Please follow the link and read the article. It's pretty amazing.
http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?file=%2Fchronicle%2Farchive%2F2001%2F01%2F10%2FMN160983.DTL
I just thought I would share this with you guys because of the way I stumbled across it...my friend posted it on Facebook.
It is just interesting how one person finds these fascinating articles and can post them on Facebook and then they can get passed on to blogs and other networking sites over and over again so that thousands of people read it.
About the article itself, I think this is a great example of a good lede.
"If you're an ironworker on the Golden Gate Bridge and your home phone rings at 3 a.m., you know it's trouble."
It's only one sentence, but it so perfectly captures the tone, the urgency, and the location so compactly. It really makes you want to continue reading.
What do you guys think about this article? What are your thoughts about the extent to which a simple article like this can spread like wildfire via the internet?
Friday, July 17, 2009
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ReplyDeleteI find this article absolutely astonishing. It is amazing how heroes such as these are so underrecognized. As for the lede, it is definitely an attention-getter.
ReplyDeleteScott Ostler is one great example of a writer who uses his rhetorical srategies and really connects with his audience. His short stories enhanced this column even more and his simple, but effective sentences are a prime example of what Professor Bansiky was telling us about in class. He didn't get too complicated but his word choice fit the tone and mood of the column.
ReplyDeleteI love that in some way, anyone who reads this could find a relation to the ironworkers. For example, I find these ironworkers similar to teachers who sometimes do things they do not have to do for their students.
The fact that such a simple but powerful article spread like this through the internet doesn't really amaze me. This is basically what our world is turning into: people posting what they want, where they want, so who they want can see it. I'm glad they did.