By Courtney Perkes
The presented was Dick Weiss, deputy metro editor and writing coach at the St. Louis Post Dispatch.
1. Remember why you got Into the business
Weiss told a story of a job candidate who shared her experience as a teen mother. Her life story played a part in her landing the job. Weiss advises reporters to remember where they came from, why they’re doing the job and be prepared to discuss this mission statement during job interviews.
2. Build on the great work of others
Weiss recommends reading the following books: “Writing For Story” by Jon Franklin, “Literary Journalism” by Kramer/Sims, “Stein on Writing” by Sol Stein, and “The Art and Craft of Feature Writing” by Bill Blundell.
In addition to reading, Weiss said to seek out the help of people you admire. He once emailed Jon Franklin, author of “Writing For Story,” and said: “You’re my hero.” As a result, Franklin talked to Weiss for an hour and half for a story he was writing.
3. Don’t just provide information, tell a story
Newspapers must provide TV listings and stock tables, but they should also rivet readers. Weiss said he looks for excuses to tell stories every where he goes. He read a story he wrote about a 10-year-old girl who played basketball but was very, very short. She scored her first and only basket shooting granny style.
4. Go mining for meaning
Weiss said many stories have no resolution — such as Social Security and the future of Afghanistan. Those stories are the first drafts of history. But where you can, try to include in stories the purpose and meaning of what people do. For instance, when the mother of a brain-dead man sued to keep her son alive, the newspaper wrote a story on why. The second-day story was about the man’s wife, who wanted him to be removed from life support. But the third-day story went a step further and told of the dilemma faced by the man who would have to recommend to a judge what decision to make.
5. Paint a picture
Good details come from good interviews. Ask questions over a series of two to three visits. If that isn’t possible, call the source back for follow up questions. Find your voice and remember that different voices are appropriate for different stories. For instance, do you tell a friend a joke in the same voice as bad news?
6. Economy in words, grace in style
Use no more than 21 words in a sentence
Never use a big word when a simple one will do
View adverbs and adjectives with suspicion
Use active verbs
Find interesting nouns
Capture the essence quickly
Raise a question soon
Make the reader want to know what happens next
7. Collaborate
Learn from each other, try not to get defensive, maintain the self confidence of others, take the initiative, lead by example.
7.5 Your credibility above all
• Stick to story lengths, deadlines and meeting times
• Own up, we all make mistakes
• Be straight with sources, don’t let them be surprised when they read the paper
• Get back to people, even return calls from the crazies
• Make time for people less established in their journalism careers
Resources: weisswrite.com, poynter.org, notrain-nogain.org
7.5 Habits of Highly Effective Journalists
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