Thinking Outside The Lines

Personal News Gathering Process:

            In journalism it’s always important to have a plan B.  And in case that plan fails, a plan C and D are good to have too.  The past two weeks of my story hunting are a reflection of this idea.

            Two weeks ago I was working on a story about SAT scores in Missouri.  The story focused on how the state of Missouri’s average SAT scores dropped.  I scheduled interviews to talk with test prep centers about why the scores are dropping and what the solution is to the problem.  After playing a three-day long game of phone tag with the test prep centers and high school guidance counselors, I was finally able to schedule interviews.

On the day of my interviews I was prepared to talk.  I wrote a list of questions I needed to be answered, I reserved equipment from the broadcast lab, and I was ready to go.  When I called to notify the center that I was heading over for an interview, I was told that the interview had to be cancelled because the SAT tutors were too busy to talk to me.  I desperately attempted to compromise and I tried to sneak in for a quick interview, but my video for a class project wasn’t important enough for them to dedicate their time to.

In a panic, I tried to think of other sources I could use to tell the story.  I hit the ground running with my plan B.  I called other test prep centers in Columbia, Missouri, but to no avail.  It seemed I hit every dead end possible.  It took me so long to schedule an interview at the center in the first place; all of the long minutes of being put on hold, the brief phone conversations, and my persuading to get an interview took so much effort, and in the end it all fell through.

I made a number of phone calls, but none would lead me to advancing my story.  It seemed like I hit a dead end, and I had to move to plan C: find a new story.  I was on the hunt for a new story idea.  I flipped through local newspapers and checked the internet for things happening in Columbia.  I even asked people around me if they had heard of any interesting local news.  I remained unsuccessful.

Not knowing what else to do, I decided to go to the Columbia Public Library.  The library is constantly hosting local events, so I figured I could find a story there.  I knew it wouldn’t be big news, but at least it was something.

When I arrived at the library I learned that a local library group, Friends of Columbia, was hosting a book sale in the library’s lobby.  A good amount of people were browsing the books for sale on the carts, so without hesitating I whipped out the camera and started filming.  I observed the people at the book sale, and when I got a good idea of what was going on I began the interviews. 

I knew this story wouldn’t be hard-hitting; I was at a library where it was fairly quiet, and there sure wasn’t any spot news to cover.  I tried to make the most of the situation though, and I talked to a number of people at the book sale to find my focus.  From there, I looked for the central compelling character that would help me tell the story.  The challenge of this story wasn’t filming the b-roll or conducting the interviews.  It was the lighting that posed a threat to my story.

The library’s lobby walls are made of glass; it’s as if the whole lobby is a window.  I had to position myself in a place where the video I was shooting wasn’t affected by the light.  I didn’t want my video to be hot, nor did I want the people I interviewed to be backlit.  It was difficult to find a good place to film from when light was pouring into the lobby from all different directions.  It was hard to designate a place to shoot from; I had to maneuver around the lobby to try different angles.  The difficulties I faced with the lighting forced me to think about each shot, and it made me think about the techniques used for gaining optimal lighting.

From this experience I learned to always have a plan B, or even a plan C, D, or E.  I hear it all the time from my professors, but it really hit home when I was put in a position in which I had to think on my feet, and fast.  I also witnessed firsthand the importance of lighting and composition.  In all of the previous times I shot video, I’ve never had a lighting experience as tricky as this one.  I learned a lot from being put on the spot; I was challenged to think and react quickly.  Although my story might not have been the greatest, I wouldn’t change the experience I gained from it.  I learned a lot about being a broadcast journalist and the daily pressures and situations you have to work through.  I was challenged to think more creatively; I brainstormed ideas for how to make a story about a local library book sale appealing to the masses.  I also learned more about myself through this process.  I have a better understanding of how I react to these situations, and I now have a better grasp for ways in which I can improve in these types of situations.  My story may not have been the best but what I learned from the experiences in filming is meaningful, and I hope to reflect on what I learned so I can become a better journalist.  I’m all for learning from my mistakes, and this is a situation I will be able to draw from.

<http://espn.go.com/video/clip?id=4489416>

Journalism Reflection: Outside the Lines

            This week in lecture the discussion focused on interviewing techniques, which ties into the Outside The Lines video “Full Circle”.  The video follows the story of the late football player Sal Aunese and his son T.C.  The video highlights several events in Sal’s life, including his unexpected pregnancy with his coach’s daughter, and his battle with cancer.  These are sensitive subjects that some people might not want to talk about, but the interviewer handled them with care. The people interviewed in this story are willing to talk to the interviewer and let their stories be known despite the sensitivity of the material.

            I think the interviewer did a good job of evoking emotion in the interviews.  When you watch the video you can feel the mother’s pain when she loses her son.  You can feel the father’s heart sink when the man who got his daughter pregnant says he will not marry her.  You can sympathize with the son whose father died before he got a chance to meet him.  There are quite a few emotional moments in this piece and the interviewer makes sure those emotions seep through each interview.  The people involved in this piece help tell the story, and their emotions bring the piece to life. 

            The interviewer is unobtrusive, which makes the story is seamless.  He steers the interviews to drive the story forward.  The issues covered in “Full Circle” are not easy to cope with, but the interviewer somehow soothes the people being interviewed and persuades them to talk.  When I come across stories that deal with sensitive issues, I think about how hard it must be to get your sources to talk.  I wonder what it took for Coach McCartney and his family to speak about their personal lives, or what Sal’s mother went through to gain the courage to speak about her son’s death.  This is hard subject matter to deal with, but I think it was executed professionally.  The way it’s put together helps tell the story completely; the reporter ties together lose ends, bringing it to a full circle.

            Another element that strikes me about this piece is how the reporter decided to put it together.  There are a number of photographs used to advance the story, which I think humanizes the story even more.  The photos make the story authentic; they help show pieces of the story better than the reporter can explain it.  Photographs are very personal.  By looking at a photograph you can tell a lot about a person.  Like the old saying goes, a picture is worth a thousand words.  The reporter is limited and can’t use a thousand words to tell each part of the story, but a picture can do all the talking.  I like how the reporter incorporated photographs into the story because it adds depth to the story and sparks a stronger human connection with viewers. 

            Photographs don’t just appear in the piece, they line the borders of the website as well.  The photographs are integrated into every piece of the story, and I think this ties the whole story together, bringing it to a ‘full circle’.  The photos highlight moments in Sal and T.C’s lives, and it makes the viewers a part of the story.  This story is a good model for a convergence story because it expands on multiple platforms.  The story is told through a video, pictures, and a written story.  It has something to offer to all types of viewers.  This is a well-done piece that tells the complete story on multiple platforms, and I think it’s something I can use as a model for future multi-media stories.