Article Analysis

Fed Considers Plan to Buy Companies' Unsecured Debt

By Edmund L. Andrews and Michael M. Grynbaum

The New York Times

7 October 2008

http://www.nytimes.com/2008/10/07/business/07markets.html?ref=business&pagewanted=print 

This “New York Times” article discusses the current credit market and stock situation.  It outlines the Federal Reserve’s plan, currently being discussed with the Treasury Department, to restart the nation’s financial system.  The story is a chronological narrative, because it goes through the current economic decline from the beginning by exploring the stock market plunge, oil prices, and international markets.

The article draws its sources from the U.S. government by quoting officials, investment strategists, and current and past members of the Fed.  Not only does it talk about the situation in the United States, it draws upon statistics in Europe to back up the claim that the world economy is deteriorating.  It also gives the reader an abundance of facts and figures to demonstrate the market’s downfall. 

The urgency in which the article was published makes it “hard news.”  It was published on October 7^th, and clearly discusses the events of Monday, October 6^th.  The article also tells what happened, and the factors leading up to it.  Starting off with a summary lead, the rest of the story takes on the inverted pyramid structure.  The lead is a summary because it tells what happened to whom, and why.  In this case, the Fed is proposing a plan to recharge the economy because the stock and credit markets are crashing.  The paragraph following the lead holds the lead elaboration because it tells what the Fed’s plan of boosting the economy is, and what the result would be.  The nut graf follows shortly in the fourth paragraph, because it shows the background information of the economy’s decline, why the story is newsworthy, and why the reader should care.  The stock market figures affect real people, and therefore make them want to read on. 

Ed Yardeni’s quote in the eighth paragraph talks about how the credit crisis has become global, making it the killer quote.  This quote sets off the remainder of the story, which discusses how the economic problems facing the U.S. are affecting the rest of the world, followed up by quotes from various current and past government officials.  The article fizzles out, because it references a following article.  Aside from that, it finishes with a quote from George Bush, who says that “we don’t want to rush into this situation and have the program not be effective.”  This quote attests to what the article was trying to say, and provides an appropriate close from the president, who has the most power over any national decision.