Local example of Mediocre Journalism
Written for the DeLand-Deltona Beacon, Pat Hatfield’s article on Cat Tail Corner is an example of mediocre journalism in the local market.
The lede of the story started off strong answering all but one of the five W’s.
The nut graf answered the why, followed by details on the defendant, Kristy Grant. Yet, Hatfield’s lede was too wordy to still have the lede continued into the nut graf.
The article was disorganized in the layout of the unfolding details. Hatfield placed important points to late in the story.
Details that were necessary to understand why Kristy Grant was being fined were found buried in the eighth paragraph.
Furthermore, Hatfield uses facts without making clear to the reader the attributed source.
Examples of Hatfield’s errors can be easily found in paragraphs seven and eight.
Hatfield very effectively quotes and maintains a consistent flow through out the article.
