Please upload a post discussing the ways that Andrea Elliott organized this prize-winning feature story.
Monthly Archives: November 2014
found a new conflict story on dnainfo.com
Battle in Black and White Response
What techniques does Amy Fox use in narrating this conflict story? Who are her sources? What kind of research did she do? What is the arc of this conflict story and where is the nut graf?
In her piece “Battle in Black and White,” Amy Fox employs flashbacks when talking about the story of the Stuyvesant Town Housing. She uses details from the accounts of her grandparents, mother, and other residents who used to live in the housing, as well as the current residents. She had a lot of first person accounts during her research, as well as doing archival research about the history of the housing. The arc of the story happened when the white residents in Stuyvesant Town began to stand up for the rights of the black residents in the housing, in order to support integration. Also, the arc links the historical story of Stuyvesant Town with the modern sentiments of racial tensions that are happening in the neighborhood. The nut graf of the story is the third and fourth grafs
Battle in black and white response
What techniques does Amy Fox use in narrating this conflict story?
Amy Fox uses a technique that many writers don’t often use in straight news stories. She uses her personal experiences and history to unravel the story, additionally, she does this by placing herself directly in the story, using the word “I”. She displaces her own reflections and emotions into the story.
Who were her sources?
Fox uses accounts from her parents, grandparents, Stuy Town’s creator Frederick Ecker, Dr. Lorch, Hardine Hendrix,
What kind of research did she do?
She gathered a lot of historical research from first hand documents, the Stuy Town resident’s committee, in-person interviews,
What is the arc of this conflict story and where is the nut graf?
The arc of this conflict story lies in the racial tensions between blacks and whites in the 1950’s, post WW2 in the Stuyvesant Town area of Manhattan. The nut graf can be found in the second paragraph.
Conflict Pitch
For my conflict story I would like to cover the rent-control problems in Long Island City. Many residents in Long Island City have rent-controlled apartments, however many landlords and property companies have been attempting to kick these tenants out because they are losing money. Companies like Vantage Properties have been sued by even the mayor for constantly harassing tenants. This is a real and prevalent issue and I hope to interview rent-controlled tenants who have dealt with this issue, as well as lawyers and brokers who can shed some light on the topic to balance the story out.
Some questions I would ask the tenants:
1. how long have you lived in the rent-controlled apartment, what is your rent compared to other tenants who dont have rent control?
2. How would you describe your interaction with your landlord?
3. Do you feel their presence constantly to the point where it could be considered harassment?
Some questions I would ask lawyers and brokers:
1. What are some methods that landlords could kick tenants out?
2. How often do these cases come into the law offices?
3. What are the tenants legal rights concerning rent-control, how could they fight back?
Protected: Conflict Story Pitch – Williamsburg
Protected: Conflict Story
Battle in Black and White Commentary
Amy Fox’s article Battle in Black and White is unique in its nature because Fox writes the story from a personal perspective. The arc of her story covers her grandparents participation in the battle to integrate the Stuyvesant Town housing complex in 1952. Her grandparents were in danger of being evicted from their apartments because of fighting their landlord, Metropolitan Life Insurance, over their policy of rejecting the applications of black veterans.
Fox’s article included a lot of background history on her grandparents, but she was still able to tell the story without sounding biased. She included facts on both sides of the argument backed by historical evidence and eyewitness testimony. For her article, Fox interviewed her mother, who was 5 years old at the time of the events, Dr. Lee Lorch, who was dismissed from the housincomplex and various jobs for his participation in the civil rights act, and current African Americans who currently live in the area. Fox also used the resources of the New York Public Library to fill in the missing pieces.
I appreciate how Fox was able to spin the age old battle of black and white in a narrative way. The article read more like a novel than a conflict piece. Fox also shed light on the racial tensions that still exist in Stuyvesant Town today.
Protected: Conflict Pitch
Conflict Story Pitch-Wash. Heights
For my conflict story, I think it is best to focus on the gentrification of Washington Heights. I know this may sound like a general theme, but it’s also a pretty important conflict that needs more attention, at least from a different angle, than what has been previously reported.
I’m interested in hearing the voices of a few businesses that have been really affected by gentrification; though I imagine this may be a little tedious to get done.
As of the moment, I haven’t thought through possible questions, as I’m conflicted with how to approach and which direction I can go in with this broad topic. I would really appreciate any suggestions.