“Amanda Burden Wants to Remake New York…” was a somewhat interesting read. However, I found that the profile lacked a lot of personable details. Julie Satow, author of the article, clearly illustrated effort but hadn’t quite hit the mark in my opinion.

In order to describe Amanda’s appearance and surroundings, Julie used a string of adjectives and direct statements. This straight-to-the-point approach did little for the piece and not only seemed forced but also insincere. Throughout the rest of the article, it seemed as though Julie was far more comfortable with facts and statistics than with personal description. Instead of helping readers along by unraveling details about Amanda’s past and present endeavors, she simply stated them one after the other in sequence and separated one part of the story from the other.

Writing a profile piece is a great way to engage readers and tug at their heartstrings. Thus, I believe that a successful profile should have a fair balance between personal interest topics and data. Without personality, sincerity, and flow, it’s a difficult thing to accomplish. And, although Satow makes the effort, she doesn’t quite grasp the personable aspects of Amanda’s life and seems to focus her piece solely on the projects and the business aspect. She struggles to make her writing flow freely and break through the tight constraints of journalistic writing just long enough to accomplish a well written piece.

Even so, I think that even her reporting could use a little work. It follows traditional guidelines but it’s somewhat rigid and lacks a bit of her own personality as well.

Amanda Burden’s profile provides detailed information about both her personal and professional life, which is communicated through descriptive language.
I appreciate the writer’s description of how Burden was “perched on a seat at the enormous round table that dominates her well-worn second floor office at 22 Reade Street” as this enables the reader to get a complete picture of the scene. The author successfully incorporated these details without distracting the reader from what the main point of the section is discussing.
This article is well balanced with the writer’s inclusion of additional sources. By mentioning “her fans” and subsequently quoting people like the president of the Municipal Art Society of New York, the writer provides a comprehensive perspective of whom Burden is. This enables the reader to interpret not just what Burden or the writer have to say about Burden, but also the thoughts of those who have worked with her. The writer also balances the voice of this article by including what Burden’s “critics” think. Since this is a profile of a person and includes details of her social life,  it would also be interesting to hear from more personal sources, such as friends or family in addition Burden’s professional contacts.
Since our profiles will be shorter than that of Burden, I wonder how much of the article should focus on the work an individual does as opposed to the subject’s personal life. If this article had to meet a shorter word count, for example, I think the writer could safely omit a few details regarding the projects, such as the paragraph discussing how city projects are certified.
It can be difficult to incorporate both personal and professional details in one article. In this profile, however, the writer successfully incorporates the two. This combination is apparent in sentences like, “Ms. Burden, who spends her leisure time walking the city, boating or birding, argues that ‘good design is good economic development, and I know this is true.’” To illustrate the relevance of these personal details, perhaps the reader could mention the High Line earlier in the paragraph, as this project seems to align with her related outdoor interests.
I appreciate the writer’s use of quotation to conclude the article. The quote highlights the work that has been done and also the impact she hopes it will have in the future.