For story three I want to look at sustainability on campus through the lens of food. I learned in a food politics class that our diets have a more profound impact on the environment than many people would assume. I know the university has made many changes since my freshman year with regards to dining and I am interested in how those changes may have been aimed at reducing our carbon footprint. I can reach out to Provost Kersh, my professor for the food politics class, as well as Dedee Johnston for information about what exactly the university has done and what we can expect to gain from it.

I plan on writing about the Democratic debate on Tuesday night because I have been following the primary closely and it is the topic that my NYT writer is covering. I plan on asking students in my political communication class about their impressions of the debate as we will most likely be watching for homework and discussing heavily in class at the very least. I will look at what Nick Corasaniti writes about the debate and use that as a basis of questions I will ask my classmates Thursday afternoon. I will also be able to use this as an opportunity to take a quote from the professor, Dr. Louden.

Nick Corasaniti writes in a very straightforward and easy to digest style. His leads tend to be basic but clearly sets the topic of the story from the beginning. Sometimes he will use a delayed read to draw the reader into the story like in an article from February 18th in which Corasaniti wrote about a tweet from Pete Buttigieg’s campaign manager that some claim was an attempt to coordinate with a SuperPAC. I have trouble identifying the nut graf in some of his stories but in others it is quite clear where the nut graf is. I really appreciate his use of quotes because they are abundant and frequently used to verify a statement made in the previous graf.

The thing I am learning most from Corasaniti is how to capture an audience in a news setting. His leads are effective at making me want to read more without feeling unnatural. One example in particular is an article from February 10th in which he discusses the different visions being pitched by Sanders and Buttigieg in the NH Primary. He makes his lead two paragraphs outlining the content, purpose, and audience of each candidate’s message in a way that creates the clear contrast he is writing about. I also really like his use of quotes. Specifically, I like that he is so frequently quoting the candidates given the nature of what he is covering. He uses quotes in a way that feel like they are delivering the message directly from the candidate without the journalist as the middleman.

I will now be going to A Conversation with Benjamin Crump on Wednesday. I am interested in this event because Crump is a known figure among criminal justice reformers and I want to hear what he has to say about his experiences. I am most particularly interested in hearing about his experience in the Trayvon Martin case.

On Monday the 10th I will be attending a film screening for Black History Month. The film is called “Black Is.. Black Ain’t” and provides commentary on American “blackness” in our country today. I am going to this event because I believe it is extremely important to have open conversations about racial struggles in this country and am excited to have the opportunity to learn more about other people’s different life experiences.

I am following Nick Corasaniti, a politics reporter who is cover the 2020 presidential campaign cycle. I chose him because I follow politics very closely already so I think that it will keep me as up to date with the 2020 cycle as possible.

https://www.nytimes.com/interactive/2020/01/29/us/politics/iowa-facebook-political-ads.html