Sunday, March 23, 2014

Literary Journalism

"Literary journalism is not fiction--the people are real and the events occurred--nor is it journalism in a traditional sense. There is interpretation, a personal point of view, and (often) experimentation with structure and chronology. Another essential element of literary journalism is its focus. Rather than emphasizing institutions, literary journalism explores the lives of those who are affected by those institutions."
(Jan Whitt, Women in American Journalism: A New History. University of Illinois Press, 2008)


We are going to begin reading a piece of serialized literary journalism based around a series of crimes that happened in Los Angeles during February of 2013. 

The first installment is called "Murder in Irvine."

Please leave a comment/reaction on the blog itself.  Use your first name and last initial only.

http://graphics.latimes.com/christopher-dorner-manhunt/#chapter-one

55 comments:

  1. MR RIEGGER WHAT WHAT YEA MR RIEGGER

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  2. This passage lured me in with it's mystery. It made my want to keep reading beacuse as the story went on, new possibilities and evidence came about.

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  3. Im not sure who really killed them even though all evidence are towards that one man. I feel like theres something missing maybe but im not sure what it is.

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  4. Dorner looks guilty and there are people trying to investigate him and look into him. I think that in the next chapter he will be brought into the LAPD and be questioned and be arrested. -Bryce C

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  5. This passage lured me in with it's mystery. It made my want to keep reading beacuse as the story went on, new possibilities and evidence came about.

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  6. This passage called "Murder in Irvine" was interesting. I think that as much as the guy said he didn't commit these murders i think he did. Mackenna H.

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  7. This article was very intresting and within the next few paragraphs I believe they will catch Dorner. His crimes were crazy and this article really focused in on the mental instability of Dorner.
    -Matt P.

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  8. The ending to the story suprised me. The mystery to the story kept me entertained throughout. I want to find out what happens in the end. Tyler B.

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  9. Unique style of writing. Very interesting plot with the drama surrounding the suspected murderer. I think the most interesting part of the chapter was the very end regarding the email. I'm not sure of hwhat wioll happen next but I think that more people will be murdered. I believe that is is Christopher Donner who is the murderer and he will be convicted.

    -Brooke Simone

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  10. This story was very interesting and mysterious. I believe that the fired police officer, Dorner,is the one who killed the young couple. All od the evidence comes back to this guy and his posting on Facebook makes him very suspicious.

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  11. If Dorner isnt guilty i give up. must like this chapter because i was quiet when i read it. - zontak

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  12. I really liked how vague the passage is which gives it a very ominous feeling. That is the type of writing that makes you want to continue reading

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  13. Even Though there is evedence pushing towards one person, I am not sure who killed them. this is because this article seems to be biased towards the LAPD.
    Shaun H.

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  14. I thought the article was very interesting. It was interesting because as the article went on more and more evidence was being discovered.

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  15. The story was intriguing and made me want to keep going. It seems clear that Dorner is involved and I would like to see if the capture him in the coming paragraphs. Bobby H.

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  16. The story was exciting and had many twists and turns throughout. What could happen next, in my opinion, could be that the suspect, Christopher Dorner, will be convicted of the murders of the couple and end up going to jail. Or maybe not seeing as though he isn't mentally stable and has anger issues probably allowing him to be put in a mental insitution or something.

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  17. I think that Dorner killed Monica and her fiance Lawrence. I also think that if there was another chapter, he would be brought into questioning and held for trial where he would be found guilty.

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  18. There are only few stories I actually enjoy reading and this passage really hooked my attention and I stayed focused. The suspense throughout allowed me to look forward to the ending.

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  19. The story was exciting and had many twists and turns throughout. What could happen next, in my opinion, could be that the suspect, Christopher Dorner, will be convicted of the murders of the couple and end up going to jail. Or maybe not seeing as though he isn't mentally stable and has anger issues probably allowing him to be put in a mental insitution or something.

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  20. Doner seems to definetly have involvment in the murders and the threats he sent out at the end of the story make him more suspicous. He seems to be a very dangerous man with a scary plan to "change the police deparmement" -Dillon Massaro

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  21. This passage is very mysterious and leaves you thinking who it could actually be and it leaves you off with a cliff hanger who it could actually be.

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  22. Matt Whittendale- The story kept me interested and kept my attention effortlessly. Donor had a very big part in the murders and you can tell through the context clues.

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  23. this gives me the suds

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  24. The concept of the "hero syndrome" and obsession with integrity is interesting in this text. It is unclear as to why this is an evil that must be done in order to "reclaim my name" and to bring about change within the police system. While it has yet to be explained, perhaps it is related to the "war on law enforcement."
    Rebecca S.

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  25. This story was very interesting and it makes you think about who commited the crime. Tom C

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  26. Dorner definitely killed Quan's daughter and her fiance. He was the man who called reguarding the basketball team and i believe he planned and excecuted the murders as a way to deal with personal grudges he has with the police force and maybe it was in fact the "necessary evil" to start the "substantial change" he wanted in the LAPD.

