Journal Entry #5

Part 1 -What makes it a Profile?

1. The writer explains Frank as a very interesting person. She uses many show that you don't know what to expect regarding his mood and outbursts. One one hand he is a polite man that would do anything for one of his friends. However, on the other hand he could quite possibly get into a fight with someone because he didn't like his boots. This creates an interesting person because it keeps you on your toes.

2. Regarding his work, the writer shows that Frank is very hard on himself and takes his job (as a singer) very seriously. For example when he sang for the TV program he had a cold and was so displeased with his performance that he left the studio. The piece also shows how dedicated Frank was because his mother tried her best not to let him become a singer, but he did against her wishes.

3. The writer uses scenes and descriptions to help readers understand what motivates Frank in his professional life. It is obvious that his career is very important to him. When his is at the bar you can tell that he is in some sort of depression just because he has a cold and can't use his prized possession, his voice. The bar scene in the beginning of the piece is a great way to describe Frank. I picture him sitting in a dark corner, sulking and refraining from talking to anyone.

4. The writer uses many personal observations of Sinatra in the piece. The bar scene is a personal observation as well as when he watched him in the studio making his program. He uses quotes from Sinatra's friends and family especially those from his mother and daughter Nancy, that describe him. He didn't seem to interview Sinatra himself in the piece, but with all of his sources and observations of the man he drew concrete details about him.

5. Personally I think the writer lets you make your own opinion about Sinatra. In the beginning I got the feeling that he displayed Sinatra in a negative way. However through the article I got the sense that Sinatra had so much pressure to be a great singer that no wonder a small cold could bring him into a depression. He is a very popular man that lives in the spotlight. It would get frustrating to please all of his fans and friends all of the time. I got the feeling from the piece that he really is just a regular guy.

Part 2 - The Interview Reaction

Gay Talese's piece on Frank Sinatra was a great article. It was an example of a good profile and in the question and answer with Talese he gave some great tips on writing a profile that will be of great help when I am writing my investigative report. Talese made a point to say that you have to gain your subjects trust before you can interview them. It takes time and you have to go cautiously. He learned his style of interviewing from his mom who worked a dress shop. To interview someone you have to gain their trust and ask polite questions. Creating a profile takes time and patience. Talese spent 5 years with a man from the Mafia that he did a profile on just to get to know him and gain his trust. I thought it was interesting that he liked to write about people who were not in the news and not famous. He said that when writing about famous people, you only get publicity because the person you are writing about is already in the news. The people that Talese does profiles on, he still sees today. Because he gets a lot of information in one day of observing his subject, he writes everything he remembered from that day and dates it. Then, when he is done he goes back to all of his dated observations and creates a summary out of it. He then finds important scenes and basically maps out is piece of work. The question and answer with Gay Talese should be very helpful with my interviews. Our piece will be nonfiction just like his piece of Frank Sinatra. He said that an important piece of nonfiction writing is to be able to get inside the head of your subject. You have to get to know them and indulge in your curiosity. This Q and A showed me that doing a profile on someone will take a lot of work. It is important to have patience with your subjects and to gain their trust so that they tell you what you want to know.