Magazine Story

The Economy and the Average American

The economy has been at the forefront of political issues for well over two years now. The recession officially started in December of 2007 and most economist agree that the recession officially ended in mid 2009. However, economist also agree that America still has a long way to go before we get completely out of this economic mess we are in. It has been said that the housing bust is what started the recession and from there things went down hill.

When we watch the news about the economy, its always the same thing. News anchors providing statistics and economic facts, politicians pointing the blame at one another, each political party claiming that they have what it takes to fix Americas economic problem, but what about what the American citizens themselves have to say? All to often, all we see on the television, or hear on the radio, is how more people got laid off, or how more and more people have to file for bankruptcy, or how another family has to live on the streets.

Instead of hearing these stories coming from the mouths of news anchors, how about letting the people themselves tell the story, and that us just what I did. In the process of getting the story, I found out some pretty interesting, and at times, shocking things.

The first person I spoke with was 27 year old Rebecca LaFleur. LaFleur works as a call center supervisor for Comcast. She explains that" even though American as a whole is going through a difficult economic period she herself is doing quite well financially." She goes on to say that " she is doing much better now than before the recession started." However, she did admit that she knows six people personally who have been laid off. It was at this point her mood changed. As she was talking about her own situation, she was cheerful and happy, but as soon as she started thinking about her friends who have been laid off, her smile went away and her voice got a little deeper. I then asked if she knew anyone personally who has had their home foreclosed on. She answered, as she looked down at her feet, " my uncle and his family fell behind on their payments about 4 months ago." She continued " they had to stay with my mom for a few weeks and now they live in a motel." She glanced back up at me with a sharp glimmer in her eye and said very slowly, " 5 people are sharing a motel room." At this point I could tell that she was not enjoying this, so I quickly moved on to the next question. I asked. " Who do you believe is at fault for the economic melt down." She responded, very quickly, " I think this is all George Bush's fault, he just let everything go to hell and the taxpayers are paying the price for his incompetence and stupidity." This is actually a common theme among many people in America. Next I asked about the large deficit and government spending. She looked at me with a rather baffling and awkward look. I could immediately tell that this was not a topic she was well versed in. So I moved on to the final question. I asked what she thought about the gross amount of money being spent by the government on political ads and campaigns and given the economic climate, if she was at all offended by it. She replied " I think it is very disgusting that these politicians are willing to spend hundreds of thousands of dollars on 30 second TV ads, I just don't think that is wise spending and I believe it is sending the wrong message to the American people"

Next I interviewed Cory Williams, a 36 year old loan officer and husband and father of three. I asked him if he new anyone personally who has been laid off, and he responded " Oh, I know maybe six maybe seven people who have been laid off." I asked if he was worried about his job security. He replied " Not at all, this is actually a very busy time for me." I could tell by the smug look on his face and by the crooked smile, that he was pretty satisfied with his self and his job. It appeared he did not have a care in the world. I then asked if he felt any of the pains of the economic recession over the last two years, and he simply said "no, not at all". My next question was who he felt was to blame for the recession. In a very sarcastic and somewhat harsh tone, he responded, " I don't know and I do not care." It was pretty clear at this point that Williams was very oblivious to the world around him. He also had a strong sense of apathy when it came to the economic situation and those who fell victim to it.

Finally I spoke with Shirley Clark. Clark is a 56 year old retiree. Unlike that last two people I spoke with, Clark has been impacted personally by the economic melt down. Though Clark has not lost her home, she tell me that "things are a little more difficult now." She goes on to say that her monthly check has been cut and things have been much tighter. While she admits that things have gotten harder, she says " I am glad that I have not been put in the position where I have to go back to work and at least my medical expenses are still paid for." When I asked who she felt was to blame for the current economic situation, she replied " It is the entire government. They are all a bunch of crooks and thieves that can not be trusted." She went on to say that " I can't believe people though Obama was going to make everything ok. At the end of the day he is still just another politician and like the rest of them, he can't be trusted." When asked about the amount of spending politicians are doing when it comes to political advertising, Clark said " I think it is horrible. People are loosing their homes, parents can't feed their children, and people are out of work and what do politicians do? They spend millions of dollars just so they can sit on TV for 2 minutes and talk about all the things they can't do. Its offensive to watch that."  Clark grew increasingly angry over the subject. While Clark's situation was not nearly as grave as many other people, she clearly has been affected and feels for those who have been put in a much worse situation as a result of the current economic climate.

