Discussion: Any issues arising as you work on getting your first drafts to me by class time on Monday.
In-class writing exercise
Feature lede and nut graph based on these reporter’s notes:
The Parks Department recorded 35 separate incidents in which animal heads and decapitated corpses were found in city parks from 2010 – 2014.
Practitioners of various religions (Voodoo, Santeria, certain sects of Hinduism) sometimes leave sacrificial chickens on the edge of Jamaica Bay in Howard Beach, Queens.
Homeless man living under North Channel Bridge in Howard Beach has been rescuing abandoned chickens
Ahmed Yasin, 42, raised Muslim in Guyana but is a practicing Christian
The most he’s had at one time was about 2 dozen, mostly roosters (20)
Feeds them scraps of stale bagels found in a nearby trash can, soaks them in water to make them soft enough to eat
“I don’t know who brings them. They leave them in boxes to die.” – Yasin
The dominant rooster, Anthony, is black and white and fat. One hen named Blue often jumps onto Yasin’s shoulder and nuzzles his neck. One of the first roosters Yasin ever found is named Gimpy because his talons had been cut off.
State Assemblyman Phil Goldbaum (his district includes Howard Beach): “I think it’s a slippery slope once you start regulating religion.”
Chickens accounted for 189 of the 415 complaints about non-domesticated animals filed through the city’s 311 system from 2014 through 2015 -city Health Department.
Guest speaker: Danielle Tcholakian, reporter covering Greenwich Village and Soho for DNAinfo. Read this feature story she reported and start thinking about questions for her. How does she find stories as a local beat reporter, etc.?