Feature Writing Preview

1. What is the difference between a hard news lead (lede) and the one you read above?
A hard news summarizes the story that you are about to read while this story hooks you and get's the reader interested.

2. What paragraph(s) did you learn the following information?
a. Who: 2
b. What: 2
c. Where: 2
d. When: 2
e. Why: 2
f. How: 2

3. Are there quotes in this story?
Yes there are a few quotes

4. Are those quotes arranged in the "quote-transiton" style we used in news writing?
No they are not arranged in quote-transistion style

5. Who is quoted in the story?
Ken Andrews
Tony Florentino
Shane Cormier
Frank Willson
Patrick Harris
Ted Williams
Doral Chenoweth
Kevin McLoughlin


6. What quote is the most powerful in the story, in your opinion?
I think Chenworths quote is the most powerful. "We run into these guys at the exit ramps and we pretty much ignore them," said Chenoweth, who was en route with his wife to the grocery store when he first saw Williams. "This guy was using his talent." It shows that he was special and others can be too.

7. How many paragraphs is the story?
34 paragraphs

8. How many words is the story (hint: you can copy and paste into Word and get a word count)?
765 words

9. What is significant about the lead (lede) and the final paragraph of the story?
The lede and the final paragraph of the story are both very short and simple. The lead stars with just an idea of a voice while the final paragraph puts the voice with a person, that voice could be his.

10. Why do you think the writer did that with the lead (lede) and final paragraph?
I thin the author was trying to start off with an idea and end with a summary of that idea but keep it simple.

11. Was the story interesting to read?
Yes the story was interesting to read because the topic was intriguing and had lots of details and had a real storyline.

12. When you finished the story, but BEFORE you watched the video, did you want to hear the voice?
Yes I did want to hear the voice, Throughout the story the people talked about how much money he could make and how popular he is. I wanted to know what kind of voice could cause such a rave over a homeless man.

13. Multimedia approaches are powerful tools, what impact did the video have when watched directly after reading the story?
When I watched the video after having read the story, I was shocked. To hear that voice coming out of that man really made me understand the truth in the words of that feature story. He really did have a God given voice.

14. Would the story have lost its impact without the video?
I don't think it would have completely lost it's impact but the video definitely makes a difference. The reader wants to know what he sounds like and without hearing the voice, the reader doesn't quite understand why Williams was getting so popular.

15. Did the writer try to come up with a way for you to hear the voice, i.e. did he try to describe the voice or give you a way to "hear" the voice without really hearing it?
The author did find ways to describe the voice to us as special and good for radios.

16. How did the writer do that?
The way they talked about how much money his voice was worth helped the reader understand that there was something special about it. Including the phrase, "he had a god given voice." Furthermore, he used many describing words such as "radiant pipes" or describing it as "the voice." The author as able to make it clear to us that his voice was special and good for radio shows.