A presentation given by Beatrice Motamedi to the Year 2 advanced students at Newsroom by the Bay 2014 at Stanford

1. Reporting for Storytellers
Beatrice Motamedi/Newsroom by the Bay 2014
#thewaynorth
Thursday, June 12, 14
As reporters, we’ve always collected lots and lots of information in order to tell stories — everything from
interview tapes and notes and maps and primary documents to archival photos, videos and more. Fortunately, new
storytelling platforms and apps are giving us a chance to use all of that information. But the pressure to tell
stories in new, faster and more visual ways also is raising the bar for how and what we report. A 20-inch story in
words is not enough.

2. Storytellers of the past
Thursday, June 12, 14
How many of these old-school storytellers can you identify? With which ones do YOU identify, as a storyteller?
(Answers may vary: Scheherazade had high stakes (lives on the line), Chekhov had command of detail and color,
Homer had direct address/appeal to the reader, Hunter Thompson shocked (on purpose), Tom Wolfe had an ear
for speech/dialogue, Edward Murrow fought for access and had a sense of historical drama, and Bernstein/
Woodward were dogged reporters who stuck with their story (and triple-checked their sources).

3. Storytellers of the past
Thursday, June 12, 14
How many of these old-school storytellers can you identify? With which ones do YOU identify, as a storyteller?
(Answers may vary: Scheherazade had high stakes (lives on the line), Chekhov had command of detail and color,
Homer had direct address/appeal to the reader, Hunter Thompson shocked (on purpose), Tom Wolfe had an ear
for speech/dialogue, Edward Murrow fought for access and had a sense of historical drama, and Bernstein/
Woodward were dogged reporters who stuck with their story (and triple-checked their sources).

4. Storytellers of the past
Thursday, June 12, 14
How many of these old-school storytellers can you identify? With which ones do YOU identify, as a storyteller?
(Answers may vary: Scheherazade had high stakes (lives on the line), Chekhov had command of detail and color,
Homer had direct address/appeal to the reader, Hunter Thompson shocked (on purpose), Tom Wolfe had an ear
for speech/dialogue, Edward Murrow fought for access and had a sense of historical drama, and Bernstein/
Woodward were dogged reporters who stuck with their story (and triple-checked their sources).

5. Storytellers of the past
Thursday, June 12, 14
How many of these old-school storytellers can you identify? With which ones do YOU identify, as a storyteller?
(Answers may vary: Scheherazade had high stakes (lives on the line), Chekhov had command of detail and color,
Homer had direct address/appeal to the reader, Hunter Thompson shocked (on purpose), Tom Wolfe had an ear
for speech/dialogue, Edward Murrow fought for access and had a sense of historical drama, and Bernstein/
Woodward were dogged reporters who stuck with their story (and triple-checked their sources).

6. Storytellers of the past
Thursday, June 12, 14
How many of these old-school storytellers can you identify? With which ones do YOU identify, as a storyteller?
(Answers may vary: Scheherazade had high stakes (lives on the line), Chekhov had command of detail and color,
Homer had direct address/appeal to the reader, Hunter Thompson shocked (on purpose), Tom Wolfe had an ear
for speech/dialogue, Edward Murrow fought for access and had a sense of historical drama, and Bernstein/
Woodward were dogged reporters who stuck with their story (and triple-checked their sources).

7. Storytellers of the past
Thursday, June 12, 14
How many of these old-school storytellers can you identify? With which ones do YOU identify, as a storyteller?
(Answers may vary: Scheherazade had high stakes (lives on the line), Chekhov had command of detail and color,
Homer had direct address/appeal to the reader, Hunter Thompson shocked (on purpose), Tom Wolfe had an ear
for speech/dialogue, Edward Murrow fought for access and had a sense of historical drama, and Bernstein/
Woodward were dogged reporters who stuck with their story (and triple-checked their sources).

8. Storytellers of the past
Thursday, June 12, 14
How many of these old-school storytellers can you identify? With which ones do YOU identify, as a storyteller?
(Answers may vary: Scheherazade had high stakes (lives on the line), Chekhov had command of detail and color,
Homer had direct address/appeal to the reader, Hunter Thompson shocked (on purpose), Tom Wolfe had an ear
for speech/dialogue, Edward Murrow fought for access and had a sense of historical drama, and Bernstein/
Woodward were dogged reporters who stuck with their story (and triple-checked their sources).

