This is feature from the New York Times. Read it paying special attention to the reporting the journalist has done and the overall structure and flow of the piece. Comment on this post by 1) Indentifying the lede and nutgraf and 2) Identify at least three sources the reporter used.
20 responses so far ↓
Alissa Langford // February 21, 2008 at 5:12 am
Lede-And now the city government, which had counted on years of growth, is short of money. Plans for a new City Hall have been suspended, street paving jobs have been postponed, and there is even the prospect that programs and personnel will be cut
Nutgraf- These were not towns built on the speculation that soaring home prices would continue forever, like many developments in Florida and on the West Coast. These bedroom communities of bedroom communities were built because land was cheap, jobs were plentiful and mortgage rates were low. But now, in some of the fastest-growing counties in the country, home to places with names like Venus, Ponder and Fate, building permits dropped by as much as 40 percent last year, often on top of declines in late 2006.
“It’s slowed down pretty much everywhere,” said Jimmie C. Honea, chief appraiser for Collin County, which in addition to Lavon includes much bigger towns and cities like McKinney, Plano and Wylie.
Source 1-J. Michael Jones, the city marshal and chief administrator
Source 2-Jimmie C. Honea, chief appraiser for Collin County
Source 3-James P. Gaines, a research economist
shaneersland // February 22, 2008 at 1:52 am
I think the lede should have been “Across the state’s outermost exurbs, found by waves of new housing, building has ground almost to a halt.”
Nutgraf should have been “Even Texas cannot escape the consequences of a housing boom that has gone bust.”
Sources are Rev. Clinton Bratcher, William Hoot and Paul Cheng.
Sam Blickhan // February 22, 2008 at 4:53 pm
The lede seems like it could be all of the first three paragraphs, but I’m going to say the paragraph that begins with, “And now, the city government, which had counted on years of growth…”
Nutgraf is the paragraph what begins with, “These were not towns built on speculation…”
Sources are J. Michael Jones, city marshal
Jimmie C. Honea, chief appraiser
James P. Gaines, research economist
Eric Van Dril // February 22, 2008 at 11:33 pm
The lede, in my opinion, is the first five paragraphs of the piece. It should be categorized as an anecdotal lede, which is effective in localizing the mortgage crisis that many people (most notably, affluent readers of the NY Times) don’t think have much personal experience with.
The nutgraf comes in the sixth paragraph and reads “Unlike many other states with housing troubles, Texas as a whole is booming, continuing to attract new residents and create jobs. But across the state’s outermost exurbs, formed by waves of new housing, building has ground almost to a halt.”
Three sources are: Jimmie C. Honea, the chief appraiser for Collin County; J. Michael Jonew, the city marshall and chief administrator; and William Hoot, controller of Bowen Family Homes’ Texas operation and resident of Grand Heritage.
Sara Jones // February 23, 2008 at 2:17 am
I guess the lede is the first few paragraphs, but the one that starts with “And now the city government…” is the one where it starts to get to the point.
The nutgraf is the paragraph that starts with “These were not towns built…”
The sources were:
J. Michael Jones-the city marshal and chief administrator
Jimmie C. Honea-the chief appraiser
James P. Gaines-research economist
Eric Van Dril // February 23, 2008 at 4:36 am
The lede should be categorized as anecdotal, and it is the first five paragraphs of the piece.
The nut graf is “Unlike many other states with housing troubles, Texas as a whole is booming, continuing to attract new residents and create jobs. But across the state’s outermost exurbs, formed by waves of new housing, building has ground almost to a halt.”
Sources:
J. Michael Jones, city marshall
Jimmie C. Honea, chief appraiser
James Gaines, research economist
Caroline Stedman // February 23, 2008 at 4:22 pm
Lede: the first para. “Once little more than a speed trap 25 miles northeast of Dallas, this town started to boom about a year ago, as turreted stone castlettes and modest brick bungalows began springing up in what had been wheat fields.”
