As you may have noticed, I maintain an interest in what is happening in journalism. Quality of writing is a particular fascination. I’ve begun keeping a sort of journal of examples of writing and of broadcast speech. I may occasionally share an entry with you.
The year is nearly over, so I think it is safe to declare a winner in the 2005 Rifftides everything-but-the-kitchen-sink-in-the-lead-sentence competition. No one’s going to top this:
Los Angeles Times
December 6, 2005
Ed Masry, the flamboyant, crusading
environmental lawyer portrayed by
actor Albert Finney in the
movie “Erin Brockovich,” which
was based on Masry’s landmark
$333 million settlement against
Pacific Gas & Electric Co. for
ground water contamination in
California’s high desert, has died.