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  27. After completing the passage, I was left anxiously awaiting for the killer to be named, but as most good stories go, I was left with a cliffhanger. I too believe that the killer was in fact Dorner, as a result of a possible personal grudge against R. Quan, and it is also possible that this grude was bad enough that it caused him to take the life of both Monica Quan and Keith Lawrence. Also, the fact that he was fired from the police force for being deemed a liar may have been a driving force in deciding that his target would be someone close to the force, such as a Police Captain's daughter. Let it also be noted that Dorner served in the Navy, leaving the possibility that an experience from overseas may have had a serious negative effect on his life. This was certainly very interesting. -Matt McClain

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  28. CAN'T CORNER THE DORNER!

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  29. I predict that Dorner killed Quans daughter and the daughters fiance and left the evidence and his police gear in the dumpster

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  30. I predict that Dorner is going to try and kill Evans son like he did to Quan's daughter in order to get back at him for getting him terminated. Kim L.

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  31. I enjoyed this story, and I definitely think that Dorner committed the murder. Dorner had a grudge against Mr. Quan and he was described as crazy, so it makes sense that this was his way of seeking revenge. This story held my interest the whole way through and I want to read more about this murder.
    - Siobhan K

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  32. I think that Dorner is angry with the LAPD and killed Monica Quan and her fiance,Keith Lawrence. And now he is going to threaten the LAPD and attempt to kill other people to "see a change" in the LAPD.
    ~~Caroline C.~~

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  33. It was interesting to read a story that can have multiple parts that seem unrelated at first,yet cohesively develop the plot in the end. This sense of uncertainty while interpreting the multiple plot lines functions as a spark of curiosirty and made me much more interested in what was going to result from them. Bianca W.

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  34. I found this story to be interesting. Having only read new articles and police reports, this was new window on the Chris Dorner case. - James P

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  35. I personally think that Dorner planned on killing Quan's daughter in order to get back at him. Dorner is angry and upset with the LAPD for what they did to him and how they took him off the squad. He killed the daughter and her fiance as revenge.
    Morgan O.

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  36. I like the story so far.I think Dorner had killed that young murder but at the same time I think thats too easy. There has to be more to the murder.
    -Stephanie M

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  37. I think that Dorner is responsible for the murders and will continue to kill anyone involved withhim getting fired in order to get his revenge.
    ~Anthony I.

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  38. This was definately an edge of your seat article. Might be a classic tale of good cop gone bad. Seems like good intent took a out of control spiral in the wrong direction. One is innocent until proven guilty, but the clues are laid out the truth will surface....
    S.D

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  39. Logan

    Dorner looks guilty and there are people trying to investigate him and look into him. I think that in the next chapter he will be brought into the LAPD and be questioned and be arrested.

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  40. Dornor killed the murderer, there is a lot of different peices to the case which shows how detailed the investigation was and gave an insite to everyone who was involved in the murder.

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  41. it was confusing and i didnt really like they story-Alison F

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  42. Matt Dolan

    This was a very mysterious case that bounced back and forth between point of view and diffrent angles of the case. It really leaves you wondering what actually happened as well as opening eyes to the chris dorner case.

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  43. The story is interesting because it makes you think who was the murder throughout the story.

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  44. The evidence adds up to the killer being Dorner. The reasoning behind his murderous intents however aren't exactly agreeable to me but still provides a general stand point for his actions. The story was ok, never really got me interested. -Dustin W.

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  45. Dorner is said to have the "hero syndrome" which is a weird reason to justify his doings. He's not a hero for taking his revenge out on the innocent, and he's not going to clear his name by making a post on facebook. I feel bad for Mr. QUAN
    Keilah

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  46. mike catania is the OG based god from compton

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  47. Dorner is definitely the killer, I dont think he is trying to get away with it necessarily either. He threw out all that stuff in front of the police station. I think he's trying to get caught.
    -Jake M.

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  48. The story was interesting and reminded me of how some crime shows are structured. I enjoy all the different perspectives and how each persons story fits in with eachother to help solve the crime. If Dorner is guilty, it is wierd for him to kill his lawyers daughter first because she had nothing to do with her fathers case that happened many years ago.
    Michelle C.

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  49. Reading this chapter I realized the author did a good job in making the reader want to read more. You continue reading on to find out more and more information about the murder and the interesting ending when you find out who the murderer is.
    -Nick P

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  50. Although there isn't much evidence of Dorner being the killer, him running away from the police made it much more obvious that he is guilty. I also think they are trying to make Dorner out to be a lot more of a criminal then he really is.
    -Mike F.

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  51. I think Dorner is the killer and killed Quan's daughter for revenge because of what the LAPD did to him. I like all the different perspectives in the story because it makes it more mysterious.
    -Amanda E.

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