The interviews I did gave a voice to the economic problem. It was also very insightful. While not every person in American had fall victim to the economy, it is still important to remember that many other people have. When the individual stories get told, it becomes heat wrenching. At the same time, however, there is hope and things are getting better, slowly but surely.

Query Letter

December 16, 2010


To: Pete Ellertsen

From: Erick Clark


The American Economy has been a big issue now for well over two years. However, Americans are growing frustrated with the same news about the economy and they are equally frustrated with the way the new is being presented. American is looking for a fresh and new way to present the same story. While the economy is still a big issue and it deserves all the attention that it gets, it is important to find a new and exciting way to present the news regarding the economy. I believe my article will achieve that and more.


I have a history of writing in various situations. I wrote for my high school newspaper and I also do some freelance work as well. I am a recent college graduate and many of the ideas and techniques I have learned are still fresh in my mind, and I believe that also gives me an advantage.


As I stated earlier, I believe that people are looking for a new style and I believe your readers are ready for something new. The economy is something that I have studied extensively and I believe that I have the necessary skills to provide readers with a great deal of insight in a new form. I have extensive writing, journalism, and reporting skills. I have attached a sample of some of my writing. Included is a 1500 word essay I have written on the economy as well as a 1500 word story I wrote regarding the modern age of journalism.


Respectively,


Erick R. Clark

Analysis for newspaper feature

In Julia O'Malley's article on diversity training for radio announcers, she discussed how a joke that was broadcasted of the radio led to much more than just an innocent joke. Basically in the story O'Malley talks about the radio station KWHL out of Alaska, which is hosted by Bob Lester and Mark Colavecchio had to do some damage control after Lester and Colavecchio made a joke regarding Indians. The joke was in reference to one particular Indian tribe, the Tlingit, which is pronounced KLINK-it. The joke was about "Cash for Tlingit". This joke was heard by some people that took offense to it, specifically Rochene Rowan-Hellén, who then contacted the appropriate authorities. This then led to a meeting with FAI officials, Lester, Colvecchio and other employees of the radio station. After this Lester and Colvecchio attened the Alaska Native Heritage Center, where they gained insight on Native culture and they also realized they had lots of fans there. Going forward the radio station employees have will review all material before airing to make sure there are not any racial undertones.
O'Malley presented this story very thoroughly and with great detail. She was able to get across just how serious of a situation it was. She also has a very professional style of writing. The sources that she gathered made the story much more interesting and detailed.

Analysis for Magazine Feature

In Mary Delach Leonards article, Are Illinois Voters too Turned of to Vote, she discuss the political environment in the state of Illinois. Leonard talks about how voters in Illinois have become frustrated with negative and pointless attacks, and how they desperately want reform within the voting arena.She points out that voters in Illinois have become increasingly cynical when it comes to politicians and their real goals. Leonards provides much detail and statistics on the subject. The statistics that she provided shows that people in Illinois really would like some kind of political reform. In addition to the growing cynicism voters are feeling, many of them just flat out do not trust Illinois politicians. She interviewed quite a few people to get the story. She interviewed Cindi Canary, who is the director for the Illinois Campaign for Political Reform. Canary provided insight on just how nasty and negative political ads have become. As an example, she used that Governors race between Pat Quinn and Bill Brady and how they basically took turns trying to connect Rod  Blagojevich to the other person. Canary points out that they did this so much that in the end, it may not matter who was more connected with him and the Blagojevich factor my be completely irrelevant as well.  Canary also points out the theory that voters in Illinois may have to end up choosing between the lesser of two evils since it has become apparent that most candidates in the major races in Illinois are corrupt in one way or another.By getting Canary's comments added to the story Leonard was able to bring more detail to the story. Leonard brought out another very interesting point in the article which is the fact that while many people want political change, very few are actually willing to do anything about it. She interviewed John Jackson to help illustrate this point. John Jackson, who is a professor at Southern Illinois University Carbondale, says that basically voters find  its much  easier to take a poll and answer the phone, than it is to actually vote. Leonards article also talks about  how some of the blame for the distrust of politicians among voters comes from Blagjevich. However, Andrew Theising is hesitant to place the blame on Blagojevich alone. Theising, who is a professor of political science at Southern Illinois University at Edwardsville, suggest that most of the blame for voter skepticism is is a mixture of laziness combined with a history of corruption in Illinois among both Democrats and Republicans. He also points out that negative ads actually work and the politicians do this type of advertising on purpose to sway voters attention from real and important issues. Theising admits that there is an anti-incumbent mood right now, but that is to be expected in midterm elections. He also points out that even though people are tired of same negativity and tired of the same politicians with their empty promises, not much will change since voters seem to enjoy complaining more than voting for the change they so desperately  claim they want. So in essence, even though there is a powerful anti-incumbent mood in Illinois, most incumbents will likely remain in office, as history has shown.
The article was well written and did a good job at keeping the attention of the reader. The comments made by other people such as John Thising and Cindi Canary gave the article strength and validity.

