Jane Brody Biography

Can a reader recognize if a source is credible by just the first paragraph of an article? Credibility of an article can be identified by where it’s found, who wrote it, and what research did the author use to back up the article’s information. Jane E. Brody has successfully demonstrated credibility to the public, as well as kept readers of The New York Times up to date on health studies, since the beginning of her journalistic career.
Jane E. Brody, a well-respected columnist for The New York Times’s Health section, wrote an interesting article, Hard Lesson in Sleep for Teenagers, in 2014 on the importance of sleep for teenagers, as well as the risks of deprivation of sleep. In the article Brody states, that a poll done in 2006, demonstrated that an average adolescent sleeps less than 20 percent of what the recommended average of eight to nine hours of sleep. Brody then goes on to explain that, while interviewing Dr. Judith A Owens, adolescents who drive while sleep deprived are just as dangerous as adolescents who drive drunk. Brody then explains the advantages to not starting school too early. One advantage she discussed, from a study done by Kyla Wahlstorm, supports the idea of starting school later because of the increase in students’ grade point averages in

school. When compared to schools that began at 7 to 7:30 a.m., schools that began as later as 8:40 to 8:45 had less than 40 percent of students crash from sleep deprivation. In the interview with Dr. Owens she added, “When the students were more alert, they were able to get their work done faster and thus get to bed earlier. It takes a sleepy student five hours to do three hours of homework.” (Brody, ¶. 14).
The New York Times has grown to be one of America’s top newspaper. From countless of different types of articles, to delivering top stories to the public, The New York Times has successfully attracted both the older and newer generation with its vast variety of information and entertainment articles. According to the official New York Times website, “The Times now has 875,000 digital-only subscribers.” (New York Times, ¶. 6). That means 875,000 people around the word subscribe to The New York Times, and that number does not include the subscribers to the paper newspaper in New York City, New York. With that many subscribers the newspaper can be considered noteworthy. The New York Times have won a total of 73 Pulitzer Prizes from 1918 to the present. The Pulitzer Prize according to the official Pulitzer website is, “awarded each year to the American news organization that wins the Public Service category.” (Pulitzer). With recognition of an award for that many years, one would presume that the journalists and columnist are hand selected to rightfully represent The New York Times.
Jane E.

Brody is a columnist for The New York Times that focuses on Personal Health column. She initially joined The New York Times in 1965 as a specialist in medicine and biology. She received degrees in biochemistry and science writing at The New York State College of Agriculture and Life sciences, as well as from the University of Wisconsin School of Journalism. Brody has also been recognized for writing several books on healthy living, including but not limited to, Jane Brody’s Nutrition book and Jane Brody’s Good Food Book, which have both been labeled as best-sellers. Brody’s recognition does not stop there, she has an award-winning column that s published every Tuesday in The New York

Times.
As described in Jane E. Brody’s official website, “Ms. Brody is a much-sought-after speaker who lectures frequently to both lay and professional audiences…” (JaneBrody.net). Her writing style is one that is able to attract audiences of all ages to successfully distribute information on health. Brody also likes to add a bit of her personal experience with the topic she is writing about. For example, in her article “Hard Lesson in Sleep for Teenagers” she starts with the issue her grandchildren have of getting enough sleep. Brody also credits where she gathers her information by displaying it to the public right as we is writing. For example, in the same article mentioned above, she talks about “a poll taken in 2006 by the National Sleep Foundation, less than 20 percent reported getting that much rest on school nights.” What is underlined is where she would merge a link that redirects the reader to the source of the information. By doing so she is able to have a steady flow in her articles without the need to have a work cited page, separate from the article. The merged links make her articles more user friendly and provides credit to her sources.
To conclude, Jane E. Brody has the credibility of a reliable and well known newspaper, the education of not one but three universities, and writing skills that brings together and backs up her writing. With having first-hand experience with reading and analyzing her article “Hard Lessons in Sleep for Teenagers” it is not difficult to see her understanding of any topic she writes about. Based on the information I have gathered, one can conclude that her article mentioned above is a credible secondary source of information worthy of including in an essay.