Picture by Carlos Porto
http://www.freedigitalphotos.net/images/view_photog.php?photogid=345
The piece ‘Nichel & Dimed, On (Not) Getting by in America’ paints an interesting picture of the minimum wage living conditions in America. Author Ehrenreich embarks on a ‘live-in’ immersive style of journalism attempting to capture the essence of her story first hand.
For me this brings back memories of back-packing and some of the low paid jobs I did, though not at times as desperate as of the characters in this piece, they way in which employee’s are treated within these professions echoes memories that I had long forgot.
Ehrenreich’s style is much different to Williams, Williams delivers a more hard news style, where Ehrenreich partakes in an immersive soft news style of journalism. Ehrenreich’s style is open to much criticism surrounding whether its ethical behaviour.
Ehrenreich tells a news story by adding statistics in the footers and reporting important issues, rather interesting too, the drug testing requirement within job applications, $2.13 USD being the minimum wages for professions offering tips.
I enjoyed when Ehrenreich speaks about Gail “But, guess what, she reports to me excitedly later that evening, Phillip has given her permission to park overnight in the hotel parking lot, as long as she keeps out of sight, and the parking lot should be totally safe since it’s patrolled by hotel security guard! With the Heartside offering benefits like that, how could anyone think of leaving?” (pg 32).
The first person tense that this text is given qualifies the ‘live-in’ writing style like a piece like this. Ehrenreich amerces herself within a world foreign to her to deliver an informative and interesting text on the lower classes of American society.
Other situations where this format could be appropriate may include living in foreign places, living within a different culture or socio status, journalists often take on a set task for a story such as losing weight, documenting quitting smoking and recently I saw a program on the ABC of an English journalist with a hunger for beauty procedures in LA without going under the knife. It can be an really interesting way to get to know your subject.
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