9. Storytellers of the past
Thursday, June 12, 14
How many of these old-school storytellers can you identify? With which ones do YOU identify, as a storyteller?
(Answers may vary: Scheherazade had high stakes (lives on the line), Chekhov had command of detail and color,
Homer had direct address/appeal to the reader, Hunter Thompson shocked (on purpose), Tom Wolfe had an ear
for speech/dialogue, Edward Murrow fought for access and had a sense of historical drama, and Bernstein/
Woodward were dogged reporters who stuck with their story (and triple-checked their sources).

10. Storytellers of the past
Thursday, June 12, 14
How many of these old-school storytellers can you identify? With which ones do YOU identify, as a storyteller?
(Answers may vary: Scheherazade had high stakes (lives on the line), Chekhov had command of detail and color,
Homer had direct address/appeal to the reader, Hunter Thompson shocked (on purpose), Tom Wolfe had an ear
for speech/dialogue, Edward Murrow fought for access and had a sense of historical drama, and Bernstein/
Woodward were dogged reporters who stuck with their story (and triple-checked their sources).

11. Tools of the past
Thursday, June 12, 14
Images of old-school tools, including a page from the 1972 notebook used by Bob Woodward
of the Washington Post during Watergate. The TRS-80 was what I used to transmit stories
from the field when I was a UPI reporter in the 80s. iPhones have taken the place not only of
phones but recording devices.

12. Tools of the past
Thursday, June 12, 14
Images of old-school tools, including a page from the 1972 notebook used by Bob Woodward
of the Washington Post during Watergate. The TRS-80 was what I used to transmit stories
from the field when I was a UPI reporter in the 80s. iPhones have taken the place not only of
phones but recording devices.

13. Tools of the past
Thursday, June 12, 14
Images of old-school tools, including a page from the 1972 notebook used by Bob Woodward
of the Washington Post during Watergate. The TRS-80 was what I used to transmit stories
from the field when I was a UPI reporter in the 80s. iPhones have taken the place not only of
phones but recording devices.

14. Tools of the past
Thursday, June 12, 14
Images of old-school tools, including a page from the 1972 notebook used by Bob Woodward
of the Washington Post during Watergate. The TRS-80 was what I used to transmit stories
from the field when I was a UPI reporter in the 80s. iPhones have taken the place not only of
phones but recording devices.

15. Tools of the past
Thursday, June 12, 14
Images of old-school tools, including a page from the 1972 notebook used by Bob Woodward
of the Washington Post during Watergate. The TRS-80 was what I used to transmit stories
from the field when I was a UPI reporter in the 80s. iPhones have taken the place not only of
phones but recording devices.

16. Tools of the past
Thursday, June 12, 14
Images of old-school tools, including a page from the 1972 notebook used by Bob Woodward
of the Washington Post during Watergate. The TRS-80 was what I used to transmit stories
from the field when I was a UPI reporter in the 80s. iPhones have taken the place not only of
phones but recording devices.

17. Storytelling tools of the future
Thursday, June 12, 14
The explosion of digital technology — from platforms to mobile apps and social media — is creating a revolution
in storytelling. Whether it’s capturing sound (SoundNote), oral histories (OneStory), social media (Storify),
geographical data (GoogleMaps), videos (Vine), photos (Instagram) or putting them all together on your iPhone
(Steller), iPad (Storehouse) or your website (Narrable, Activist), today’s storytellers have a wide array of tools for
the job. But you still need to tell a good story, and that means fundamentals.

18. Storytelling tools of the future
Thursday, June 12, 14
The explosion of digital technology — from platforms to mobile apps and social media — is creating a revolution
in storytelling. Whether it’s capturing sound (SoundNote), oral histories (OneStory), social media (Storify),
geographical data (GoogleMaps), videos (Vine), photos (Instagram) or putting them all together on your iPhone
(Steller), iPad (Storehouse) or your website (Narrable, Activist), today’s storytellers have a wide array of tools for
the job. But you still need to tell a good story, and that means fundamentals.

19. Storytelling tools of the future
Thursday, June 12, 14
The explosion of digital technology — from platforms to mobile apps and social media — is creating a revolution
in storytelling. Whether it’s capturing sound (SoundNote), oral histories (OneStory), social media (Storify),
geographical data (GoogleMaps), videos (Vine), photos (Instagram) or putting them all together on your iPhone
(Steller), iPad (Storehouse) or your website (Narrable, Activist), today’s storytellers have a wide array of tools for
the job. But you still need to tell a good story, and that means fundamentals.

