An a-ha moment

I had an a-ha moment today. I have heard Joni's presentation on the marriage of word and art - and the importance of presenting the news - several times over the past five years. But today, I heard something different.
She explained and detailed on the white board the conversation about a front page story between herself -a visuals editor- and the paper's editor. As she laid out the questions regarding information she needed to create a meaningful package, I couldn't help but think "these are the questions that every reporter and editor needs to ask before beginning to craft a story."
Why is this new park important? What will change? How much will it cost? What do people think about the project?
Sometimes I read stories that seem as if they were written on the fly, with little thought. Sometimes I read stories that are almost like reading minutes of a meeting. They lack focus; they lack concern for the audience - the consumer of the news. What a shame.
So my a-ha moment is this: Thinking visually empowers another part of our brain; if forces us as writers and editors to think through the issues in different ways -ask questions in a new way. Can this be better communicated through words? A photo? A graphic? A map?
Reporting is no longer just about the written word. We have so many tools at our disposal today to communicate to our audience. The challenge we have in this new world is deciding which tools will best convey the message of the story.

Pressing forward

This morning I met up with Brady Silver, a 2007 Brovald-Sims student/intern, at a press conference being held in the office of the Speaker of the House of Representatives Margaret Anderson Kelliher. He has been hired by the Mesabi Daily paper as a capitol reporter for the session. Wow ... was I proud. There, in the room with seasoned capitol reporters - the likes of Eric Eskola and Mary Lahammer - was a former student of ours.
He didn't ask any questions, but what an experience for him. I'm anxious to read his account of the p.c., which was about the budget-balancing efforts going on at the capitol, and this week's line-item vetos by the governor of the capital investment bill.

Good leads draw you in

I just finished reading a story on the Web by Lori Wolter.
So, Lori, you are my first blog post.
The story is definitely worth a look. Putting a Face on Food is well-written and very interesting. But it's the lead that I want to draw your attention to.
"The Fleishman family know where their food comes from."
It grabbed my attention, and it drew me right in. The second paragraph didn't waste any of my time, and it let me know quickly what this story was all about.
One more thing ... I loved the closeup of the tomato ....right under the headline.
Loved it. Loved it. Loved it.