News Gathering Process:
This week I had an especially hard time finding story ideas. The elections were over and it seemed like every other newsworthy event in Columbia was told a hundred times already and had been beaten to death. I wanted to find something newsworthy that hadn’t been covered yet; I was presented with a challenge. I searched for national stories and tried to give them a more local focus. I think this idea of starting broad then narrowing down into a tighter focus worked for a few of my ideas. In my broadcast class I did a story idea exercise in which we walked around the block and tried to find as many stories as we could. We had to draw from our senses- what we saw, heard, felt, smelled, and tasted stirred our search for creative story topics. This exercise gave me insight on journalism and it helped me see for myself that stories are all around us. Everything has a story, and as a journalist it’s my job to find those stories and tell them. This exercise opened my eyes; I learned to not overlook anything, because you never know what will inspire your next story. Participating in this exercise also helped me see how a story can grow. One thing you see can make you think about something or question something, and the more you think about its impact the more angles you can expand upon. Stories are continually growing and developing; it’s our job to help them blossom into something that will impact the community around us.
One of the hardest parts about storytelling for me is thinking of ways to make the story visual. On occasion I’ll think of a great story idea that is timely and relevant, but it won’t be the most visual of stories. Some of the topics I generate during brainstorming sessions would be better told in print than on the television screen. Other times I think of ideas that have an impact on the community but the story itself is logistically not doable. I wanted to construct a piece about health care and how uninsured citizens are dealing with not having insurance, especially now since it’s flu season. I found some great statistics about uninsured Americans; nearly 400,000 people with chronic illnesses won’t seek treatment because they are afraid of the costs. There are a number of stories that can be told based solely on this fact, but finding a way to visually prove this story is difficult with hospital rules regulating camera usage. This is a problem I run into frequently; I find a great story that I think people should hear about, but the logistics behind putting the story together are faulty. I’m still learning how to find good story ideas that offer great visuals. I’m constantly searching for ways to make stories more visual; television is a medium for visual storytelling, and I want to maximize the opportunities this medium presents by finding visually stimulating images to guide the story along.
Journalism Reflection:
One story I found this week takes an interesting idea and uses images to convey the story’s message. I thought this was relevant to my news gathering dilemma because it confronts an impactful issue and explains the significance of this issue visually. The story combines an interesting idea with good storytelling techniques, and these are standards I look for throughout my news gathering process.
This piece follows several families through the aftermath of Hurricane Katrina. Each family tells their experience with the hurricane, and photographs of the parents and their children bring their stories to life. The photographs add character and personality to the story; photos help viewers meet the families, which adds depth to the story. The viewers are able to build a personal relationship with the families; they can understand the struggles and worries and can identify with the ups and downs of each family.
I enjoyed watching this piece because as viewers we hear the children’s’ voices. This is unique because in serious stories we never really hear how the children feel; we always hear the story from an official or from an adult directly affected by the situation, but hearing a child’s perspective puts a fresh twist on the story.
The children’s attitudes show how the family’s life has changed since the hurricane. Despite losing their homes and favorite possessions, one family found the positive in the situation. Mr. Ruberts says that they have a house full of love, four beautiful kids, and a beautiful wife, and that’s all you need. The images help show how the Ruberts family found the beauty in such a devastating situation. The images help express their happiness and they let the viewer see the close relationship the family members have with one another. The images tell the story; what the interview subjects say is important, but more important are the visuals that take the viewers on a journey through the situations these families are forced to cope with. I was inspired by this piece because it was crafted in such an innovative way. It’s based off of an impactful event, but the reporter found a new angle to take on a popular issue. The combination of photographs and interviews carried the story along, and I want to use this piece as a guide to help me sharpen my skills in finding story ideas and to make these stories visually enticing.
