I’m really laying it on now. This is an awesome piece from the Washington City Paper. It is classic alternative press writing – cuss words and everything. This is gritty writing full of punch and attitude. But notice how closely it hews to AP style. And all the exact detail – addresses, etc. It’s all there. Enjoy.
Comment about how the story is structured, the details (again!) and if you think the story is fair.
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This story is very detailed. I like the descriptions of the mouse-catching techniques. It’s an interesting contrast the way the property manager thinks the guy is full of it. I would have tried to get a comment from the landlord, if he was willing to give one. There must be something going on, I mean, the guy has pictures of the mice he caught.
This is a weird story about a weird guy. That being said, the detail is incredible, from the description of the conditions Selepack was living in to his war against small, four-legged creatures. The battle between Selepack’s claims and everyone else around him is very entertaining. I don’t know if this is news, but I like it.
This was a funny story. I agree that there was really good detail, especially in describing the apartment this guy was living in. He seems pretty crazy, but if he has pictures of the rats, why don’t people believe him? I’m glad that the reporter didn’t censor any of his quotes so that we can get a sense of what kind of guy this is. Very entertaining.
You know the details are there and working for a story when you physically shudder from reading about a man smashing a mouse with a hammer, but first rapping it in newspaper to “contain the splatter”. Sick. However the details really make this story.
Yikes, if this is true, its disgusting. Specific numbers like the apartment was 90 degrees and he has killed 50 rodents are wonderful. Others like smashing them wrapped in newspapers with hammers, setting up a wack-a-mole style trap in his kitchen, duct tape face up on the floors and his insides showing are helpful and vivid. I thought it was an interesting move to set this guy up as completely credible and spend so much time documenting his problem and then spend as much time showing the other side of the situation. It is curious how the rat problem is only in one apartment and they can find no evidence. I start to wonder if he is delusional or creating an elaborate hoax for some very strange reason. Overall unique subject for a story.
Someone may want to tell this guy that if he has that bad of a rat problem, it probably isn’t a good idea to sleep naked on top of his bed. I want to know why the video attached to the article has no footage of him killing rats or any of the traps he set up throughout the apartment. The story has great entertainment value and makes the reader wonder what is really going on inside that apartment. It has great explanations of how he goes about trying to solve the problem.
Like everyone has said, the details are great throughout this story. They are the things that pull the reader into the story, and make the man mashing the mice seem utterly insane when the author tells the otherside of the story.
This piece was quite entertaining, and the soft narrative lead was very effective for the subject. Although this was more feature-y, I appreciated the reporter taking the time to contact officials and give them a chance to share their points of view. The details in this story were very vivid– almost too vivid. Knowing about Selepack’s quest to kill exactly 50 mice and his inevitably disgusting health ordeals wasn’t exactly pleasant, which I suppose is kind of the point in this article.
As already stated, this story is detailed very well. The writer does a great job of taking you through the timeline of events without boring the reader.
I went through different stages of how I felt about Selepack throughout this story. At first, I felt sorry for him for having to live with this rat problem. Then I thought he was crazy by the techniques he used and the amount of rats he had killed. Then (after the landlord’s quote) I thought this guy was just making stuff up and was basically insane. And then towards the end, I felt both disgusted by him (for not cleaning and taking care of his apartment, and probably causing the rat problem in the first place) and just incredibly sorry for him (for being so sick and immobile, and basically- pathetic). I don”t think this story is biased, but someone could definately get that impression if they only read one section of it.
At the beginning of the story I felt sorry for the guy because of the way he was being portrayed. Then once it gets more into it, you see he’s kind of crazy. The details are very numerous, with specific details of conversations had, and descriptions of the mice killed.
Besides the photo of the rat, which made me cringe, it was a great article. It was entertaining to me that it was written in AP style, yet still so interesting and alternative. I can’t decide who I believe in the article. I realize Selepack may live in a dirty household, but 50 rats are exaggerating. The other people quoted in the article make great points saying that Selepack lives on the seventh floor so it seems difficult to believe that the rats skip all the other tenants homes. Overall it was a fun read.
I like the story’s lede- “Selepack got his 50th kill”. The story was very entertaining. The author did get a quote from the landlord saying that there is no rat problem, which definately adds conflict to the story. Details of the apartment smells and sights were really great. I like the end sentence suggesting that Selepack could have filled the holes in his apartment himself but didn’t because he ‘rents’.
The details are very graphic throughout the entire piece which is, I’m assuming, probably what the author aimed for. I imagine this guy chasing after mice with his red, plastic baseball bat. A nice image. But I’m wondering how his landlord reacted to the article. It was definitely a fair article if this is really how this guy is being treated.