We discussed alternative ledes this week and began to discuss profile writing.
For your profile, you will be required to pitch a person you wish to profile and then set up time to talk with them, as your primary source. You will also have to interview other folks as well to round out your story.
Sometimes talking to your primary source is not possible and you have to interview others who know them and use documents (we will learn how to do this later this semester) to pull telling details and information about them.
CoJMC alumna Patti Gallagher Newberry is covering the trial for the Cincinnati Enquirer and she crafted a wonderful profile of the defendant George Wagner IV without ever talking to him. No writer has yet to do that. She was able to fashion the story below about him based on court testimony and other public records.
Please read it here:
She has graciously agreed to make a short video about why she decided to write this story, how she went about crafting it and what the response has been to it.
Questions for students. In this post, please answer 1 + 2 completely.
Read the story and pick out three sources she used in the story. Name them and discuss why she used them as sources.
What type of lede did Newberry use. Name it please. Where is the story's nut graph and how did you know it was the nut graph.
Leave a question for Patti here and we will work to get it answered.
Three of the sources that Newberry used in her profile were Tabitha Claytor, Samantha Staley and Jeffery Tackett. I think Claytor was one of the most significant sources in the profile, as she was married to George and knew about the family and the issues they had. Staley was a witness for the trial and helped to paint a picture of George's character she was able to do this because the two grew up together and she knew the family. Tackett was a friend of Billy Wagner and was able to describe what the marriage of the Wagner parents looked like adding to the tension that faced George.
From my reading on ledes, I believe Newberry used a "zinger lede."…
Lexie Worden
1. Newberry used Samantha Staley, Tabitha Claytor and Jeffrey Tackett. Staley is an important source to the story because she was one of the witnesses and she also grew up knowing George. Claytor is also a really great source because she was his former girlfriend and ex-wife and knows a lot about him. She exposed secrets about his family and the feuds that occurred during their relationship. She shared her experiences of fear and violence with him. Tackett was a good former friend of Billy Wagner and has lots to say about George's parents "strained marriage." Tackett shared that he once helped him move out.
2. Newberry used a zinger. It's quick and it gets right to the…
Read the story and pick out three sources she used in the story. Name them and discuss why she used them as sources.
Three sources Newberry used were Tabitha Claytor, Samantha Staley and Jeffrey Tackett.
Tabitha Claytor was a crucial source for the story since she was married to George Wagner IV for two and a half years. Claytor's testimony showed some of the Wagner family's strange actions and might've given readers some sympathy for Wagner IV because she said they would probably still be together if it weren't for his family. Hearing from Claytor was important since she had such a close relationship with him. Her testimony showed he was worthy of love.
Samantha Staley's testimony gave some insight…