Archive for January, 2006

Date: January 30th, 2006
Cate: Games, Journalism Practice, Quote
7 msgs

The Lede: Starting Your Article

The lede is the most important part of a news story. What is a lede?

It’s not a made up word. It’s pronounced lead — as in “I am in the lead,” but when newspapers were printed back in the day people used to get it confused with lead (the metal) which was in the ink. So to clear the confusion between production matters (how much lead is in the ink) and editorial matters they changed the spelling.

There are two basic ledes, the hard lede and the soft lede.

I am personally a fan of the hard lede. Soft ledes are funner to write and more fulfilling, but they can also lose the reader and newspapers already have a problem with losing readers.

The hard lede should be quick and to the point and give the reader the basic information in the story.

Here is a lede for the story of Little Red Ridding Hood

“A 10-year-old girl and her bed-ridden grandmother escaped death yesterday after a woodsman hacked open a cross-dressing wolf that swallowed them whole.”

Feel free to leave more ledes for fairy tales in the comments.

Date: January 30th, 2006
Cate: Art and Design, Future, Internet/Technology/Gadgets, Links and People, New York/San Francisco
1 msg

Tech Art: EyBeam

I am a big fan of Eyebeam Reblog. So when they announced that they were having open hours in their art studio every other Tuesday I had to check it out. I mean, I’m in New York, I might as well right.

I thought I could turn it into a story. The one thing that caught my eye was Sonic Fabric, clothes made from old cassette tape which makes noise when you brush a walkman reader over it.

But alas, it was already a story for Wired and I am too lazy to find an art or fashion magazine that might be interested in it. Besides, I don’t know how to write for an art or fashion magazine, just a tech website. In the end I did get to keep a little bit of the fabric.

It’s rough, not something you want against your skin, but it would make for an interesting purse.

Still, the experience was nice. I got to meet Jason Kottke, one of my blogging heroes (who is doing it professionally no less). He had just gotten back from a trip in Asia and I asked him how it went. Isn’t that a little funny how I knew he was in Asia because I read his blog on a daily basis? I thought so, but for Kottke it was a normal occurrence.

Anyways. It’s good to take advantage of a city like New York. There is a lot of art out here. I personally hate culture in all its mediums, but still.

Date: January 26th, 2006
Cate: New York/San Francisco
2 msgs

My Beat: Greenpoint Brooklyn

As I said, I’m still playing catch up and a part of that is getting acquainted with school

First off, the other 15 students who got into Columbia’s part-time journalism program… well what can I say, I am impressed by each and every one of them. Some have been working journalists in other countries, others have started their own magazines already. Long story short, I am in good company.

While I’m still freelancing (working on pitches and stories), I also have school work which has forced me to create a new category for this blog “Greenpoint.”

I live in Greenpoint Brooklyn, a very nice polish area just outside Williamsburg (hipster hell).

At Columbia I am taking “Reporting and Writing 1,” it’s the first and required class for all incoming students. A large portion of the class is beat reporting — picking a neighborhood, finding out what the local issues are and reporting about it. I’m happy to say that I will learn a lot about Greenpoint in the coming months.

more))

Date: January 22nd, 2006
Cate: Books

Cult of Me

During my trip home to Los Angeles, I made a quick visit to San Francisco. When I dropped in at Wired’s new office, located in the same building as the magazine now, Leander showed me his book “Cult of Ipod.” This is a follow up to his first book “Cult of Mac.”

I bring it up because sure enough, on page 27, there is a picture of little old me. I remember one lunch break taking pictures for Leander for the book. I completely forgot about it, so it was a nice surprise to find myself in a book.

The book itself is coffee table material. The kind of present an aunt gets for her nephew thinking “Gee, I think Tommy has one of those ‘Ipod’ thingies.” Still, the look of the book is fresh, clean and very Mac. I’m happy to be a part of it, if only as a model.

Leander definitly knows his Mac/iPod stuff too, so it should be a good read. The lady at the book store who sold it to me gave me a 10 percent discount when I showed her my picture.

Date: January 22nd, 2006
Cate: Travel
1 msg

Back In Town

Okay, so I’ve taken some time off. Well, almost a month to be exact. I apologize, but it was a much needed break.

I am now back in Brooklyn and ready to get going again (I have one story to write and several pitch ideas in the making).

First I should note that my time at Columbia Journalism Review has ended. It was a good run and I hope to keep in touch with the people there, but alas, I must move on. Before leaving, the other intern and I went out with some of the CJR Daily people for a night on the town. Bryan Keefer also gave me a copy of his book “All the Presidents Spin.” It’s a good read and although two years outdated, one can see how the same spin is taking place right now. The only difference is the exposure that spin is getting in the press.

So CJR is done but not forgotten, I have many books that I “borrowed” while working there which I want to catch up on. Also, I am still going to the journalism building frequently because I am now a journalism student at Columbia.

While I have other posts that I want to catch up on, I think it’s safe to say that this blog may change direction soon. I’m not sure where exactly. I have only been though orientation and the program is already very humbling.

But for now, I hope all is well. You will hear from me shortly. At first it might be catching up, some stories to tell ect, but I do hope that I will keep everything relevant to the subject at hand: Good writing.