As Bradford argues, one of the first skills that distinguish a professional journalist’s work from a blogger comes with the skill of research. Primary research can be found in the form of quotes and comments throughout Sykes’ article. While primary research proves a journalist’s social connections and the amount of social capital in the field of digital media, secondary research serves to back up a story with hard data, facts, and figures and is often a collation of existent research. When looking at the structure of Sykes’s article and the sentence below,...
As Bradford argues, one of the first skills that distinguish a professional journalist’s work from a blogger comes with the skill of research. Primary research can be found in the form of quotes and comments throughout Sykes’ article. While primary research proves a journalist’s social connections and the amount of social capital in the field of digital media, secondary research serves to back up a story with hard data, facts, and figures and is often a collation of existent research.
When looking at the structure of Sykes’s article and the sentence below, one clearly recognises that she addresses the issue in the first sentence of her story: “When Rejina Pyo began brainstorming her much-hyped debut SS18 runway show in London, she was certain of one thing: half the cast should be non-models“. Beginning with the strongest arguments first in a story is what Bradford refers to as the “inverted pyramid” in journalism that narrows down to the less important facts towards the end of the article. This type of technique is used by professional journalists to grab a reader’s attention right at the beginning and serves as the hook of the story.
Followed by comments, Sykes includes five different voices throughout the feature article, namely Rejina Pyo, Tome designers Lobo and Martin, Nicole Phelps, Christian Siriano, and Elizabeth Paton, all of whom contribute to the article differently. Identified as quotes in journalism, they “convey impressions” rather than the writer’s impression, providing the reader with a comprehensive vantage point on the topic. Another principle evident in Sykes’s writing is the one that is based on facts rather than opinion, especially when looking at the first sentence in paragraph four.
