Saving local news takes journalistic independence

Jill Disis’s CNN article, “These startups are trying to save local news” chooses style over her reader’s comprehension at every turn and her writing is worse off for it. In an effort to add her own voice to the piece, Disis loses a level comprehensibility that requires constant re-reading to make up the difference. The […]

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Local news is declining, but why should you care?

I don’t know if I would say the lede of this article, “These startups are trying to save local news”, was necessarily powerful. However, right off the bat I was curious why journalist Larry Ryckman left his job. The author makes this clear in the next few sentences: the Denver Post’s corporate owners were up […]

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Don’t judge an article by its lede

Jill Disis’s lede jumps at the reader, a punchy sentence that immediately introduces tension into her article. The nut graph backs off, drawing the audience in with more nuanced context to the lede, following up on the introduced conflict between Larry Ryckman, former senior editor of news at the Denver Post, and the Post’s corporate […]

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Newsrooms vs. Their Owners: Why Can’t We Be Friends?

To me, the lede of this article does not seem to match it’s intent – it is an explanation of some problems between The Denver Post and its owners, Alden Global Capital while also centering around the Post’s former senior editor Larry Ryckman. I think it would have been more effective to focus on describing […]

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Getting down to the nutty-gritty: Startups save local news?

Jill Disis’s article, “These startup are trying to save local news”, tells a story about new challenges facing local news organizations in the online era but never delivers on the promises made in the catchy title and loses sight of the message throughout the article. The article begins with a solid lede, hooking the reader […]

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The Hope for Decentralized Journalism

The article about startups saving local news was a hopeful read but was ultimately clouded by bias and disorganization. The lede was concise, outlining the problem clearly and obviously, but presented the solution; journalists creating their own news outlets with the help of investors. The nut graph was laid out well by giving enough information […]

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Moving Towards Decentralized Journalism

This article on reforming models of journalism was an interesting yet repetitive post without a strong tangible connection to real world relevance. The lede was somewhat interesting and got me considerably interested in the article. I particularly appreciated the impactful beginning quote with powerful, captivating language that depicted the gravity and emotion of the journalist’s […]

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Startups Jeopardizing Independent Journalists

This article on journalism startups was a promising, but ultimately disappointing, read. The lede hooked me and was well-supported by the nut graph. A quote between melded the components and the language painted the scene at The Post. The nut graph was a dance, revealing some information while hinting at details yet to come. It […]

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An Article About Journalism Strays from Its Basic Rules

After reading Jill Disis’ article, “These startups are trying to save local news,” I was intrigued by the topic, as someone who might end up in a similar situation someday. However, there were a few technical things I wished were different. First, I wanted the lede to be more engaging. Had it used action verbs […]

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Journalists enter the wild…with the help of crowdfunding

The CNN Business article by Jill Disis examines media start ups and follows a generally strong story structure. The lede uses an anecdote about Larry Ryckman to hook the reader in to want to learn more about the mysterious reasons the journalist left the Denver Post. It was a bit misleading though as the story […]

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