After just reading another Tom Chiarella article, about Amanda Seyfried, I'm actually a little disappointed. I'm not sure why. I think it's because I loved his article about Liam Neeson so much and I was expecting another great article. I think that if it were longer it would've been better.
The article itself was written well, I like the way he detailed the encounter with Seyfried but it didn't tell me a story. Neeson's article told the story of his accident, his late wife, it told his story. Seyfried's article didn't really do that. It explained where she was heading in her career a bit, how her role is the BFF, her roles as a teen in many movies and her journey to more adult roles but nothing deeper.
I think that if he had more time and interviews with her like he did with Neeson the article could have provided more depth to Seyfried.
Friday, May 10, 2013
The Hard Luck and Beautiful Life of Liam Neeson
Esquire really has some incredible stories so I decided to keep look at articles from Esquire. This time I didn't just stumble upon anything by accident, i very purposefully typed in my favorite actors name into the search bar. Liam Neeson. I was really excited by all of the article's that popped up. I clicked on the very first feature "The Hard Luck and Beautiful Life of Liam Neeson".
Author Tom Chiarella did a great job with this article. He exposes one of his techniques right away, which I liked. While interviewing Neeson, Chiarella traded stories with him about his own pain which helped Neeson feel more comfortable and open up, he realized he was talking to a guy not just a reporter. This trust is important when writing a feature like this, you have to get your subject to feel comfortable and the best way to do that is to be human with them. I think alot of people have the misconception that journalists have to be objective, can't get attached or involved but that doesn't help create great stories. Human emotion helps create these great stories.
This article really let you get to know Neeson as a person. His concern from his families safety in Northern Ireland from the IRA was something i really like that Chiarella included. You forget how rough it can be over there and it was a good way to quietly demonstrate that.
I think it's also ironic that his son is so protective of him, in Neeson's movie Taken he was the protective one but in real life, his son is just as protective.
My favorite part of the article was when Neeson was talking about his motorcycle accident. Chiarella let Neeson tell the whole story and you got more of a glimpse into Neeson and his persona. Personally, I loved that his Irish demeanor showed. It reminds me alot of my parents, the way he says things and the way he describes them, I can picture exactly how he'd say it.
When Neeson talks about Richardson's accident, what it was like in the hospital, the chaos, you can almost feel what he feels. I think it's funny no one recognized him and when someone finally did he was grateful, it mustve been really upsetting not being able to see his wife and frustrating that no one knew who he was, if they did he wouldn't have had an issue seeing her.
Chiarella did a great job with this article, the way it was organized, the details, the window into Neeson's life was all done really well. I now have two esquire writers that i plan on following.
Author Tom Chiarella did a great job with this article. He exposes one of his techniques right away, which I liked. While interviewing Neeson, Chiarella traded stories with him about his own pain which helped Neeson feel more comfortable and open up, he realized he was talking to a guy not just a reporter. This trust is important when writing a feature like this, you have to get your subject to feel comfortable and the best way to do that is to be human with them. I think alot of people have the misconception that journalists have to be objective, can't get attached or involved but that doesn't help create great stories. Human emotion helps create these great stories.
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| Liam Neeson photo credit: Nigel Perry, Esquire March Issue |
This article really let you get to know Neeson as a person. His concern from his families safety in Northern Ireland from the IRA was something i really like that Chiarella included. You forget how rough it can be over there and it was a good way to quietly demonstrate that.
I think it's also ironic that his son is so protective of him, in Neeson's movie Taken he was the protective one but in real life, his son is just as protective.
My favorite part of the article was when Neeson was talking about his motorcycle accident. Chiarella let Neeson tell the whole story and you got more of a glimpse into Neeson and his persona. Personally, I loved that his Irish demeanor showed. It reminds me alot of my parents, the way he says things and the way he describes them, I can picture exactly how he'd say it.
When Neeson talks about Richardson's accident, what it was like in the hospital, the chaos, you can almost feel what he feels. I think it's funny no one recognized him and when someone finally did he was grateful, it mustve been really upsetting not being able to see his wife and frustrating that no one knew who he was, if they did he wouldn't have had an issue seeing her.
Chiarella did a great job with this article, the way it was organized, the details, the window into Neeson's life was all done really well. I now have two esquire writers that i plan on following.
Where the sidewalk ends
Another article by Chris Jones, covering Manly Night at the Playboy Mansion, really exemplifies his great writing ability. Although I'm not Hugh Hefner's biggest fan, I never knew much about him other then his role in Playboy Magazine, I was able to enjoy the article a lot.
It was really endearing to be get the opportunity to be a fly on the wall at Manly Night, it gave a great look into Hefner's life. From my previous understandings nights at the Hefner mansion were full of extravagant and outrageous parties. Manly Night, I thought, would have been the same, however, clearly I was wrong.
Jones does a great job portraying the events of Manly Night for the reader. It's truly just a few old friends having Innocent fun watching movies. It's nothing how I pictured it. It appears that Manly Night is also extremely exclusive so I think its great that Jones was able to get an insiders look to the club.
