Wall Street Journal Style

Wall Street Journal Formula

1. The story typically opens with a specific example presented in an anecdotal, descriptive or narrative lede.
2. The nut graph relates the example to a more general point and explains what the story is about.
3. The body of the story provides support for the general point.
   
4. The story typically ends with another anecdote or description story or speculates on a future development related to the lede.

Example:
http://online.wsj.com/article/SB125288517883707275.html

New York Times article, "Coming Out in Middle School," by Benoit Denizet-Lewis is a very long feature story consisting of nine pages about the struggle young teens experience in discovering their homosexuality or bisexuality.

The article starts with off with a narrative lede, telling the true story of a young boy named Austin who is 13 years old and claims he is gay. We learn about Austin and his boyfriend and how Austin's boyfriend struggles with telling his parents about his sexuality.

We then learn about a program called Openarms which is there for those who have newly "come out." The journalist writes about what she observes and quotes another boy, Laddie. By the ninth paragraph the journalist finally reveals the nutgraph. He or she tells you why you should care about what she is writing about and why these adolescents' stories are important.

The nutgraph says, "I heard similar accounts from those who work with gay youth all across the country. Though most adolescents who come out do so in high school, sex researchers and counselors say that middle-school students are increasingly coming out to friends or family or to an adult in school. Just how they’re faring in a world that wasn’t expecting them — and that isn’t so sure a 12-year-old can know if he’s gay — is a complicated question that defies simple geographical explanations. Though gay kids in the South and in rural areas tend to have a harder time than those on the coasts, I met gay youth who were doing well in socially conservative areas like Tulsa and others in progressive cities who were afraid to come out."

The article ends with a narrative ending with a quote from Austin's mom.

Feature story ideas

Our next in class assignment is a feature story and my article will obviously have something to do with fashion. But I really want to try to do something different from the traditional fashion article, like topic with a fashion twist. I'm going to name some of my ideas. Let me know what you think - opinions are greatly appreciated! Here it goes...

• Purchases for a cause: Lately I have been seeing a huge trend with a lot of companies selling a certain article of clothing or particular piece of jewelry for an organization and donating a portion or all of the proceeds to the said cause. The biggest philanthropy I have seen among these sales is breast cancer awareness. I would write about the different companies and celebrities that participate in this and see what the most popular philanthropy actually is. I want to ask around and get plenty of opinions from various people to see if they think more causes should be involved. Is there something more important we could be focusing on besides whatever the most popular philanthropy actually is? Would people participate in these purchases? Is it more of a motivation to go shopping? Will this trend in the fashion industry continue to grow?
• Go Green: Fashion has taken "going green" to a whole new level within the past year. There are more eco-friendly clothes being made. Organic hair product brands are becoming larger and they just keep on growing. Other things that are becoming green: make up, perfume, bed sheets, curtains, dish liquid, light bulbs etc. Everything is becoming organic and all natural. Are students actually buying these eco-friendly products? Do people actually wear these clothes? Is this a great idea?

Summary ledes vs. feature ledes

A summary lede is considered the first sentence of a news story. It should contain some answers to the "5 W's," be concise, consist of 30 words or less and be written in active voice (subject verb object). A summary lede is a summary of the entire story and gives away the ending of the article. It should give the reader the main idea of the news story.

A feature lead typically appeals to an individual's emotions. These ledes tend to be more descriptive because their goal is to hook the reader and make them interested to read the rest of the article. There are four main types of feature ledes: descriptive, anecdotal, narrative or mystery.

Examples of a summary ledes:

More than three million doses of swine flu vacine will be available by the first week of October, a little earlier than had been anticipated, federal health officials announced Friday.

The president of Athletics South Africa has admitted that he lied about gender tests on runner Caster Semenya before her gold-medal win at the World Athletics Championships last month.

Examples of feature ledes:

On the last episode of reality... Jon left Kate and his eight children and took up with the party girl Hailey. Audrina got a restraining order against an alleged stalker. NeNe got into an argument with Kim during a photo shoot. And Rachel was attacked -- yet again -- by one of the city tabloids.

We all know we're supposed to eat healthy portions. So why is it that a rough day at the office or even just the smell of chocolate-ship cookies can cause us to throw our best intentions out the window?

Beat Blog Topic

I have finally decided that my beat blog is going to be about women's fashion. But I'm not talking about brand names like Channel, True Religion, BCBG or 7 for all Mankind. I'm going to be reporting about all the latest fashions while also suggesting where you can find these styles on a college student's budget. Money gets tight away at school, but that's no reason to have someone's trendiness suffer. Fashion goes beyond just clothes and shoes, so this blog could experiment outside the box. Since the number of girls on Towson's campus exceeds the number of boys this seems like an appropriate topic. I'm still playing around with names for this blog but look out for my new one shortly!

The blogging returns - MCOM 258

For anyone who does not know me, my name is Elena and I am starting my junior year at Towson. I'm majoring in both public relations and journalism. I'm a member of Phi Mu women's fraternity on campus and hold the position of PR committee head. When I'm not at school I can be found at the Jersey Shore and I've loved growing up at the beach. It's always an awkward question when people ask me if I'm from north or south Jersey because I honestly don't know the answer. So I've just settled on the answer of central east.

In MCOM 258 I hope to broaden my knowlege in the journalism field in all different aspects. I enjoyed learning how to use new computer software in MCOM 257 last year. Although I know things will get challenging I look forward to continue using those special programs along with others.