Reporting and Writing II

Reporting and Writing II News reactive features

David Randall The Universal Journalist The truth is that trying to make distinctions between news and features does not get us very far. In fact, it is positively dangerous. It produces narrow thinking which can restrict coverage of news to conventional subjects and puts writing it into the unimaginative straitjacket of a formula. With features, it encourages the insidious idea that normal standards of precision and thorough research don’t apply and that they can be a kind of low-fact product, instantly recognisable from their lack of capital letters.” Features

Colour piece A pure description of a place, time or event often using some minor detail to symbolise the wider story. Backgrounder Behind the scenes pieces describe how something works, or the themes behind an issue or debate. Profile A study of a person, business or organisation at the centre of a story. Interview Can either be arranged as a story or in a Q&A format - but the key to either is good quotes. Timeline “The story so far” – useful in long-running issues. Often written in brief, punchy language. Vox pop A collection of short, verbatim reactions from people who are relevant to the story News-reactive features

Colour piece A description of the countryside, estuary and nature reserve that might soon be shattered by turbine engines. Backgrounder A look at the debate over why a new airport is needed, and the suggestions for where it could go. Profile Lord Foster – the architect. Interview Boris Johnson – a Q&A about why peaceful Kent is the best place for his noisy London airport… Timeline Key dates, from the announcement of the airport plan to the latest development. Vox pop What do people in Medway think? E.g. Boris Island

But the best features are always about people. Can be based on statistics, surveys, crimes, debates, wars, famines, droughts, events or trends… Features

Killers on the loose: the deadly viruses that threaten human survival http://www.guardian.co.uk/society/2012/sep/28/deadly-viruses-ebola-marburg-sars?INTCMP=SRCH The Guardian, September 28

Astrid Joosten was a 41-year-old Dutch woman who, in June 2008, went to Uganda with her husband. At home in Noord-Brabant, she worked as a business analyst. Both she and her husband, JaapTaal, a financial manager, enjoyed annual adventures, especially to Africa. The journey in 2008, booked through an adventure-travel outfitter, took them to the BwindiImpenetrable Forest, home to mountain gorillas. While there, the operators offered an optional trip, to a place called the Maramagambo Forest, where the chief attraction was a peculiar site known as Python Cave. African rock pythons lived there, languid and content, grown large and fat on a diet of bats. Killers on the loose - intro

In paragraph 4 the bat-carried virus Marburg is first named, but the case study continues… After a few days she began suffering organ failure. Her doctors suspected Lassa fever and moved her to a hospital in Leiden, where she developed a rash and conjunctivitis; she haemorrhaged. She was put into an induced coma, a move dictated by the need to dose her more aggressively with antiviral medicine. […] Blood samples, sent to a lab in Hamburg, confirmed the diagnosis: Marburg. Astrid worsened. As her organs shut down, she lacked oxygen to the brain, suffered cerebral oedema, and before long she was declared brain-dead. "They kept her alive for a few more hours, until the family arrived," Taal told me. "Then they pulled out the plug and she died within a few minutes." Killers on the loose

After 609 words of case study we get a more basic “intro” to the issue Infectious disease is all around us. It's one of the basic processes that ecologists study, along with predation and competition. Predators are big beasts that eat their prey from outside. Pathogens (disease-causing agents, such as viruses) are small beasts that eat their prey from within. Although infectious disease can seem grisly and dreadful, under ordinary conditions, it's every bit as natural as what lions do to wildebeests and zebras. Killers on the loose

In features, the intro can be a combination of style. The case study, written in a narrative form, creates the same tension as the first line of a traditional drop intro. Intro styles

Intro Extended drop intro/ case study 434 words. Source: Alicia Duerson, narrative style. Main #1 818 words, source: Dr Ann McKee and the journalist (deals with the “science bit” in one large chunk). Heavy on detail but light on quotes. Uses them in the last three pars very effectively. The Guardian

Main #2 871 words, source: Alicia Duerson. Returns to theme of the opening, with heavy use of quotes to convey emotion. Allows her to tell her husband’s story. Conclusion Both sources used. Summarises Dr Ann McKee’s findings with selective use of quotes. Ends on powerful quote from Duerson. The Guardian