Nut Graf: the sixth para. “Unlike many other states with housing troubles, Texas as a whole is booming, continuing to attract new residents and create jobs. But across the state’s outermost exurbs, formed by waves of new housing, building has ground almost to a halt.” This is the first place where they’re talking about a context larger than Lavon, TX, which is why the story is significant – the housing market is struggling across the country.
3 Sources: J. Michael Jones, the city marshal and the cheif administrator. The Census Bureau and the Foreclosure Listing Service in Addison (suburb of Dallas). I think these non-specific-people sources add important facts to the story, even if they’re not direct quotes. Right?
Lindsey Smith // February 23, 2008 at 4:36 pm
The lede is the first 4 paragraphs.
The nugraf is the sixth paragraph: “Unlike many other states with housing troubles, Texas as a whole is booming, continuing to attract new residents and create jobs. But across the state’s outermost exurbs, formed by waves of new housing, building has ground almost to a halt.”
Sources: J. Michael Jones, the city marshal and chief administrator.
Jimmie C. Honea, chief appraiser for Collin County
James P. Gaines, a research economist at the Real Estate Center at Texas A&M University.
Edward L. Wilson Jr., a partner at Residential Strategies Inc.
Rev. Clinton R. Bratcher, pastor of the First Baptist Church of Lavon
Mitch // February 24, 2008 at 1:54 am
I agree with Sam. It looks like the lede is made up of those first 3-4 paragraphs as it quickly tells the story of the rise and fall of the boom in Lavon.
The nutgraf seems to be made up of the short paragraph that begins, “Unlike many other states…” and ends in the next paragraph with “declines in late 2006.”
As for sources, Eaton used the Department of Housing and Urban Development, the Census Bureau, and J. Michael Jones (city marshal/chief administrator.)
John Brenner // February 25, 2008 at 5:54 am
Lede: And now the city government, which had counted on years of growth, is short on money.
I think this is the lede, but the placement of it seems strange to me.
Nutgraf: These were not towns built on speculation…in late 2006. This paragraph has a lot of details, but I don’t know if there is a specific nutgraf. The information seems to be spread out.
Sources: J. Michael Jones- city marshall & chief administrator/James P. Gains- research economist/Jimmie C. Honea- chief appraiser
Sarah Van // February 25, 2008 at 2:37 pm
I think the lede is in the first couple of paragraphs that explain the expected growth of the city, but then the quick drop-off of interest. The nutgraf would then be about how, while other states and Texas cities are booming, Lavon is not.
I believe all the sources have already been mentioned, but again, some are: James P. Gaines, a research economist at the Real Estate Center at Texas A&M University; Jimmie C. Honea, chief appraiser for Collin County; and J. Michael Jones, city marshal and chief administrator of Lavon.
Amanda Bailey // February 25, 2008 at 5:33 pm
The lede seems to be the soft lede that makes up the first three paragraphs of the story, but the main sentence lede seems to be, “And now the city government, which had counted on years of growth, is short of money.”
The nutgaf begins at, “Unlike many other states with housing troubles, Texas as a whole is booming, continuing to attract new residents and create jobs. But across the state’s outermost exurbs, formed by waves of new housing, building has ground almost to a halt. These were not towns built on the speculation that soaring home prices would continue forever, like many developments in Florida and on the West Coast. These bedroom communities of bedroom communities were built because land was cheap, jobs were plentiful and mortgage rates were low. But now, in some of the fastest-growing counties in the country, home to places with names like Venus, Ponder and Fate, building permits dropped by as much as 40 percent last year, often on top of declines in late 2006.”
The sources used include J. Michael Jones, the city marshal and chief administrator, Jimmie C. Honea, chief appraiser for Collin County, and James P. Gaines, a research economist at the Real Estate Center at Texas A&M University.
