The article “Eagle Snatches Dog While Owner Watches” demonstrates a classic problem in the field of journalism: It is complete in the macro level but incomplete in the micro level. In the macro level, the article gives readers a general idea of what happened. It is organized in inverted pyramid form, it has meaningful quotes, and it has a funny and memorable ending. However, in the micro level, the article has many holes.
To begin with, the headline does not reflect the story, which is a common problem in journalism. Often, reporters and editors will write catchy and convenient headlines without concern for accuracy. In this case, the headline is misleading because it makes it seem as though the owner knew that the eagle would snatch the dog and was passively watching as it happened. I think a more accurate headline would be “Eagle snatches dog in front of owner.”Also, the headline is incorrectly written in upstyle case.
The story is missing many important details. Here is a list of questions that, if answered, could improve the clarity of the article:
1. When did this happen? The date and time of the occurrence are missing from the nut graph.
2. What is the name of the dog? One of the basic rules of journalism is to ask for the name of the animal. It adds a twist to the story and increases the human interest appeal.
3. Where is the parking station where this happened? Local residents would probably want to know the address of the gas station, especially if they live nearby and have a pet.
4. What was Fleming (the gas attendant) doing while this happened? How close was he? How much can we trust his testimony?
5. Why did the reporter only interview one person? Interviewing only one source sets off the balance of the article because the reader only has one side of the story. Fleming could possibly be exaggerating the facts.
6. Why are the owners unidentified? Did they leave right away? The story would have been more interesting with first person accounts. Also, the reader wants to know what the couple did after their dog was snatched.
In general, the article covers the basic information in a condensed manner. The quotes and ending add to the article’s comical tone. However, a few details could be added to improve human interest, clarity and balance.
Excellent analysis
ReplyDelete