Pulitzer Prizes

The Pulitzer Prizes were announced Monday. One of my favorite writers (and a very nice, humble person) won. Some of you may recognize this story from last semester's advanced reporting class.

The Girl in the Window, by Lane DeGregory of the St. Petersburg Times.

Of course, if there was any doubt that the St. Pete Times is by far the best newspaper in the country, when it comes to writing, that doubt was dispelled on Monday. One of DeGregory's colleagues was a finalist for the Pulitzer in feature writing.

Winter's Tale, by John Barry of the St. Petersburg Times. The story is about a rescued baby dolphin that needed a new tail, and got one.

The other two finalists are:

Jon Sarkin: The Accidental Artist, by Amy Ellis Nutt of the New Jersey Star-Ledger. The story is about a chiropractor who suffered a severe stroke following brain surgery and became a wildly creative artist.

Fixing Mr. Fix-it, by Diane Suchetka of the Plain Dealer (that's right, the Cleveland Plain Dealer. The paper had two Pulitzer finalists this year). The story is about a mechanic whose arms were reattached after being severed in an accident.

Ana's Story

Part I

Part II

Grizzly Bear Story

Bizarre, gruesome, funny? What do you think of the ending?

http://www.latimes.com/news/local/la-trw-attackedbyagrizzly29apr29,0,7309450.story?page=1

Endings

Read these stories, and think about the endings. Why do they work? What sets them apart from any other, ordinary ending?

Waiting for death, alone and unafraid (Thomas Curwen of the Los Angeles Times)

About New York; A Gambler Sees Beyond The Jackpot (Dan Berry of The New York Times)

Two stories for Tuesday

The Lives and Remnants of Others, by Inara Verzemnieks of the Oregonian. This three-part story is about a warehouse that collects people's old stuff, and then gives it to others in need.

Body Collector in Detroit Answers When Death Calls, by Charlie LeDuff (he's the guy who wrote the story about the homeless guy found frozen in ice in Detroit). This is part of a series LeDuff did, called American Album, which was about ordinary people around the country.

Fatal Distraction

Here is the Gene Weingarten piece that I talked about earlier this week.

Here is a Gangrey.com conversation that was sparked by this story.

Another 25 Things feature

This one is worth reading. It's by Michael Kruse of the St. Pete Times, a supremely gifted writer and a good guy to boot. And he's not even 30 years old yet.

Running for president

More from Joe Blundo, mostly from last year before the election.

Humor columns

Read these columns for Tuesday's class.

Joe Blundo, from the Columbus Dispatch, on the Super Bowl.

And here is Blundo on the new president.

Nothing beats reading about colons, so here is Dave Barry from about one year ago.

And Barry on the inauguration.

Why don't you all look for a good humor column as well.

Pearls Before Breakfast

Read this for Thursday's class. Try and pick out all the research that went into the piece, and think about how Weingarten went about doing that research.

This story won the Pulitzer for feature writing last year. While you don't have to read the Saul Pett piece, skim it and then compare the two.

We'll talk about this on Thursday.

Reporter finds dead body encased in ice

You have to read this. You just have to.

Reviews: Books, movies and restaurants

I've compiled several examples of book, movie and restaurant reviews to give you an idea of how they should be done.

Books
Growing Up and Getting by in the Land of the Nine-Month Winter (New York Times)

An Egotistical Architect as Seen by His Women (New York Times)

Insider's View of What Went Wrong in the Bronx (New York Times)

Movies
Dim 'Twilight' (Columbus Dispatch)

'Cats are back' (Columbus Dispatch)

Aging beautifully (Columbus Dispatch)

Restaurants
Street Menu That Says Stay a While (New York Times)

New Sparkle for a Four-Star Gem (New York Times)

A Climate That Favors Comfort (New York Times)

And, here are some tips for writing reviews:

Restaurant Reviews

Movie Reviews

Readings for Thursday

Read these features that stem from Tuesday's inauguration. I've tried to pick stories that were unique, which is hard when there are 8,000 media outlets (a made-up number, I'm sure it was higher).

As you read them, think about the ideas behind the stories. Think about how they fit into the types of features discussed in the textbook.

Hank Stuever in the Washington Post: "Everyone says they came to "witness history." They came to photograph history and text history and make video of history. They came to witness people who are witnessing people who are witnessing history who are in turn witnessing you witnessing history. Constant status updates on the witnessing of history."

Dan Barry in the New York Times: Shortly before lunchtime on Tuesday, a strange quiet settled over Junction City Middle School. Strange because quiet does not come naturally to a collection of 875 students in the full throes of adolescence. But this clearly was a moment, a time to set aside childish things.

Richard Lake in the Las Vegas Review Journal: Looking for Barack Obama keepsakes so you can celebrate today's (historic, we hear) inauguration as any good American will, with kitsch?

Go get yourself an Obama Pedicure. Or a Barack Thong. Heck, get a T-shirt or a baby bib with his mug shot pasted onto it.

But do not go looking for a first edition of The Amazing Spider-Man #583, released Jan. 14 -- especially the one with Obama on the cover. Your quest will fail.

Final Salute

We'll look at this story by Jim Sheeler in class, but if you get a chance, look it over before hand. Compare it to Mrs. Kelly's Monster, and look for the differences between a Pulitzer-winning feature from 1978 and a Pulitzer-winning feature from 2006.

"One thing about chefs, we're all full of s---."

We'll start things off with a feature from Ben Montgomery of the St. Petersburg Times. Ben is an insanely talented writer, and he is also one of the creators of Gangrey.com, which is also a blog that posts the best in narrative writing from around the country. You should all check out Gangrey at some time, because there is always good stuff there.

Anyway, here is how this story kicks off:

The old man looks uncomfortable.

Tell the one about the dead baby, everyone is saying. Tell the one about stealing three cabs in one night.

It's late afternoon at MJ's Martini Jazz Lounge in St. Petersburg, and Chef Tom Pritchard is holding court on the patio. The 50 or so guests here to plan his upcoming charity roast have adjourned their meeting and some are now mingling around the guest of honor, wine glasses in hand, prodding him.

Pritchard sits quietly, but he wants to please.

Tell the one about snorting Tabasco.

Pritchard looks up.

"Anyone can drink Tabasco," he mumbles.