The Scourge of New York Times Trendpieces

I thought this Gawker article was a good companion piece to our initial "what is news" class discussion. It discusses a story that appeared over the weekend in the New York Times about - gasp - a guy in his mid 30s with kids and a job. A few excerpts from the blog posting:

Again and again, the Times keeps asking the reader to be surprised by something that is not a surprise at all on its merits. So here the Times offers up Ben Smith, "the Boy Wonder of Buzzfeed." Ben Smith is a married, 36-year-old father, who after performing well in a series of journalism jobs for more than a decade has become the editor-in-chief of a fairly new publication. Less a disclosure than a statement of fact: I used to work with Smith at the New York Observer. He was diligent, productive, talented, perfectly pleasant, and ambitious. Why wouldn't (let alone shouldn't) he be successful by now?

Particularly, why does the headline writer suppose there's something unusual about his age? Plenty of people have been editors in chief in their 30s, especially at publications that aren't clogged up with a lot of seniority. Harold Hayes was 37 when he took over Esquire. Harold Ross was 32 when he started the New Yorker. Henry Luce, a genuine boy wonder, founded Time at 24.

And later:

Nor does Ben Smith have any of the affectations commonly identified with "youth"—an unusual hairstyle, a flamboyant substance-abuse habit, colorful athletic shoes, and so on. If he did, those things still would not actually make him young, but he does not even try. He is a grownup who has a grownup job. Take away the false implication of precociousness, and what's left is the news that BuzzFeed exists, and that someone has to run it. You might think that the Times, busily purging its employees over age 50 to save money, would be more comfortable with the notion that people in their 30s can do things.

The entire post on Gawker is worth the read. I can't say the same for the original Times story.

 

In class lead exercise

Summary lead:
An African grey parrot known for his unique mastery of the English language died last week of natural causes. He was 31.

Soft lead:
For survivors and relatives of the Station nightclub fire victims, the pain is still there.

"People that weren't here don't really understand why we can't let this go," said Walter Castle Jr., who survived the fire caused by pyrotechnics at the Station nightclub in 2003.

The 100 victims of the fire were remembered by friends and family, many of whom spoke through tears during a somber gathering, held where the club once stood in West Warwick, R.I.

"My mom lives in me in everything I do," said Angela Bogart, who was 19 when her mother perished in the fire. "I hear her voice everywhere I go."

Summary lead: 
Just one year after Boston Living Center was on the brink of collapse, the HIV refuge center is back on its feet, thanks in part to the hiring of advocate Larry Kessler.

Delayed lead:
Larry Kessler has always been quick on his feet. When asked his age, the 70-year old longtime advocate for people living with HIV replies: "I'm 39."

But Kessler's quick thinking extends beyond his wit, as the 1,200 members of the once-ailing Boston Living Center will tell you.

The region's largest HIV refuge was on the brink of collapse just one year ago, with an embezzlement scandal leaving the center nearly bankrupt.

Little Red Riding Hood Story

A local girl and her grandmother were devoured by a cross-dressing wolf earlier today, only to be dramatically rescued by a passerby.

The girl, whose real name is Elisabeth, but who is known locally as Little Red Riding Hood, was on her way to care for her ailing grandmother when she was approached by the wolf. Feigning sympathy, he was able to ascertain her grandmother's location from the girl.

The wolf, impersonating Elisabeth, was able to gain entry into the grandmother's home and quickly devoured the grandmother in a single gulp. When Elisabeth arrived, she met the same fate.

But thanks to the quick thinking of a passerby, both Elisabeth and her grandmother are alive and well.