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Thoughts and Musings: Aim for the Heart

The primary thing I took away with me through these readings is the facet of writing and reporting, at least the good ones, is that they all "aim for the heart" of the audience. As mentioned in my last post, if one is able to resonate with the audience on an emotional level, that story will sink deeper into their consciousness. For another theme repeated throughout the segments is that people remember what they feel a whole lot longer than what they knew. 

So, in order to achieve this, the first thing the reporter has to do when working on a project is attain an understanding of the two-levels of "what's the story about?"

As my professor Ted Gup would always drill into us, every article that's written has two meanings when you ask what the story is about: the first is the basic overview, the spark-notes of the piece. Meanwhile the second, deeper definition concerns itself with what the story truly represents, what moral or theme is it trying to convey? For example a story of a boy playing adopting a stray at first is just about a boy and his dog. The second level could be about the bonds between man and animal, or the dangers of overpopulation among pets, .etc

To get to this core meaning, you're gonna have to work at it through interviews and research.

When interviewing a subject, being a good listener is ESSENTIAL. The goal of any interview is to try and get the subject to be as comfortable and trusting around you as possible. To make them open up to you is the first and hardest step of any interview. Sometimes, the person is open and talkative, others are as tight as a clam shell. Regardless, if you can establish that intimacy, it will make the whole process a whole lot easier for yourself.

If the subject thinks you don't care, or believes you see them only as a font of information and not a human being, they can and will shut down before you. And at that point, trying to get anything out of them is like trying to ice skate uphill.

Getting to the second level of About, comes from good interviews. And you cannot have a good interview without good characters. The people you choose and the things they say that you include are the lifeblood of the piece. Any good story has good characters that bring the color to it. Finding the right subject and asking the right questions are a two-fold skill to have in the field. 

In terms of interviewing practices the central lesson is "less is more."

When talking to people, approach with an naive air. Ask a lot of questions to break through the jargon and get to the core of what they're saying. Ask basic open ended questions, it's up to the interviewee to fill in the silence. Make them work for it a bit. And when it comes to the tough questions, don't be afraid to ask them. Lastly, ask ONE question at a time. Keeping a tight and focused reign on your thoughts and questions leads to a simple path and less of a chance for your subject to dodge the question.

A Journalist's Progress: Vid Interview (part deux)

This past Friday marked a couple major advancements for our project. We finally nabbed our second interview session with our subject and even better he said "I'm used to the camera now." Which was true from his whole demeanor throughout the session. He was more natural and fluid, not as conscious of the machinery recording him and focused more on us. His quotes and the pics he provided were very deep and interesting to have.

It always amazes me how much a person can get used to people over such a short time period. Considering how shy and awkward I am at almost any given moment in my life, the act of talking to a stranger about some of the most personal stuff you can get into with someone is an act of insanity as far as I'm concerned.

I think it has to do with being able to watch the slow transformation from strangers to acquaintanceship -- that delicate and steady progression as we talk like normal people and not a good cop bad cop scenario or interrogation. Despite the initial horror I feel at every outset, being able to bear witness to that shift makes it worth it. Every single time.  

(Belated) Weekend Update: Beginning of the End

Everything is coming together for us this coming week. But also everything is drawing to a huge close. It's sort of like the ships in Star Trek being pulled into the black hole and there's nothing that can be done to escape its pull. 

That's what the end of the semester feels like. 

The video piece is well on its way and should be wrapped up in the next day or two. In addition, the article is also coming along. In time, it should all come together. 

I think the key is to make sure you manage the time you have. Putting things off will not solve anything. Because no matter what you may think or want, those deadlines will still be on their way. So just do yourself a favor and get your stuff done!

Weekend Update: Breakthroughs and Tribulations

This week has been a true practice in journalism's highs and lows. In the scant couple of years I've been pursuing journalism seriously, I've learned that journalism is, at its root, a practice in masochism. 

The project focus of returning veterans at the outset was a great topic to work on. The people and sources are rich with details and insights...whenever we managed to find someone willing to talk. 

I would say the main challenge is just getting past that wall that appears to be erected throughout our pursuit. Thankfully, we got a huge break through in finding not one but two subjects. So it appears the gods of journalism are smiling upon us once again.

As for what is to come, setting up a time to meet with these guys and then compiling enough material to work with will be the key element obviously. And since we got our potential main characters, the hard part is over. 

Awkward Assumptions and Mistaken Sexuality

There's been a lot of stuff in my walk through life that I've been mistaken for because of my looks and mannerisms. 

I've been thought to be Indian, Cuban, some sort of Pacific Islander, or something or other. But those don't usually come about as often as a certain one does. 

For more times than I can remember, I've been assumed to be gay...a lot of times.

The first time it happened was when I was at work helping a woman with finding some CDs.

About two hours into my shift at work, a woman approached me asking me for help looking for a CD. She had on a deep purple blouse accompanied by a black button-up cardigan. Her shoulder-length hair bobbed with anxious energy as her head craned from left to right in search of something. As per my salesman script, I asked what type she was looking for and she replied in hushed tones “I’m a little embarrassed to say this;” she then leaned in closer the, almost whispering “I’m looking for… Broadway musicals.”

I waved my hand as if to shoo away her concerns. “Oh no worries,” I said “I listen to everything from Wu-Tang to Dolly Parton, so you have nothing to worry about.” We then shared a little chortle as I led her to the music section.

As I was searching for her CD she said “Oh look.” To the right of us was a line-up of Dolly Parton’s albums. The first in line depicted Dolly in a tight Pepto-Bismol-pink colored dress that was so tight it looked painted on. She was reclining on what looked like a bale of hay. Her hair took up three quarters of the album art. Her bosoms handled the rest.