Analysis for opinion feature

In Julia O'Malleys article, she brought a very professional style of writing. However, she did seem a little frustrated with the people she wrote the article about. The story was basically about her not being allowed into a campaign event for Senate candidate, Joe Miller.
She described how she was told to leave and that the press was not allowed in are allowed to talk to the candidate. This was a further frustration since O'Malley was not even there to talk to the candidate, but more to talk to the other people their and to get a feel for how he interacts with people.She also wanted to get an idea of what voters themselves were thinking. 
She made an attempt to be fair and evenhanded and she succeeded. She also did a very good job at describing the the story, she provided a lot of details about where the event was located, she also did a good job at describing the overall atmosphere.
She maintained an objective tone throughout the story, never jumping to any conclusions. The next day Miller's campaign said that the whole situation was mistake and a big miscommunication. They said that O'Malley should have been allowed to stay. O'Malley and other people from the media were allowed to attend future events, professionally, O'Malley accepted and said she would love to get the opportunity to speak with people. However, she still remained somewhat skeptical.

Analysis for the public affairs writing piece

This was a very interesting article. It did a really good job of catching and keeping the attention of the reader. I'm a sure that for many people it hits home. The author, David Streitfeld, did a really good job at getting his point across. His style of writing also helped the reader get really involved in the story.
Streitfeld also brought a very professional tone to his writing, it was clear that he really cares about the story. While he clearly had an agenda of exposing the corruption in the foreclosure process at GMAC, he still got all sides of the story. Streitfeld did this by speaking with Nicolle Bradbury, who owns the home that is being foreclosed on; Thomas Cox, who is the lawyer representing Bradbury; he also made several attempts to speak with representatives from GMAC, but his calls were not returned.
The article was also very detailed, which really helped the reader understand exactly what was going on. The author gave details of the house being foreclosed on, as well as the yard and what the front yard looks like. He was able to give these descriptions by going to the home at taking a fist hand look at the situation. streitfled also provided statistical details as well as other facts regarding foreclosures nation wide. I would imagine that details like GMAC being the fourth-largest mortgage lender in America and the fact that GMAC borrowed $17 billion in taxpayer money to stay afloat, was found out by researching and studying official documents. Being how detailed and powerful the article was, I would imagine that it took Streitfeld a few months to research and gather all the information and to put together the interviews, as well as actually form the story. I'm sure at times it may have been tedious, but the end result was a great and informative article, I believe it was very much so worth it.
The details of the story added strength and imagery. Without the details the story would not have been as effective. I believe Strefeld made an honest attempt to be objective, but since he was unable to speak with anyone from GMAC, It made it difficult to be objective, which is a valid reason.
I'm sure that Streitfled would see his writing as a from of art, not a craft. Journalist Donald Murray brings out the point that before art can become art, it must first be a craft. According to Murray a craft is a stepping stone to reach art. Before anyone can become a great or artistic writer or reporter, they first must practice writing and reporting as a craft. In a sense reporting and writing go hand and hand together. In Streitfled's writing he brings the two together very well.

what i want to learn from com 337

I expect to learn many things in this class. I mostly want to become a better writer. I am hoping this will enable me to become more effective in jornalism writing and writing in everyday life. I also would like to know various writing techniques and methods. I would also like to learn the different steps in the story making process and find which job may suite me best, should I get a job in that field.
I would expect to also learn about giving a good interview and asking appropiate questions that are relevant to the story. Also deciding what all should be included in the final story and what should be omitted. The editing process is also something I would like to learn more about. Making sure the appropiate word is used and also the grammar is done in the right way. Also, writing the words and speaking the words that will grab your attention and keep it are also things I would like to learn.
I would also like to be a more even handed and fair writer. It can be difficult for me to keep my opinion out of a story. I would like to learn how to use the writing techniques that would appeal to the masses and keep the people reading the story interested.
Another thing I would like to get out of this class is how to become a better team player and how to work well with others.