How to become a better reporter, writer? Start here

If you read this -- Roy Peter Clark has brought back around his 1979 assessment of why Richard Ben Cramer was so damn good -- you will see, in Clark's list of Cramer's qualities, everything you need to be good at and be better at in order to become the best reporter and writer you can be.

You could write a book about this, as many people have. And there are a lot of good ones out there. But sometimes it helps to see it broken down like this, succinctly. After that it's up to you and me.

A Pickpocket’s Tale

Just finished this. It's worth a look.



via Pocket

Journalists in Newtown: The human story

Visual journalist Chris Dunn brought this magnet back
 for her editor, Eileen Joyce. It's on the side of Eileen's desk,
 and is a visual connection of the YDR's newsroom to Newtown.

The York Daily Record has sent several staffers to Newtown, Conn. to help the New Haven Register cover the Sandy Hook Elementary School shooting there. They've encountered some anti-media sentiment, but, as they have approached their difficult jobs with sensitivity and humanity, they have also found a welcoming community.

 And they have written about their experiences:

• Reporter Lauren Boyer, in "Four days in Newtown: Reporting on the Sandy Hook school shooting," writes in part about the biggest thing she learned: 

All too often, I take the “get-in, get-out” approach to journalism.
I get it done, crank out the story, and move onto the next thing.
I don’t ask people about their days or their plans for the holidays.
But you have to in a situation like this. You have to be kind, be human.
You have to show a genuine interest in the things people are saying and put the notepad away. Tell them you wish it never happened.

• Visual journalist Chris Dunn, in "An unexpected journey: Reporting in Newtown, Conn.," wrote in part:

I’ve been back in York for a full day now, and normalcy is not a thing yet. I went into work today to do some paperwork and participate in the holiday potluck and secret Santa gift exchange, but it all felt strange and foreign. Jeff and I are planning a weekend trip to Philadelphia — which had been our original plan for last weekend — and I mean to bake Christmas cookies, but it’s hard for me to focus on anything.
And yet, I was there for only four full days. I neither knew nor met any of the victims’ families. I never set foot inside a funeral service or wake, and I met only one person who personally knew a victim.
How or whether the people of Newtown and Sandy Hook will fully heal, I’m not sure. But I can say this: It is a strong, close-knit community, and even in a time of immense sorrow, the people are among the kindest, most polite I have ever met.

• Reporter John Hilton, in "A reporter in Newtown: Everywhere we turn, we meet 'gracious souls'," wrote in part:

I started Wednesday covering Sandy Hook Principal Dawn Hochsprung’s wake. The anxiety quickly disappeared after the first two people I interviewed thanked me for covering the story.
Everywhere we turn, my colleagues and I are confronted by gracious souls. Last night, one of the cleaning women at our hotel thanked YDR reporter Rebecca LeFever for her efforts. A psychologist staying here offered her services if anyone on staff needed grief counseling.

There is much more insight in each of these posts. All of them are well worth your time.

Denver Joe Arridy was the happiest man on death row - Westword

Just finished this. It's worth a look.



via Pocket

You've probably never read a novel this way

Fans of action-driven narrative storytelling should check this out. Buffy has broken down her novel into tweets. Should be quite a ride:

Novel starts at 11 a.m. follow @brain_invaders hashtags = #Invaders & #Twitterfiction Or follow compilation here: bit.ly/YtuMC0

— Buffy Andrews (@Buffyandrews) November 29, 2012

The deer hunter who shot 'Pink 23': Letting the story unfold

I like what Teresa Boeckel did with the story about the hunter who shot "Pink 23," the doe that escaped from a farm where chronic wasting disease had been discovered.

She started the story at the moment the hunter spotted the deer, and let the story unfold at a natural pace, to the point where the hunter realized that it was "Pink 23." And then Teresa used three short (and decreasing in length) sentences to describe the hunter taking out the deer.

Nicely done -- and a much better read than what would have resulted with some other possible approaches to the story.

Spielberg at Gettysburg on Lincoln, history and justice

Steven Spielberg gave the keynote address during Dedication Day at Soldiers' National Cemetery at the Gettysburg National Military Park. At the beginning of the clip, Stephen Spielberg thanks the men and women serving in the armed forces today. At 2 minutes he talks about keeping company with Lincoln's ghost, and how, if he misses Lincoln, he can just call Daniel Day-Lewis and ask him to tell a story. At 5:10, Spielberg talks about the importance of history, memory and justice.

Ever seen something like this?

Here's a new one: A story (a review, actually) that is 100 percent questions.

It definitely works for me -- although it goes on and on. You might feel like the reviewer's point has been made about halfway through or so, and the rest is the reviewer making sure you know that he ate (or tried to eat) a lot of stuff.

Anyway ... can you think of any other types of stories for which this approach would work?

The reviewer, Pete Wells of The New York Times, explains how he did the story in this post on Poynter.

The Lethal Presidency of Barack Obama, by Tom Junod - Esquire

Just finished this. It's worth a look.



via Pocket

'I need to keep writing'

YDR managing editor Randy Parker called our attention to this blog post at a meeting the other day. It's by a member of our staff, Stacia Fleegal, about giving birth to her son almost three months before the due date.

Randy said it was a compelling read. He was right.