Donald Murray

In reading Mr. Murray's articles, I felt they gave me a real sense of who he was as a person. His style of writing was very conversational and easy to read. He never weighed it down with ambiguous words or things that should have been left out, which allowed the reader to connect with him through his articles. I truly believed that writing was Murray's own personal escape from everyday life, or even perhaps he reality surrounding last days. Writing was his undoubtably his passion.

"I try to capture a fragment of life and reveal its wonder to you. I never get it quite right, but there is a joy in the trying that makes me young at 83." Says Murray expressing he joy of writing.

After reading Mr.Murray's obituary and last articles, I learned to do what I love and be the best I can be at whatever that may be. Murray was very dedicated to his profession, writing up until his death. That type of commitment served as an inspiration to live out my professional aspirations.

Interview with David Mehegan

I found this interview to be very informative. I think that although everyone will have their own approach to journalism, Mehegan does a fine job at pointing out a few very important devices. I especially appreciated the response to the question, "How do you get people to answer questions they don't want to answer?" Getting the answers your looking for from a person who is trying to remain obscure is an obstacle reporters often stumble upon while interviewing. Mehegan suggests,"You want to build a reputation for being a straight-shooter. If you prove trustworthy people will be more talkative next time."

I also found the information about writing writing a lead was also helpful because that is the part of a article that i find toughest to write. Mehegan denotes "...always speak directly to the reader's desire for interest and enjoyment." Personally I don't always read the newspaper because I find it stuffy and boring, but if something catches my attention I tend to read a little more about it. I would think that most readers operate in a similar manner.