Assignment 2: Slate Articles

What I learned from these two Slate articles (article 1 and article 2):

Alan Sepinwall was a horrible writer when he started out critiquing TV shows but he got better when he found his niche in "recapping" the show NYPD Blue. Now, this style called "recapping" has been popularized and many different websites have hired writers to "recap" on different shows. Sepinwall has become a master of the craft and manages to watch 10-15 shows on the regular which he currently considers to be a low amount for himself. This is only possible to do, however, if you like the shows. You wouldn't subject yourself to something you didn't like, would you?

This style of writing is helpful because you can gauge the audience's favorite lines, the witty commentary and what they like or dislike through the writer. This is great for those of us who don't have time to watch every show but want to know what is happening in different genres. Working in the media field we are always looking for the best new thing on TV.

The writer can delve more into the development of the characters and the story through this process. It becomes more than "this show is great" or "I would give my left arm to never have to watch this show again". For some shows, I can see it being rather difficult to get a grasp if it is similar to the same storyline every week with no new character developments.


What hyperlinks I clicked on and why:

One of the hyperlinks I hit on was in the article "The TV Guide" that was titled "recappers". I understand the concept of recapping but thought it interesting that these writers have created a word for themselves. The article that the hyperlink goes to talks about how struggling writers now have a backup career in watching television and letting everyone know what is happening in those shows. For experienced writers, they seem to not care for this type of writing and find it a waste of time but for young writers who are trying to get an in to a company, this is a great way to start out. The writers make comments on the pop culture references in the show and relate it to other humor that a different audience might understand. Also, other writers like the idea of the freedom for writing recaps. Not many are edited and they can be of any length when they are on a website instead of writing a required word limit.