Retiring a non-reality?

In his LA Times article titled, "Too Poor to Retire and Too Young to Die," author John M. Glionna tells a heartbreaking story of an almost 80-year old woman, struggling to make ends meet. Dolores Westfall, 79, has spent the past eight years traveling across the United States from job to job simply to stay afloat. With no option of retirement Westfall is forced to work everyday, something that separates her from most people her age. Although this is an increasing issue for many elderly Americans that were hit hard by the economic crash, the spotlight that Glionna places Westfall under tugs at the reader's heartstrings.
Glionna, a professor at UNLV, does an excellent job of showing the reader just how difficult life is for Westfall. His journalistic efforts to allow the reader to draw conclusions while remaining objective, are successful. He allows the reader to feel a connection, and builds trust with the reader by supplying facts about the other elderly Americans going through the same experience. His headline is catchy enough to draw attention, and readers anticipate that the story my be tragic, but they want to read anyway. I found that his angle of highlighting one case--instead of including a few separate cases--made the story feel much closer to home. The old adage: "The death of one man is a tragedy, the death of a million is a statistic," came to mind when I finished this piece because of how Glionna tells it. The focus on Westfall makes the emotions feel more intense than if I knew how many people were also going through the same thing. Overall, I found this to be an intriguing article with solid journalistic reporting that sends a message to many Americans about saving, work ethic, and what others may be going through.

Too Poor to Retire and Too Young to Die

When I was began thinking about this assignment, and which article I would begin with, I had trouble thinking about what I had read recently. After much deliberation I decided that I wouldn't select a new article, but instead one that I read almost two years ago that still resonates with me today. The article, titled 'A Most American Way to Die' from Rolling Stone's April 15, 2013 issue. The article focuses on the Stand Your Ground statute that was a major issue in Florida years ago.

I remember reading this piece when it was published in 2013, and I can recall being moved enough to want to learn more about the tragic death of the innocent Florida teenager. I think that one of the reasons I felt such a strong connection to this piece was the style of writing used by author Paul Solotaroff. Only nine months before this incident, Trayvon Martin was killed, sparking a rise of outrage from black communities across the United States.

For me, Solotaroff does a great job of providing information on the incident, including lots of detail, and he provides background information on the gun laws in Florida as well as past gun rights incidents in the state. As a journalist it is clear he is focused on the facts and finding the truth based on the evidence he provides, and it makes him that much more trustworthy. By giving more context, he allows the reader to complete the full picture in their mind and draw a conclusion for themselves.

The topic of gun control is very touchy especially with the major incident occurring in  Florida— not the liberal California that I grew up with. Compounded on that, is the racial tension that brought movements such as Black Lives Matter to light. Solotaroff, doesn't take a racial side. Which is important to me because if he did, his credibility would plummet. He remains objective in his writing, not allowing any bias to skew his words or thoughts.

After reading this article the first time, I thought about it for months. Today, years later, I am still passionate enough about the topic to find myself outraged at the events that took place. I respect the work of Rolling Stone, and this is one example that I think shows how journalistically focused they truly are. Sololtaroff does an excellent job of reporting the facts to the reader, allowing multiple angles to be shown, and remaining objective—three things that I think help make this such a strong piece of journalism.

Here is the article:
Rolling Stone: A Most American Way to Die