20. Storytelling tools of the future
Thursday, June 12, 14
The explosion of digital technology — from platforms to mobile apps and social media — is creating a revolution
in storytelling. Whether it’s capturing sound (SoundNote), oral histories (OneStory), social media (Storify),
geographical data (GoogleMaps), videos (Vine), photos (Instagram) or putting them all together on your iPhone
(Steller), iPad (Storehouse) or your website (Narrable, Activist), today’s storytellers have a wide array of tools for
the job. But you still need to tell a good story, and that means fundamentals.

21. Storytelling tools of the future
Thursday, June 12, 14
The explosion of digital technology — from platforms to mobile apps and social media — is creating a revolution
in storytelling. Whether it’s capturing sound (SoundNote), oral histories (OneStory), social media (Storify),
geographical data (GoogleMaps), videos (Vine), photos (Instagram) or putting them all together on your iPhone
(Steller), iPad (Storehouse) or your website (Narrable, Activist), today’s storytellers have a wide array of tools for
the job. But you still need to tell a good story, and that means fundamentals.

22. Storytelling tools of the future
Thursday, June 12, 14
The explosion of digital technology — from platforms to mobile apps and social media — is creating a revolution
in storytelling. Whether it’s capturing sound (SoundNote), oral histories (OneStory), social media (Storify),
geographical data (GoogleMaps), videos (Vine), photos (Instagram) or putting them all together on your iPhone
(Steller), iPad (Storehouse) or your website (Narrable, Activist), today’s storytellers have a wide array of tools for
the job. But you still need to tell a good story, and that means fundamentals.

23. Storytelling tools of the future
Thursday, June 12, 14
The explosion of digital technology — from platforms to mobile apps and social media — is creating a revolution
in storytelling. Whether it’s capturing sound (SoundNote), oral histories (OneStory), social media (Storify),
geographical data (GoogleMaps), videos (Vine), photos (Instagram) or putting them all together on your iPhone
(Steller), iPad (Storehouse) or your website (Narrable, Activist), today’s storytellers have a wide array of tools for
the job. But you still need to tell a good story, and that means fundamentals.

24. Storytelling tools of the future
Thursday, June 12, 14
The explosion of digital technology — from platforms to mobile apps and social media — is creating a revolution
in storytelling. Whether it’s capturing sound (SoundNote), oral histories (OneStory), social media (Storify),
geographical data (GoogleMaps), videos (Vine), photos (Instagram) or putting them all together on your iPhone
(Steller), iPad (Storehouse) or your website (Narrable, Activist), today’s storytellers have a wide array of tools for
the job. But you still need to tell a good story, and that means fundamentals.

25. Storytelling tools of the future
Thursday, June 12, 14
The explosion of digital technology — from platforms to mobile apps and social media — is creating a revolution
in storytelling. Whether it’s capturing sound (SoundNote), oral histories (OneStory), social media (Storify),
geographical data (GoogleMaps), videos (Vine), photos (Instagram) or putting them all together on your iPhone
(Steller), iPad (Storehouse) or your website (Narrable, Activist), today’s storytellers have a wide array of tools for
the job. But you still need to tell a good story, and that means fundamentals.

26. Storytelling tools of the future
Thursday, June 12, 14
The explosion of digital technology — from platforms to mobile apps and social media — is creating a revolution
in storytelling. Whether it’s capturing sound (SoundNote), oral histories (OneStory), social media (Storify),
geographical data (GoogleMaps), videos (Vine), photos (Instagram) or putting them all together on your iPhone
(Steller), iPad (Storehouse) or your website (Narrable, Activist), today’s storytellers have a wide array of tools for
the job. But you still need to tell a good story, and that means fundamentals.

27. Storytelling tools of the future
Thursday, June 12, 14
The explosion of digital technology — from platforms to mobile apps and social media — is creating a revolution
in storytelling. Whether it’s capturing sound (SoundNote), oral histories (OneStory), social media (Storify),
geographical data (GoogleMaps), videos (Vine), photos (Instagram) or putting them all together on your iPhone
(Steller), iPad (Storehouse) or your website (Narrable, Activist), today’s storytellers have a wide array of tools for
the job. But you still need to tell a good story, and that means fundamentals.

28. Storytelling tools of the future
Thursday, June 12, 14
The explosion of digital technology — from platforms to mobile apps and social media — is creating a revolution
in storytelling. Whether it’s capturing sound (SoundNote), oral histories (OneStory), social media (Storify),
geographical data (GoogleMaps), videos (Vine), photos (Instagram) or putting them all together on your iPhone
(Steller), iPad (Storehouse) or your website (Narrable, Activist), today’s storytellers have a wide array of tools for
the job. But you still need to tell a good story, and that means fundamentals.

