Hello Scholars!
I hope you made it safely to your internship sites/papers.
For our first blog: Two questions from each of you, please, that have occurred to you since Nashville. Now that you’ve returned to or are starting your jobs, what are two things about doing the work of a journalist that you’d like to know?
Or, please share two lessons you’ve learned on the job so far.
(Also, please to weigh in with answers to your fellow Chipsters’ questions or responses to their lessons.)
Thanks — let’s get this party started!!
Coach Colleen
Lisa Song
02.10.10
One of my first assignments when I got back to my magazine was a one-page, scene-based story, reported over the phone. Ideally, if I had the funds, I’d fly to Portland or San Francisco and talk to the people involved myself (I can’t reveal the story details, but it’s about food). Instead, I’m stuck reconstructing something as tactile as taste and smell over a phone line.
So what’s the best way of doing that? I have dozens of questions and my sources don’t have infinite time for a phone interview. If I try to reconstruct a scene using several people’s descriptions and memories, doesn’t that present a problem in journalism ethics (ie, if one person says the room is painted yellow, and another notes it smells like vinegar, is it okay to describe someone walking into a “yellow room with the smell of vinegar?”)
colleen
02.12.10
Hi Lisa,
I’ll take a stab. I once worked in a really small state with an editor who rarely left his own little town. Yet he wrote about far-flung places, places that I’d actually lived in or been to, in such a way that the places came alive. The details were so dead-on that it seemed as though he had lived in those places all his life.
I asked him one day how he could convey such an accurate, palpable sense of place without having a clue as to what it was really like. He said, “You find someone who knows the place and is passionate about it and you get them to talk about it.”
Passion is the key. And it doesn’t have to involve place. It can involve anything. If you can’t get your sources to describe the smell and taste of a particular food or dish, find a chef or farmer who is passionate about it and will take the time to convey that passion.
But I wouldn’t give up on your primary sources. They may be time-strapped, but they also prolly will welcome the chance to wax poetic about an aroma or taste or visual description because it will remind them of why they got into whatever it is they’re doing in the first place. Even doing the thing you absolutely love on earth has its moments of grind. And asking them about the color or taste of an eggplant will remind them of their own passion for cooking or farming. And when a question triggers that passion, sometimes you can’t get the source to STOP talking!
As to your last question — about the yellow, vinegar-smelling room and ethics — I would argue no (if I understand correctly what you’re asking). I think you’re talking about describing sensory information rather than facts, correct? The eggplants were velvety purple and creamy white — not The chef dumped a place of steamed dumplings in the diner’s lap at 8:47 p.m., right? If your scene involves facts, I think you DO have to let the reader know where the facts are coming from (and if this is the case, we can talk about different approaches — some are more graceful than others — just let me know).
For such things as yellow walls and vinegar smells, if you don’t want to punctuate each sentence with attribution (and you probably don’t if you’re re-creating a scene and the details themselves aren’t the heart of the issue), run the details by several sources. What color were the walls? What did the room smell like? Then you can write authoritatively: The walls were yellow and the room smelled like vinegar. Or it can become more ambiguous (but your style is still authoritative): The walls were creamy yellow and to some people the room smelled of vinegar. Reading: The New Yorker articles.
If you’re talking about sensory, subjective info, strive for getting to the essence of the smell or color or taste or scene. Your goal should be to awaken the senses in the reader. Create the experience so the reader identifies immediately with it, is transported, so she says, “Yes, that’s it, exactly!” That’s how you make connections with readers. (Reading: MFK Fisher.)
Thoughts from others?
Colleen
Diane S.W. Lee
02.14.10
Moving to a new city is stressful, especially if you don’t know anybody there. When I moved from Hawaii to Illinois for school, it took some time for me to settle in and make new friends.
I recently moved to Oregon. You’d think the second time around would be easier. But the move hasn’t been. It took me about a week to find an affordable place to rent. I had to decide whether I wanted to rent an apartment or a room in someone’s house. Furnished or unfurnished? I sifted through more than two dozen ads on Craigslist. Some of them I didn’t qualify for, because those places required a 6-month to a year-long lease. I’d only be around for three-months… unless they hired me.
It was stressful trying to find a place to live, but I felt my journalism skills helped and served me well. I called a lot of strangers, asked them a ton of questions and did my research on the area before meeting up. Many factors made me decide to rent a place of my own, including its location in the heart of downtown.
