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> Is this anything more than a puff piece Yes it is. It is also an example of journalism where the writer gets paid by the word, hence the tedium of the 'vigne
by Theodores 11y ago
> Is this anything more than a puff piece
Yes it is. It is also an example of journalism where the writer gets paid by the word, hence the tedium of the 'vignette'.
In the UK we don't have 'paid by the word' in quite the same way, so you rarely have to wade through rubbish to get to the gist of the article on a UK website. It is a U.S. phenomenon having the fluff-bloat at the start of the article, and, to be honest, it puts me off reading anything linked here from the likes of the New York Times. I just cannot stand this writing style with the extra 'vignette' or whatever padding out the article into some narrative that I cannot be bothered with.
- dang 11y ago> It is also an example of journalism where the writer gets paid by the word That's a factual claim, which you should not make unless you know it to be true.
- Theodores 11y agoI stand corrected. However, what is the cultural difference between US and UK journalism where UK stuff is to the point (i.e. with a summary of the story, then the story told properly) and US articles always have to have some meandering nonsense that is as tangential as possible to the story? The format makes sense for a book but is a bit silly in New York Times style articles.