29. Storytelling tools of the future
Thursday, June 12, 14
The explosion of digital technology — from platforms to mobile apps and social media — is creating a revolution
in storytelling. Whether it’s capturing sound (SoundNote), oral histories (OneStory), social media (Storify),
geographical data (GoogleMaps), videos (Vine), photos (Instagram) or putting them all together on your iPhone
(Steller), iPad (Storehouse) or your website (Narrable, Activist), today’s storytellers have a wide array of tools for
the job. But you still need to tell a good story, and that means fundamentals.

30. Storytelling tools of the future
Thursday, June 12, 14
The explosion of digital technology — from platforms to mobile apps and social media — is creating a revolution
in storytelling. Whether it’s capturing sound (SoundNote), oral histories (OneStory), social media (Storify),
geographical data (GoogleMaps), videos (Vine), photos (Instagram) or putting them all together on your iPhone
(Steller), iPad (Storehouse) or your website (Narrable, Activist), today’s storytellers have a wide array of tools for
the job. But you still need to tell a good story, and that means fundamentals.

31. NYT: The Way North
Thursday, June 12, 14
This series (ongoing) from the NYT has great fundamentals, including a strong premise (Highway 35 from Laredo,
Texas to Duluth, Minnesota, an immigrant thruway), shoe leather (writer and photographer on the road, not just at
a desk), varied platforms (photo, text), crowdsourcing/commentary (where should we go? what did we get right/
wrong?), data visualization, and social media (#thewaynorth, Instagram). And, great writing.

32. • Not “we talk, you listen” — I listen, you talk
• Many platforms (audio, video, text, photos) PLUS social media
• Multiple entry points (no “beginning” or “end”)
• Be a human vacuum cleaner — get the B roll, collect the artifacts
• Visualize the data
• Blow it up/break it out — consider alt story forms (the “listicle”?)
New (old) rules for storytellers
Thursday, June 12, 14
Some of these rules are new, while others (“be a human vacuum cleaner”) are familiar.

33. I listen, you talk
easy. quick. effective.
Why don’t we do this
more often?
Thursday, June 12, 14
Not only submissions poured in — 1,000 of them — actual stories poured in. And that led to
a “listicle” of places that readers wanted the NYT to visit, including names, quotes, and
information from pre-readers. This story literally began writing itself before it formally
began.

34. Many platforms/social media
Thursday, June 12, 14
The entry point of the story comes even before the story begins. Heisler posts photos as he
takes them, not as they’re published; Cave tweets information and reports key quotes as he
gets them, not as they’re published. Better to scoop yourself before someone scoops you?

35. Another “North” story (video)
Thursday, June 12, 14
Oddly, no video in “The Way North” — maybe two guys in a car can’t achieve NYT-level
production values? But this video shows how much video adds to a story. Listen for the B-roll
— ambient noise, background images, information that provides context/background.

36. Multiple entry points
Thursday, June 12, 14
Multiple entry points to this story are visualized in a timeline at the bottom of the page. This
actually keeps the homepage design very elegant — a big photo, with the nav information at
the bottom where it doesn’t distract. Interestingly, the top-right hand corner — the best real-
estate on the page, reader-wise — is for a “share” icon. Smart!

37. Be a human vacuum cleaner: “Made in the USA”
Thursday, June 12, 14
This extraordinary multimedia story includes everything from text, photos and video, to
archival materials and primary documents such as personal diaries, drugstore receipts, notes
from medical charts, maps, corporate press releases, and more. It was created using a free
iPad app called Atavist.

38. Thursday, June 12, 14
So far, so good (but what are all those tiny icons?). Note the tight writing and strong
figurative language: “ramshackle” white house vs. the doors of the big pharmaceutical
companies; the rhythm of “this interactive explores ... the world” and “And how Kinkade left
it.” Perfect.

39. Thursday, June 12, 14
Each of the icons literally explodes into image. What we have always seen as reporters now
gets captured and placed into the story.

40. Thursday, June 12, 14
Not unusual for a reporter to gather this information. But, until now, news holes didn’t
accommodate this much visual information. Online, the news hole can be much bigger than
in print. What we used to file away can now lead readers deeper and deeper into the story.

