Chapter 17 on profiles and obituaries covered a lot of ground, from tips and experience of long-time journalist Alan Richman, writer at GQ, to the essential elements of both profiles and obituaries, important methods such as GOAL, structures, and guidelines. The information surrounding turning points and the GOAL was very informative and helped give me an idea of the larger scope of a profile. As I am beginning to think about my profile story and how much information I want to gather, it was helpful to have some ideas surrounding what patterns I might look for or decisive moments and pay attention to what aspect of the future I can bring to the story. The GOAL method mentioned on page 325 was also a great graphic that helped me visualize what information I might want to gather through my interviewing questions, such as the goals of the past, present, and future, potential obstacles and what they achieved, and relevant background history that can add some context and grounding to the story. I also liked how this chapter made sure to mention numerous times, specifically on pages 331-2, how important maintaining focus is and with profiles also to make sure that there is an awareness of why this story is important now. Focus, angle, and impact are all recurring topics from our class workshop from our feature story, and the profiles feel like they need the same, if not more, craft surrounding this. One aspect of the obituary section that came through as incredibly essential, as in most journalism, was the dedication to background research and the accuracy of facts. That work informs the success and credibility of the whole piece and allows a person’s life to be portrayed accurately and with respect.
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