Earl threatens East Coast with weekend pounding

The Associated Press
(Picked up by the LA Times)

BEAUFORT, N.C. —Hurricane Earl packed winds near 125 mph as it blew toward North Carolina on Thursday, putting the Eastern Seaboard all the way to Canada on alert for a Labor Day weekend pounding by waves, gales and rain.

A hurricane warning was issued for the tip of Massachusetts, including Nantucket and Martha's Vineyard. New hurricane and tropical storm warnings and watches were issued for parts of Canada, adding to those already in effect from North Carolina to near the Canadian border.

[Here's the nut graf:] With winds expected to whip up in North Carolina's Outer Banks by the evening, Federal Emergency Management Agency Administrator Craig Fugate said residents and tourists could no longer afford to wait on the next forecast to see how close the eye of the storm might get.

Analysis

One of the important functions of a nut graf is to put the story in a context so we know what we should care. I think the FEMA warning makes it clear why we should care — especially with the language "... could no longer afford to wait on the next forecast ... " The story goes on to say that the hurricane may not score a direct hit on the barrier islands off off North Carolina nor on areas farther up the coast. But these details are secondary to the overall threat of the hurricane, which, according to one meteorologist quoted, "is the strongest hurricane to threaten the northeast and New England since Hurricane Bob in 1991." If anything, the nut graf could be stronger if the essence of this quote could be worked into it.

Nut graf analysis: story with alternative lead

An Oasis Off London’s Beaten Path

By Oliver Strand
New York Times

With its picnic tables and chipped folding chairs, Towpath feels as if it should be in a shack on the beach, not on the ground floor of a converted factory in East London.

Regent’s Canal has a narrow walkway shared by pedestrians and cyclists.

Wine is served in juice glasses, and food is limited to bar snacks like almonds or radishes served with anchovies. During a recent visit, a young, chatty crowd filled the seats and benches Towpath sets up on the narrow walkway that runs along Regent’s Canal, a thin band of water that slices through the city’s aging industrial zones. The afternoon light bounced off the canal, making this corner of the capital feel languid, like a village waking up from a siesta.

This is London?

[This is the nut graf:] Not exactly. This is East London, a sprawling area known for its artists, anarchists and immigrants. Neighborhoods like Shoreditch, Bethnal Green and Hackney Wick have long been where a creative class could afford to live and work. Now it’s also where they play, shop and eat.

Analysis

This story is one of those typical top-heavy New York Times stories with a long but engaging lead-in. While an inverted pyramid story gets to the point quickly, this approach gives the reader an incentive to read until the essential facts appear. If you don't find the incentive appealing, you may check out of the story before you know what it's about. It's a calculated risk by the writer.

In this story, the "where" is established quickly, and the nut graf provides the remaining W's. I think it mostly succeeds because it flows from the conversational, scene-setting opening with the "Not exactly" fragment. Then it delivers the remaining essentials. The most important aspect of this nut graf is the analytical part in the last sentence, which explains where the story is headed.

I have one problem with this nut graf. From my limited knowledge of London, I believe East London is a huge area of the city. Is the story really trying to embrace half of one of the biggest cities in the world? The story starts with a small area called Towpath. In the nut graf, the scope enlarges to Shoreditch, Bethnal Green and Hackney Wick — and to East London in general. In the very spot where (as Harrower puts it) the story should be condensed into a nutshell, I'm a little confused.