Something that I also admire about Jones is his ability to take himself out of the story although he was in the middle of it, he makes it look like he was a fly on the wall rather then a guest, a technique I have to get more familiar with.
It was really endearing to be get the opportunity to be a fly on the wall at Manly Night, it gave a great look into Hefner's life. From my previous understandings nights at the Hefner mansion were full of extravagant and outrageous parties. Manly Night, I thought, would have been the same, however, clearly I was wrong.
Jones does a great job portraying the events of Manly Night for the reader. It's truly just a few old friends having Innocent fun watching movies. It's nothing how I pictured it. It appears that Manly Night is also extremely exclusive so I think its great that Jones was able to get an insiders look to the club.
Something that I also admire about Jones is his ability to take himself out of the story although he was in the middle of it, he makes it look like he was a fly on the wall rather then a guest, a technique I have to get more familiar with.
Mr. and Mrs. Chris Jones
After talking with Chris Jones in class I was eager to kept reading more of his work. He is a very honest and interesting person. I came across an article he had written about how he met his wife and I couldn't stop laughing.
That's what makes Chris Jones such a good writer I think. That you get a feel and understanding of who he is as a person through his writing. There are thousands of great writers out there but very few are so good that the reader feels like they know the author as a person. His personality is demonstrated throughout his writing.
This article I liked a lot, it was written very well. He gave a lot of detail so you felt like you were there when he was in a beaver costume getting the crap beaten out of him. I also liked that you didn't really know exactly why he was writing the article until the end, it was featured under a mans guide to getting married. I thought he was just telling a funny story about him and his wife but at the end he tied it all together and his advice was well hidden. Don't look for it, it will come on its own. The advice wasn't shoved in your face which i think was a nice technique.
I would love to intern for him for a summer and learn how to become a great writer like him. He breaks some of the writing "rules" and does it incredibly well. I think he is definitely one of the greatest writers I've come across in the journalism field.
That's what makes Chris Jones such a good writer I think. That you get a feel and understanding of who he is as a person through his writing. There are thousands of great writers out there but very few are so good that the reader feels like they know the author as a person. His personality is demonstrated throughout his writing.
This article I liked a lot, it was written very well. He gave a lot of detail so you felt like you were there when he was in a beaver costume getting the crap beaten out of him. I also liked that you didn't really know exactly why he was writing the article until the end, it was featured under a mans guide to getting married. I thought he was just telling a funny story about him and his wife but at the end he tied it all together and his advice was well hidden. Don't look for it, it will come on its own. The advice wasn't shoved in your face which i think was a nice technique.
I would love to intern for him for a summer and learn how to become a great writer like him. He breaks some of the writing "rules" and does it incredibly well. I think he is definitely one of the greatest writers I've come across in the journalism field.
Tuesday, May 7, 2013
CEO Mike Jeffries and his business tactics
Today, I came across an article written on Elite Daily about Abercrombie, their CEO and his marketing tactics. I felt pretty lucky finding this article. It was very informative and very well written.
In high school and middle school many kids wore Abercrombie, it was symbolic of your status, however, in junior year of high school everyone pretty much stopped wearing them since middle school kids were essentially wearing the same thing. Abercrombie was no longer "cool".
The CEO of Abercrombie wants the people wearing his brand to be the "cool" kids and to be very good looking. This is why the brand hires "good looking" people and don't carry any sizes above a 10 in pants and don't carry sizes above large for women. Once you hit age 15 it becomes hard for the typical American girl to fit into anything Abercrombie since that's when girls develop into women.
He doesn't want "fat people" advertising his brand. He claims that the companies that are in trouble today market to to many people. His targeting strategy is very focused only "skinny beautiful people" allowed.
I feel really bad for the Abercrombie PR team. They have a lot of clean up to do after this mess. If this is the attitude that Abercrombie has, they'll be out of business sooner the JC Penny.
Clearly Jeffries has some serious suppressed childhood desires to be cool and popular that were never fulfilled. I bet he still sits alone at the lunch table at work, CEO or not.
In high school and middle school many kids wore Abercrombie, it was symbolic of your status, however, in junior year of high school everyone pretty much stopped wearing them since middle school kids were essentially wearing the same thing. Abercrombie was no longer "cool".
The CEO of Abercrombie wants the people wearing his brand to be the "cool" kids and to be very good looking. This is why the brand hires "good looking" people and don't carry any sizes above a 10 in pants and don't carry sizes above large for women. Once you hit age 15 it becomes hard for the typical American girl to fit into anything Abercrombie since that's when girls develop into women.
He doesn't want "fat people" advertising his brand. He claims that the companies that are in trouble today market to to many people. His targeting strategy is very focused only "skinny beautiful people" allowed.
I feel really bad for the Abercrombie PR team. They have a lot of clean up to do after this mess. If this is the attitude that Abercrombie has, they'll be out of business sooner the JC Penny.
Clearly Jeffries has some serious suppressed childhood desires to be cool and popular that were never fulfilled. I bet he still sits alone at the lunch table at work, CEO or not.
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