41. Thursday, June 12, 14
Remarkable ... a text that is a visual, and again something that most stories in print would
not be able to communicate. This is not only dramatic information; it is damning information.

42. Thursday, June 12, 14
Multimedia writing is tight writing; when you can post the artifact, you can find ways for the
story to explain itself (“see below”) instead of paraphrasing or summarizing, which can
introduce unintentional bias.

43. Thursday, June 12, 14
Video of the doctor.

44. Visualize the data
Thursday, June 12, 14
Visualizing data is a part of reporting for storytelling. Instead of long blocks of expository
writing that explain (tell) the data, show the data. Here is a data vis from the first “Way North”
story that sets a scene for how America views immigration.

45. Thursday, June 12, 14
A simple data vis from “Made in the U.S.A.” You could easily do the same (for free) using apps
such as infogr.am. You can also make your apps interactive, thereby allowing your reader to
have the same power to manipulate data as you do (why not?).

46. Deeply geeky (and not easy to read, but cool)
Thursday, June 12, 14
This June 6 feature is a masterful telling of a story that could be boring — how the Great
Recession of 2001 changed the American economy, including its impact on various industries
from media to manufacturing. While it’s not always easy to follow, the story charts new
ground in how to use and simplify complex data sets.

47. Blow it up/break it out: The “listicle”
Thursday, June 12, 14
More and more, multimedia stories are collections of information, not just one long scroll.
Here, AP reporters are taking a recent memo to heart by generating “10 interesting things”
that Putin said. If you are doing an interview and you notice a list in the making, you may
want to focus and ask questions aimed at producing a listicle along with your story.

48. Blow it up/break it out: The “listicle”
Thursday, June 12, 14
More and more, multimedia stories are collections of information, not just one long scroll.
Here, AP reporters are taking a recent memo to heart by generating “10 interesting things”
that Putin said. If you are doing an interview and you notice a list in the making, you may
want to focus and ask questions aimed at producing a listicle along with your story.

49. Blow it up/break it out: The “listicle”
Thursday, June 12, 14
More and more, multimedia stories are collections of information, not just one long scroll.
Here, AP reporters are taking a recent memo to heart by generating “10 interesting things”
that Putin said. If you are doing an interview and you notice a list in the making, you may
want to focus and ask questions aimed at producing a listicle along with your story.

50. Ultimately, good reporting = good writing
Thursday, June 12, 14
Above all, remember that reporting lives to serve good writing. If you don’t get good stuff,
you can’t write good stuff. This lede is 30 words, with solid observational reporting that
results in a clear time element, specific detail and strong verbs. Any storyteller - old school
or new school - could be proud of this.

51. Well-captured quotes, high stakes
framing quote/color
nut graf - why it matters
more framing/color
Thursday, June 12, 14
Well-observed detail continues (hot dogs and tortillas are the literal translation of “Mexican
immigrant and Iraq war veteran”) into a nut graf that clearly defines the stakes (a popular
destination revived by a new population). This section ends with the use of resonance (“we all
come here ... they come to all the movies”). This story sings.

52. The only thing I have wanted to do in my life—and the
only thing I have done somewhat well—is telling stories
…. For me, stories are like toys, and making them up is,
one way or another, like a game. I believe that if a child
were put in front of a group of toys with different
characteristics, this child would start by playing with
everything but at the end would stick to only one of
those toys. This one toy would be the expression of the
kid’s skills and vocation. If conditions were given for
this talent to be developed throughout a lifetime, we
would be on the verge of discovering one of the secrets
for happiness and longevity. —Gabriel García Márquez
So, start playing ;-)
Thursday, June 12, 14
Gabriel Garcia Marquez, who won the Nobel Prize for Literature, said this at a film
scriptwriting workshop in June 2004. He died in April 2014. The quote is from “Journalists as
Storytellers,” by Guillermo Franco, at Nieman Reports. I like this quote for its sense of fun and
exploration. Which storytelling “toy” will you play with?

53. Extra links and readings
• The Associated Press annual report
• AP advises journos to stick to word counts, start using alternative story forms
• U.S. Agency for International Development’s “listicle” about “errors” in an AP
story
• The AP’s “listicle” about an interview with Vladimir Putin
• Atavist sample story (play with it!)
• “Journalism 2.0” by Mark Briggs (free download)
Thursday, June 12, 14
For more on modern multimedia storytelling. Pinterest’s digital storytelling board also
includes more than 50 platforms, apps and story reporting/storytelling tools - worth
checking out.