Converged Feature Writer - Reporting With All Five Senses

The Converged Feature Writer Reporting with all five senses

The daily dish•The rise of narrative writing•A cautionary tale of reporting for detail•The multimedia mind of Anne Hull•Detail without aim: notebook dumps•Class exercise in critique•Meaning in description: The Hotel

Long-Form Giants Leon Dash Jacqui BanaszynskiTom French Isabel Wilkerson Anne Hull

CANONS OFDESCRIPTION

I. SPECIFICITY There is no such flavor as “ice cream” Exhibit A:Pete blows his big Baskin-Robbins scoop

II. UTILITYJournalistic detail must serve the topic Exhibit B:The geopolitics of the Dairy Queen

Exhibit C: Street Preachers• In two words, what is the story about?• How does that drive Hull’s choices?• How do the details advance the story?• What are video, audio entry points?

III. RESTRAINT• Choose details like toppings: Use taste• Synecdoche rhymes with Schenectady• Do not put a cherry on top• Avoid the color purple

Homer on the color purple"Your opening shows great promise, and yet flashy purple patches...”

To do …and not to do• Relevant • Extraneous• Telling • Gratuitous• Concise • Verbose• Emblematic • Random•Authentic • Clichéd

Overwriters Anonymous Example 3Stories that make your teeth hurt

Exhibit 4 “The Hotel Aftermath”By Anne Hull and Dana Priest The Washington Post 2008 Pulitzer Prize Public Service

Practice makes perfect  Be specific: Ask what flavor.  Be purposeful: What is the “stuff” of the story?  Be choosy: Select details for meaning and effect. Less can be more.

Converged Feature Writer - Reporting With All Five Senses

by Lorraine Ahearn on Jul 30, 2011

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Converged Feature Writer - Reporting With All Five Senses — Presentation Transcript