Student: Teach me to write better!
Steve: Learn how to talk better.
At the morning session today, Steve said a reporter should be able to summarize the story verbally and define an angle without looking at notes. The story's focus isn't in your recording or your notes; you have to know your focus and be able to express it.
Great lesson, made a lot of sense, wrote it down, didn't do it this afternoon.
Took a ton of notes, recorded lots of audio.
Couldn't read most of my notes, didn't have time to play back the audio.
I hope our photographer didn't capture whatever "moment" I had in 316 as I realized I could not express what I learned from the Q&A or what my angle was. If she did maybe Dave Seibert could quiz next year's fellows on what emotion the photo conveys.
I could have done a lot better, I think, if I'd put down the damn pen and just thought more while I was listening. I was concerned about getting quotes right, and I devoted too much attention to capturing words accurately. Next time I'll try to understand the big picture, have an ear for the key quotes, hear the speaker's voice. Less scrambling to keep pace, more thinking.
It was frustrating to feel like I didn't hit the mark on this one, but I'm reminded of Steve's rule that you can teach writing but can't teach reporting -- reporting must be learned by trial and error.
David Strom
North-Grand High School
Chicago, Ill.
Can I just "like" this whole thing, like FB?? Haha it's perfect, Dave! My thoughts exactly!!
ReplyDeleteI'm right with Katie here. I actually am seriously wondering if "needing a minute to just think" about what my angle is and what the best way to approach a story is makes me a crappy journalist because that's exactly what I was aching to do while trying to "barf it all out".
ReplyDeleteYes, I produced a story and made deadline, but was it effective? Was it how this particular story needed to be told? Did it capture the energy of this particular Q&A? No. Definitely no. Oh, hell, no.
I think what this experience really taught me is just how necessary it is to avoid "deadline panic" and making the time to take a step back from your notes and actually "think" what they mean and what their ultimate impact would be.
I know one thing, I'm definitely NOT planning on cranking out my story for the online publication in two hours.
Stephanie Floch
Taylorsville High School
Taylorsville, Utah
Dave, you have perfectly expressed my experience of the Q&A yesterday. I realized when I sat down at the computer that I hadn't asked a single question. How could I have been so passive? I wouldn't accept that from my students, yet there I was, taking no initiative. Shameful.
ReplyDeleteShannon Kuehmichel
You have definitely hit the nail on the head, as the others have echoed. (Oh shoot, I used a cliche.) I was so worried about missing out on certain moments that I think I sacrificed developing the content of my story itself. I posted yesterday about how the group reporting simulation frustrated me and vowed to be a better reporter during the talk, but I still couldn't think of any decent questions. Trial and error...
ReplyDeleteLisa Biber
Brodhead High School
Brodhead, Wis.