We both stared at this case for only a moment – no more than two seconds when this woman chimed in:

 “Look at this, you must have loved this one since you’re gay.”

“What?”

“You know, you’re gay, right?”

“Actually no, I’m… I’m not.”

“Oh…”

After this exchange a great silence fell. Her eyes held a plaintive wideness as if she was waiting for me to say “Just kidding, I am gay!” and she could breathe a sigh of relief. But it did not come. And then each muscle in her face went slack one fiber at a time. As if the realization of her folly was weighing down on her cheeks and crow’s feet. 

In that fleeting silence that lasted forever, I wonder what might have caused her to think it. Was it that I liked Dolly Parton? My black thick-rimmed glasses? My mannerisms? Or was it the lisp? Something had to be done to break the tension.

I slowly turned around and picked up the complete musical adaption of Phantom of the Opera from the rack and offered it to her with a guileless smile.

“Is this what you were looking for?”

She replied with a hasty jumble of syllables that I could not make out, and quickly made her exit 

Honestly, that was the first of many times that people thought I was gay and I can't truly grasp why. I suppose, it may come from me being a good dresser? I'm well spoken? I can dance with some resemblance of rhythm?

All these things are at best, the stereotypical facets of homosexuality, but if that is the components that people based their assumptions of me, does that mean - at least in a dichotomy sense - that straight men are a mass of poorly dressed neanderthals?

While it doesn't happen every day, it has occurred in a startlingly quick rate. 

I think it's a matter of the times. In older time periods, in the time of the dandy gentleman, I would be considered pretty friggin' manly with my sweet capes and hats. 

Developing Ideas: Notes & Observations

To be honest, I was never one for public affairs or even public speaking. The very thought of it filled me with such dread. That is why I liked writing so much, the words on the page would speak for me, and I was safe to sit aside far and away from the crowd. And now, oddly enough, I'm working to be a journalist. A job where one of its primary tenants is talking to strangers. But here I am, and here we are. 

I took to print over broadcast because for much of the same reasons. The words would speak for me and I was protected from the eyes of the camera and the viewers. However, using video and images also afford certain strengths that words cannot express. A poignant interview or video package can form a development far more striking than lone words can convey at times. So using them together can create very powerful journalism.

In the reading Developing Ideas, the focus was on forming a focus for documentary film making. However, the core ideals can still resonate with developing a video piece. Aside from the technical things like "B roll" (footage to keep the scene rolling along), it also gave some nuggets of advice that really stuck with me. 

The Idea is only the Catalyst

You must keep a curious mind, a sharp eye, and a listening ear to the world around you. The thing that may trigger within you a thought or idea may come from the most infinitesimal thing. Many times "[the] inspiration...can come from anywhere" (pg. 7). 

Taking it Beyond Curiosity

Be prepared to watch your initial idea change and shift right before your eyes as you develop it. Sometimes it's because of what a subject said or did, a certain fact you discovered, or your present idea just isn't working out as you wanted it to. There is a chance that your focus can morph into something utterly unrecognizable. The key is to be adaptive to any change. Stubbornness is the killer.

Do you have a Passion for the Topic?

A professor of mine once said in order to grasp something you're working on you have to "go to school on it." In order to better understand the subject you're working, you must be willing to do the research, the homework, the interviews to really get it down. But in order to do that with any quantum of effectiveness you have the desire to dive right into it and dig deep into the foundations of your topic. You must "...assess how deeply this topic touches you" (pg. 7).

AI disturbance overlays for those who don't have Ibis paint premium. found them on tiktok

Weekend Update

Well, after a bit of a rough start of lacking interview subjects, my partner and I finally nailed our first (of now many) interviews! Our first subject was Domenick Cimino, an Afghanistan war vet who did two tours. He was pretty open and candid about his time there and especially about how it felt like to be back home after being gone for so long.

Overall, with this being our first time working on a video, I was pretty satisfied with it. My only gripes are the jump cut in the middle and possibly could put up more of a dynamic background next time. But as far as first forays into video recording and video editing go, not too shabby.

We got another set of interviews slated for this week and we just wrapped up the rough footage of our second subject Jonathon Shay, a leading researcher in the field of Post Traumatic Stress in soldiers and its effects. He was a definite font of information and the whole interview took two battery packs and two memory cards to complete. All in all, we got a lot to work with. 

The Wit and Wisdom of Tyrion Lannister

On Knowing Yourself: “Let me give you some advice, Bastard. Never forget what you are, the rest of the world will not. Wear it like armor and it can never be used to hurt you.” (Episode 1, “Winter Is Coming”)

On Disability: “If you’re going to be a cripple, it’s better to be a rich cripple.” (Episode 3: “Lord Snow”)

Read more of Tyrion’s pro-tips and life advice here.

Thoughts and Observations: Aim for the Heart chpts. 4-5

The opening gambit is most important in all walks of life. First impressions are the first line of knowledge people get of you. And in relation to writing, this is all the more apparent. 

In Tompkins, the opening line or the "hook" is seen to the audience as "the invitation to stay or the temptation to leave." What makes the reader want to stay and read on? What makes them mindlessly just give a sigh and skip to another story or flip the channel? The answer is motivation and relation. 

If the story can grab the reader and make them feel connected to the subject to the story as a whole, then that feeling will keep them to page. It's essentially a courtship between the reader and story: the initial contact, the sense of wanting to know more, and eventually entering into a private and personal world. Once you hook them however, is only the first part, the rest of the job comes in trying to keep them hooked throughout the end. 

This can be done by keeping the writing interesting and solid. Maintain a fluid and action-laden pace. This doesn't mean you have to make a Diehard movie in word form, but you should have a strong narrative that flows from scene to scene, action to reaction, character to character. As you form that network of characters and feeling, the audience will have no choice but to stick with you.