Caroline Stedman // February 25, 2008 at 6:05 pm
I think that the lede is just the first paragraph: “Once little more than a speed trap 25 miles northeast of Dallas, this town started to boom about a year ago, as turreted stone castlettes and modest brick bungalows began springing up in what had been wheat fields.”
And I think the nutgraf is the sixth and seventh para. because it’s the first place where a scope wider than Lavon really comes in. “Unlike many other states with housing troubles, Texas as a whole is booming, …. often on top of declines in late 2006″ The importance of this story is that the housing market is struggling all over the US.
Some of his sources are the Census Bureau, the Foreclosure Listing Service in Addison (Dallas suburb) and J. Michael Jones the city marshal and chief administrator.
Sarah Raaii // February 27, 2008 at 5:03 am
The lede seems to be widespread, as the soft approach lends itself to drawn out storytelling. I agree that the first three paragraphs set up the fourth, which I believe is the lede: “And now, the city government…”
Again, the nutgraf is extensive, as a few paragraphs starting with paragraph six provide the context and so-what factor a nutgraf demands. If I had to choose, I would say the seventh paragraph is the nutgraf, since the Times’ primary scope is national and that paragraph links Texas to the bigger picture.
Eaton’s sources include J. Michael Jones, city marshal and chief administrator, Jimmie C. Honea, chief appraiser for Collin County, Clinton R. Bratcher, pastor of the First Baptist Church of Lavon, and the Census Bureau.
Sarah Raaii // February 27, 2008 at 5:14 am
The lede seems to be drawn out, as the soft approach lends itself to storytelling. Still, the focus seems to emerge in the fourth paragraph (“And now, the government…”)
The nutgraf is also extensive, since a few paragraphs provide the required context and so-what factor, beginning with the sixth paragraph. Ultimately, I would pick the seventh paragraph as the nutgraf, since it connects Texas to the big picture, and the Times’ primary scope is national.
Eaton’s sources include J. Michael Jones, city marshal and chief administrator, Jimmie C. Honea, chief appraiser for Collin County, Clinton R. Bratcher, pastor of the First Baptist Church of Lavon, and the Census Bureau.
Sarah Raaii // February 27, 2008 at 5:20 am
The lede seems to be drawn out, as the soft approach lends itself to storytelling. The fourth paragraph stands out as the lede, after the stage is set by the previous ones. (“And now the city government…”)
The nutgraf is also extensive, as the required context and so-what factor start in paragraph six and continue for a few paragraphs. Ultimately, I chose paragraph seven as the nutgraf because it connects Texas to the big picture and the Times’ scope is primarily national.
Eaton’s sources include J. Michael Jones, city marshal and chief administrator, Jimmie C. Honea, chief appraiser for Collin County, Clinton R. Bratcher, pastor of the First Baptist Church of Lavon, and the Census Bureau.
Haley Metcalf // March 1, 2008 at 10:40 pm
This story has a very apparent soft lede. The nutgraph isn’t until the 6th or 7th paragraph. The author used the city marshal, chief appraiser for Colin County and the Census Bureau as sources.
Haley Metcalf // March 1, 2008 at 11:25 pm
The author used a soft lede. I did not find the nutgraph until the 6th or 7th paragraph. He used the chief appraiser for Collin County, a pastor from a local church, and statistics from the Census Bureau as sources.
Haley Metcalf // March 1, 2008 at 11:31 pm
The story has a soft lede which works. I did not identify the nutgraph until the 6th or 7th paragraph. The author uses a local pastor, chief appraiser of Collin County, and statistics from the Census Bureau as sources.
Morgan // March 4, 2008 at 3:03 am
Lede- I believe the lede can be found within the 2nd, 3rd, and 4th paragraphs.
Nutgraf- I believe the nutgraf can be found in the 6th full paragraph, beginning with “Unlike many other states…”
3 Sources-
J. Michael Jones- city marshal/ chief administrator
Jimmie C. Honea- chief appraiser for Collin County
Edward L. Wilson Jr.- a partner at Residential Strategies Inc.