Journalism

Instructions

In Telling True Stories, Kramer and Call (2007) identify several literary journalism “cousin genres,” character profile, historical writing, investigative reporting, radio documentary and others. Telling True Stories also details various tools and techniques used by narrative nonfiction writers/reporters to increase quality and impact; Jack Hart summarizes and briefly explains many of these tools in “A Storyteller’s Lexicon” on pages 235-238.

For Discuss #3, analyze one of the following three recent Pulitzer Prize winning feature writing stories for its genre and narrative tools/techniques:

“A Most American Terrorist: The Making of Dylann Roof” by Rachel Kaadzi Ghansah, GQ
Pulitzer Prize—Feature Writing, 2017

“Snow Fall: The Avalanche” by John Branch, New York Times
Pulitzer Prize—Feature Writing, 2013

“Fatal Distraction” by Gene Weingarten, The Washington Post
Pulitzer Prize—Feature Writing, 2010

First, identify the title, author and genre(s) represented by the story you picked. Next, explain in one or two paragraphs what you liked about the story, and comment on some of the literary techniques used by its author that helped make it an exemplary example of narrative nonfiction. Note that all of the selections above are exemplary because there is no prize higher in journalism than a Pulitzer Prize. Make sure to cite sources when appropriate.