The part of the reading that resonated with me the most was chapter 11. Though the inverted pyramid is traditional, food writing often is written in one of the other structural formats.
I had never thought of recipe writing as service journalism before. It was used as an example in the chapter because it is something that people can use. I honestly don't normally think of recipe writing as journalism at all--it is typically done by a chef, not a journalist, and oftentimes the majority of either the ingredients or the techniques is unoriginal, based in tradition or science. It's also the food writing most often seen in newspaper food and dining sections as those portions of papers get slimmed down. Recipe writing typically takes a while to do, however, longer than a typical news story. Recipes must be repeatedly tested to ensure that they work not only in the test kitchen, but also in home kitchens. Does service journalism as a whole require more time? Given its mission, it wouldn't be surprising if it does. If people are going to use the information or apply it to something else, it seems to me that there is a certain sense of responsibility that comes with that.
Chef profiles, restaurant openings, farmer profiles, and other food-related stories are often structured as a chronology or news narrative. Whether the news narrative is focused more on the news or on the narrative is dependent upon the specifics of the individual story. Oftentimes recipes accompany these stories, perhaps a chef's signature recipe. In that type of story, several frameworks are combined.
I like the concept of "news you can use". I want to read what I care about and what matters to me. I care about things like food and where I should eat and I don't want to have to go digging through the newspaper to find things like that. I also like that a lot of service journalism combines several formats, this keeps the stories interesting and I'm more likely to read the whole story.
ReplyDeleteNews that people are going to use -- whether to bake a pie, build a fence or file for a tax rebate -- takes time to write because it should be foolproof. Much writing about personal health fits the service journalism category, because what the journalist writes will be used by real people to make decisions that affect them or their loved ones.
ReplyDeleteI appreciate the news-you-can-use concept in that it feels more personal. It's important that I know the most recent information coming out of the middle east, but sometimes what resonates even more is a story on a topic that affects my everyday life. For Lauren and her background in food, she might find articles related to food and recipes more compelling, especially when they are written in a different format, like the news narrative.
ReplyDeleteLauren, I shared the same opinion about recipe writing with you.I regarded it as advertisement before. But after reading the chapter, I realized that it was not easy to write a good and attractive food recipe. Also there are so many things we can write about in food area.
ReplyDeleteWith "news you can use," I think it appeals to a particular niche, and with food in particular, appealing to a particular audience can be successful. With sustainability and improving food quality being such a big discourse right now, it doesn't surprise me that recipes are being intersected in the lane of journalism.
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