And now I just have to solve my car issue. I plan to rent one, so that’s another thing I won’t have to worry about.
The whole process of trying to get settled in a new city is both exciting and daunting to me. I’ve often heard that people moved where the jobs were. I haven’t started working yet, but I wanted to know how do journalists familiarize themselves with a new city and quickly transition into their new jobs? If you’ve lived in a place for a while, you’ll most likely have a rolodex of sources. But journalists new to a city may not have that luxuary. Although they’ll have fresh eyes and find stories that might not have been covered.
I haven’t officially started working yet, but I’ve already started talking to locals here. When my taxi driver picked me up from the airport, we struck up a conversation. He provided me with some possible story ideas and of course, some great places to eat. When I was staying at an inn, I had a nice long conversation with the man at the front desk about activities locals liked to do around town. And at a Chinese restaurant, I met a local couple who debated with me about politics and journalism.
Maybe the key is just to be inquisitive wherever you go…
How do you get settled in a new city?
Kristy Chu
02.14.10
One of the most important parts of my job as a community reporter is to know the community on which I am reporting, and be able to produce fresh new story ideas about said community. As I have spent the last 21 years in Texas, making the move to Orange County was nerve-inducing as I all I knew about my community was what I was able to read about in my research.
Since arriving, I have taken several drives around to familiarize myself, and even a drive with my editor where he showed me around most of the important places in my city. My boss suggested that I spend my weekends just going to the areas that are underrepresented in the media (i.e. a heavily Latino-populated shopping center) and just talk to people there to find stories. While I think this is a great idea and that talking to people is one of the most important parts of our jobs, how else might you suggest getting original story ideas? Also, what should the balance be like between standard “furniture” pieces and breaking news vs. original human interest-type pieces?
Kiah Haslett
02.14.10
Something that came up in my first week was an uncomfortable situation that I talked with my editor about. I still think there’s value in discussing it here.
I did a wrote a story about Toyota owners’ reactions to the recall. I spoke with one guy, a self-learned expert about Prius breaks. I took diligent notes, used his quotes honestly and gave him a fair voice in the article. I then emailed him the link to the article after it published. He apparently didn’t like how the article turned out and felt like I had done a poor job - that I hadn’t been a diligent journalist. He wrote a very long blog post about my article and about me on his Web site, which has more than 10,000 unique visitors a month. Only, I didn’t find the blog post on his Web site, I found it on another Prius owners Web site (which leads me to believe Prius owners are crazy). Anyway, I felt slandered. I felt misrepresented. I felt like he would’ve felt if I had done a poor job - which I hadn’t.
And usually, I wouldn’t care. But when you Google “Kiah Haslett Chicago Tribune” its on my first page of results. It’s sometimes the first result on the page. So future employers AND sources can see this guy was not happy at all with my article and with my reporting.
My question is: How should I deal with this? What should my response be to anyone who mentions it? Should I have notified my editors about his blog post (because I did and talked about it with him, but I’m still interested in your response)?
My second question: I know it looks good to be the first reporter at the office in the morning and the last reporter to leave. I work weekdays from 10-6 (when business is open) but how long should I stick around if I don’t have anywhere to be and can just sit at my desk and work on a non-deadline story? And when I have to leave early, how should I make it up or notify anyone?
My lesson of the last two weeks is carry your business cards everywhere. When I go out, I tend to strike up conversations with the people around me - getting breakfast from a coffee shop, waiting in line for Garrett’s popcorn, changing in the locker room of a gym and folding my laundry. People have told me about their businesses, their families and Chicago history. Ears always perk up when I say I’m working for the Tribune, and more times than not, I’ve kicked myself because I didn’t have anything to hand them when they gave me their business card.
So keep those close.
Kiah Haslett
02.14.10
Lisa,
I would second Colleen’s suggestion. One of my standard interview questions is “What does it look like/feel like/smell like?” or “How would you describe the place in one/a few words?”
If you’re worried about ethics and fair representation, add a “he said” after a description for attribution.
