Tuesday, September 06, 2005

Comforting the comfortable

Here's another in our series of dubious Internet polls on a familiar question: Is it time for this writer to find a new lede?

Sept. 6: Clergy and lay leaders in Mecklenburg's powerful faith community will unite today to discuss ways to help Katrina's evacuees -- one of a growing number of ways Carolinians continue reaching out. (4 grafs, followed by bullet items)

Sept. 5: From agencies planning missions of mercy to the Gulf Coast, to children selling lemonade for the relief effort, Carolinians continue reaching out: (1 graf and bullets)

Sept. 3: Each passing day, Carolinians find new ways to help victims of Hurricane Katrina. An aching to do more is moving home-repair types to volunteer their expertise. Kids to set up lemonade stands. Schools to seek out Katrina's littlest victims.

Sept. 2: As the devastation deepens, many Carolinians no longer are content to stop at money and prayers. (12 grafs and bullets)

Sept. 1: As Charlotte prepared Wednesday for the possibility of taking in the injured and homeless, the Carolinas kept pouring out their heart and money to victims of Hurricane Katrina.
(7 grafs and bullets)

Aug. 31: With dollars, prayers and sweat, a growing number of Carolinians are extending the hand of compassion to victims of Hurricane Katrina. (3 grafs and bullets)

Anxious readers will be relieved to know that the lemonade stands (two of them, best I can tell) appear again in a Sept. 6 story.

To paraphrase a familiar newsroom saw: Some people will write a dozen stories about the hurricane, and some people will write one story a dozen times. Which would you rather be?

2 Comments:

Anonymous Anonymous said...

One day, can you take some time to address question headlines? They were REALLY popular (especially when unnecessary) at the Joplin Globe, where I worked this summer. I think the worst came most recently with the hurricane stuff. The Globe ran a headline that said, "Thousands dead?" Wow. Writers there are really livid. Editors say, "We'll let the reader decide for themselves." Is this community journalism? Can you tell us when this is an acceptable practice?

7:31 PM, September 06, 2005  
Anonymous Anonymous said...

you can find more of fev's thoughts here:

http://headsuptheblog.blogspot.com/2005/06/plague-of-question-heds.html#comments

2:06 AM, September 07, 2005  

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