LA Observed.... Observed

LA Observed is a very interesting mish-mosh of local and more global content. Even the front page mixes the local with the global, and headlines from publications such as the New York Times. Locally produced photos and cartoons also take prominent spots.

One example of the local flavor was the top piece -- a small write-up about how a storytelling project by local public radio station KCRW “spent a morning talking to servers and other staff” at a Oaxacan restaurant in Koreatown. As something of a critique, I don’t quite know what that meant. Did they tell stories to servers, or ask for stories? And the photo was a close-up of a young lady in front of a microphone. Because it was cropped so tight, I didn’t quite know what she was doing. There’s a link to other photos, which jumps to Facebook.

Mixed with the Oaxacan restaurant piece are stories about the stock market and Facebook, both of which mostly contain aggregated content. The lead-ins to the excerpted material is very conversational. The stock-market piece, in particular, offers a small bit of context and analysis provided by the author before running an excerpt from the New York Times.

I found it interesting that in at least one article, the headline also basically serves as the lead. The headline reads: “OC health inspectors crack down on L.A. food trucks.” The first sentence in the story expands on the headline to say, “Many of them were given temporary permits by the county's Environmental Health Division.” It’s an interesting construction. Generally we see a headline, then a lead that gives a slightly more detailed version of the headline.

I’d say this site is appropriate for somebody who wants to get a broad, if shallow, view of what’s going on. It doesn’t seem to be very generous with in-depth information.

Gawker Gets In The Gray Lady's Face

The New York Times has been called "The Gray Lady" because at one time its text-art ratio was, shall we say, a little on the high side. Though its web page has plenty of art to offer, its tone seems a little gray when you compare it to Gawker, the newish site with the tabloid photo collages and headlines to match, including such in-your-face numbers as "Confessions of a Mayflower Ball Attendant."

The aforementioned story begins, “I’ve done my fair share of joking about dipshit society folks here at Gawker...” Thus breaking a fairly major rule for the New York Times and other such outlets: Don’t say dipshit (and isn't it two words, anyway?). This is the first piece on the opening page, also a big difference from NYTimes.

Yesterday’s NY Times.com opened with somber stories about Syria and lighter fare about what television options parents have since DirecTV’s programming blackout has taken Nickelodeon and its offsping out of the equation. One of the looser, more humorous comments, referring to the other channels enjoying the displaced Nickelodeon viewers, went like this: “For the Disney Channel, Cartoon Network, the Hub and Sprout, it is the equivalent of a baby boom after a hurricane or a snowstorm.” Definitely a lighter touch.

The New York Times headlines are written in traditional headline style: “Damascus Confronts New  Reality After Attack.” Whereas some of Gawker’s headlines almost sound like casual conversation: “Jane Austen Novels to Get Erotic Makeover Because All Books Must Be Sexy Now.”

But Gawker also gives voice to people who, for whatever reason, may not be heard elsewhere, such as Rupert Murdoch’s former nanny, who said that working for Murdoch and his wife, Wendi Deng, was a horrific experience. Other than a tax document that misclassified the nanny and a link to some court papers, there isn’t much indication showing how the reporter checked the validity of the nanny. There isn’t much attribution throughout the piece, even to the nanny.

While the styles are decided different, I’d say each serves a purpose and that there’s room for both.