Nicole Norfleet
02.21.10
My internship experience has started unusually. With this massive snow storm, I had to work from home for like a week with no offices being open and not able to dig myself out. I was still able to get one a story and contributing stuff done, but it was a strange way to start out. Anyway…at The Post I have to balance btwn asking editors too many questions and not enough questions. That’s how it is at every job I know. But, it’s still tough to gauge sometimes how much to communicate to your superiors. How much is too much and how much is too little? A lot is expected of me which I like, but sometimes I think things could be better communicated. Another question I’m running into is how do you ask for the okay to write for a different section if you want to do a different story? I’m actually writing for the Development and Transportation part of the local desk which I really like. Stories are a mix between business and metro which is really enjoyable and makes it exciting. They said I can write for other desks, but it’s not like I don’t ever have work for my respective beat so how do i go about trying to write a story for the features desk or the business desk? If I ask my editor, I feel like I would be disrespectful in a way. However, if I just go to the section editor, I feel that would be really disrespectful too. What’s the best way to do this?
Nicole Norfleet
02.21.10
Kiah,
I personally think that being the last reporter to leave thing is played out. People want to know that you can get a story done within a certain amount of time. They want to know that you are efficient and productive. It’s not like they are going to pay you overtime if you stay extra hours. I say if you don’t have any work to do and you send out emails and things for your next day’s stories then you should just inform your editor that you are leaving and bounce. I still think that being there early is a good idea.
Nicole Norfleet
02.21.10
LOL I made some oopsies in my post, but you still get my point. Hehe
colleen
02.24.10
Dynamite posts, everyone!
To answer Kristy’s question: “What should the balance be like between standard “furniture” pieces and breaking news vs. original human interest-type pieces?”
The balance depends on two things: the paper’s needs and your interests and goals. And the paper’s needs always come first. If your editors need you to cover breaking news, you’ve got to do it. If your editors say, “Find great feature stories” or “blog seven times a day” you’ve got to do that.
The trick is to do well what they need while also finding a way to meet your own goals. If you’re assigned to write a lot of copy for a local section yet want to get an A-1 story, then you’ve got to figure out how to carve out time to identify and then report and write that A-1 story.
You can ask your editor directly what she thinks the balance should be. She may answer — and then there’s your answer. Or she may just say, “Don’t worry about the balance, just cover the community and come up with great stories.”
That would be the best answer because in the end, that’s what you want to do and be remembered for — the great stories, the stories that make a difference to people and the quality of their lives. So you want to do the types of stories the paper needs you to do — and you must do them well — while also finding the stories that enlighten us, help us make better decisions for our lives and communities, elicit deep emotion, etc. Follow your passion for the kinds of stories you want and love to do.Those will become the great stories.
colleen
02.24.10
Kiah raises some really important issues in her question about a Prius owner being unhappy with her story and then going on to disseminate his criticism by blogging about it. Kiah wants to know what she should say to future hiring editors who ask her about it, and asks:
“How should I deal with this? What should my response be to anyone who mentions it? Should I have notified my editors about his blog post (because I did and talked about it with him, but I’m still interested in your response)?”
Kiah (and all), I’ll take a stab at this but first back to you: With the passage of some time, do you have any new insights about or your own answers to your questions?
Coach Col
Kiah Haslett
02.24.10
I wrote an email of all the things I would professionally say to him and then didn’t send it. I felt better about articulating my points.
I then broached it with my editor and talked to him about it. He was shocked and felt like I did nothing wrong. He also assured me anyone with a brain, which would hopefully include future employers, could understand this was a rant and not to take it seriously.
I then forgot about it and moved on. I did more Toyota recall stories and focused on facts and people’s stories. I made sure to ask questions about holes and get tons of background information.
What was great was when my second Toyota story published, groups contacted me to share their experiences and questions about Toyota. So I felt like I had redeemed myself to the reading public and gained back their trust, which was important to me.
As for leaving time… I stay until 6 and mine for story ideas and sources. I read blogs and other publications. I let editors know when I can help them with something and I try to look for things to go onto the business blog.
colleen
03.03.10
Hi Kiah,
I’m glad to hear that your editor was reassuring, that you handled the situation professionally with the blogger/source, that the experience was able to inform your subsequent reporting in a positive way and that you “moved on.”
These types of situations can shake us a bit. But you did everything that we can possibly do in such situations: We listen to and consider the comments or complaints, treat the person with respect (even though he/she may not be treating us with respect), talk to our editors, figure out what the lessons are for the future and then incorporate those lessons into our work. If we do all that, then there’s no reason to let it eat away at us. That energy is better used by making our next stories as good as they can be.
Wise woman
Coach Col