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.How did the individual get to where he or she is? This is a biographical section, told most of the time in chronological order from childhood (or beginning of professional career, perhaps) to present.This usually demands the variety of sources necessary in a profile to give a complete picture.But beware: This section can be dull unless it is spiced up with anecdotes and direct quotations, even some storytelling by the subject or others close to the subject.The ending is linked to the rest of the article in several ways.The most common method is to bring the reader back to the present in the chronology, connectingPage 184with the points made in the news peg section.Another method is to link up with an anecdote offered in the lead or some other observation made by you, the subject, or another source, near the beginning of the article.Using the Q & A Format for ProfilesSome publications prefer to publish profiles in a question and answer (Q & A) format.Some use them as a standard format for one of the regular features or departments.For example, US magazine uses the Q & A approach for its celebrity profiles.A recent issue included Q & A profiles of singer Stevie Nicks and actor Kevin Anderson.George editor in chief and cofounder John F.Kennedy, Jr., used a Q & A approach to his 1998 interview­based profile of Secretary of State Madeleine Albright.The Q & A form has certain advantages.One is brevity.A second is the sense of realism, the feel of listening to the conversation that readers often get from the presentation style.They sense they were there during the interview.A key to success, however, is organization of questions and other information prior to the interview.These interviews do not have to be verbatim, of course because it would then become a transcription.You have to edit and select material to be used as much as you would in the more traditional format.Because there is a strict Q & A format, the ordering of questions and answers must be as logical as any other sort of writing.There is also the need for some sort of editor's note to introduce the interview.You can write it, of course, for the editor, but this brief introduction needs to explain the who, what, when, where, why, and how of the Q & A.This format also has its share of disadvantages.One is a lack of writing creativity.Of course, your editing creativity may substitute for it.There is often need for precision in question asking and in recording responses.There is temptation to leave extraneous material in such articles, also, to keep them more realistic.But this is a reason to edit carefully and thoroughly.Make certain the answers stick to the questions and do not drift.Industry and trade publications also use the Q & A format for profiles of prominent individuals in the business, often because of its efficiency in presenting information and its simplicity in organization.Playboy magazine's longtime series of interviews by Larry Grobel also effectively uses Q & A format to profile newsmaking individuals, partly because of the lengthy introductions often given to the Q & A in­Page 185CHECKLIST OF BASIC PROFILE INFORMATIONBiographical materialBirth date, birthplaceSchoolingFirst job, other positions heldFamily (parents, brothers, sisters)Childhood friendsNews peg informationPromotions, appointments, advancementsAwards, honors, citationsPresent situationEnvironment/surroundingsHome, workplace description, decorFormer living and working environments (for contrast)Physical characteristicsPhysical appearance of personMannerismsClothing styleHairstyleAnecdotes/storiesEmbarrassing momentsGreatest accomplishmentMemorable first timesFamilySpouse, marriage informationPrevious marriages, commitments, or other relationshipsChildren, ages and namesIn­lawsPetsPersonalGeneral lifestyle, philosophies of livingPlans for the futureDreams and fantasiesHobbies, special interestsFavorite foods and musicRecreational activitiesReligionMilitary serviceVolunteer work or other civic/community serviceClub membershipsMajor traumas and problems (current or past)Page 186terviews, but also because of the actual depth of the interviews and the answers to Grobel's questions as well.A Difference in PurposeSpikol (1979, March), former editor of Philadelphia magazine, says there is a clear distinction between the interview story and the profile."Even if the terms are occasionally used interchangeably by beginning writers, the fact is that the two types of writing bear little resemblance to one another" (p.7).Spikol says an interview is just that, a conversation with someone.He adds, "A profile is something else: It is an article whose main subject is a particular person, and it is rarely based exclusively on an interview or on interviews with that person.In fact, profiles are probably at their least expository—and writers at their laziest—when written with information supplied by their subjects.After all, no subject—particularly one with some sophistication dealing with the press—will supply information that might be damaging or embarrassing; the only anecdotes the writer will get will be those the subject wishes to share" (p.7).Your Profile's Tone and Writing ApproachDo you have to love your subject? Trash them? Profiles should not be entirely positive or laudatory.Most are neutral or balanced in presentation.In fact, some profiles are written about a person who has been responsible for criminal activity or other socially unacceptable behavior.Your readers are likely interested in these persons as well.Some profiles seem to write themselves, up to a point.Usually you can tell your readers the news and the past about the person.It is possible, Spikol says, you might wind up without a good ending."Profiles are like that.You have swooped down on a subject and caught him at a certain point in time; naturally, you'll have to swoop away and leave him to act out the rest of the script.About all you can do is speculate a little about the subject's future." (p.10) [ Pobierz całość w formacie PDF ]

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