Award This story won the Wellcome Trust Science Writing Prize 2012. They praised how he wove together three strands of the story: The celebrity Dave Duersonemotion The scientist Dr Ann McKee fact The journalist Ed Pilkington impressions The interview with McKee would have been technical and hard to quote – Pilkington uses his impressions of the brain bank as a cipher, to make that part of the story easier to tell and more compelling to read. How the feature was written

StandfirstThe indirect start is offset by a standfirst that reveals Duerson killed himself and that his brain was donated. Intro Establishes Duerson’s celebrity and his fall, ends on a cliffhanger Main #1 Explains, in clear terms, the science behind Duerson’s condition Main #2 Returns to Duerson’s story in more detail – but now we are armed with a better understanding of what’s happening to him and why, and the tragic consequences for him and his family. End After drawing Duersons personal conclusion, the story returns to the brain bank to fill in the wider picture. How the feature was written

Intro 1,119 words. Flashback narrative – very extended drop intro style. Source: case study of Kyle Turley, NFL player. Intro #2 726 words. Introduces dog fighting – heavy use of narrative description. The New Yorker

Main #1 2,086 words. Dr Ann McKee and BennetOmalu – like the Guardian article, the science is heavily paraphrased. Quotes used for anecdote, not technical details. Main #2 2,335 words. More scientists, again mostly paraphrased and widening out to Nascar racing. The New Yorker

Main #3 1,405 words. Dog sanctuary, more on dog fighting and anecdotes from football players. Official response from NFL. Conclusion 179 words. Uses old article on dog fighting to draw parallel with conditions for pro footballers. The two threads of the story meet elegantly at the end. The New Yorker

Sources There are at least 15 named sources in this story, with evidence of more used for background details: Roger Goodell (NFL), Ira Casson (NFL), Dr Ann McKee (brain bank), BennetOmalu (head injury expert), Nascar (official stats), NFL (offficial stats), Kevin Guskiewicz(concussion), Ann Alums (sanctuary), Dog fighting journal article, Carl Semenic (dog fighting book), Karl Turley (NFL player), Chris Nowinski (NFL player), archives (including quotes from President Theodore Roosevelt and historian John Sayle Watterson) How it was written

StandfirstEven more direct: “How different are dogfighting and football?” Intro Establishes celebrity and intrigue, with the sudden ill health of a fit, young man. A compelling case study. Body Scientists interviewed in depth but most details are explained in reported speech not quotes, to ensure it remains accessible to the reader. Sports players etc. are allowed to tell their stories in extended sections of quotes. End Brings together the various strands of the story in one well-found quote. How it was written

Full of facts Features are creative, but they are also based on finely detailed reporting. Never write long passages off the top of your head. People, not Find ways to make your stories about people – build things them around case studies and interviews, and bring people to life with as much detail as you can. Fill your notebook with observations as well as quotes. Quote choice Prioritise quotes from people that your readers will relate to, and who use normal, emotive language. Nothing will kill your feature faster than robotic quotes. Feature writing tips

Music piracyMusicmetric, an internet analyst company, has published a survey of BitTorrent use in the UK over the first six months of 2012. In plain language, it is the charts for illegal downloads. You have figures by country, and UK figures broken down to specific towns. Writing a feature

Angles Number one with a bullet in the UK is Ed Sheeran You have spoken to him and Dave Grohl while covering a music festival. Other celebrities have campaigned for tougher laws on piracy (including Lily Allen, James Blunt and Taio Cruz) – background? This week Japan brought in new laws which make piracy punishable by two years in prison or a £15,000 fine (two million yen). Local angles: figures for each town, plus what artists are popular where? (Bizarre ones: Neil Sadaka in a Scottish town) Music feature

Deadline 1,000 words plus a good standfirst by 5pm Friday It can be one long story, or you can use sidebars or factfiles to split information up. Give me two good picture ideas to support the feature. You will be working on this during the Friday session But not Thursday – Ron’s taking you for that one Music feature

Reporting and Writing II