Internet link he attaches pages and pages of material to a glance or a tone of voice. The story has depth but doesn't get mired in the details.
Today we live in a world where we have infinite information and opinions available at our fingertips. The task of the journalist is no longer simply to provide facts and information, but to arrange and to link up that information in a way that is accessible and informative. As we write, we must not fail to provide additional information allowing the reader to delve further into the story, but we can't pile on data without a structure and a purpose.
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