Science writers, here's news: Americanssay they want more science, reports From the Lab Bench, a nature network blog. While only 18% of Americans admit to knowing a scientist personally, 66% of people in Maryland said they want to see more information about science and research in the public media.
So go, write. Someone might just be reading!
Wednesday, June 15, 2011
Saturday, June 4, 2011
Some guidelines in science writing
from Alton Blakeslee, veteran science editor of Associated Press,
and Sandra Blakeslee
With your story done, ask yourself:
and Sandra Blakeslee
- Push your enthusiasm button. If you are not interested, how can you expect to captivate your readers or listeners?
- Think what your story really means and how best to say it. Thinking is always the hardest part. Distill and distill your facts and purpose to the core of meaning. What is this story about? Who cares? Why are you writing it now?
- Regard your readers not as being ignorant but more likely "innocent" of your topic and its jargon. Write for intelligent fourteen-year-olds who can follow complex material just fine but have not yet learned scientific terms or concepts.
- Explain technical terms instantly if you must use them (and often you must), then you can use them again in that same story. But you can't use them again in your next story without defining them again. You likely won't have the exact same readers.
- Explain the unfamiliar by comparing it with something generally familiar.
- Put yourself on the other side of your desktop or laptop and ask yourself and then answer all the questions that might occur to you if you had never heard of the subject before.
- Don't put all the "logs" of attribution and identification into one paragraph, just to get rid of them. Be more solicitous of your readers and sources.
- Look for gems of detail that can make a story sparkle. Report and write with your ears as well as your eyes, seeking out phrases that say something extremely well, or colloquially, in the words of people interviewed or overheard.
- In interviewing and researching, there is no such thing as a dumb question when you want to understand something correctly, to write about it accurately. Don't be embarrassed. Who knows everything?
- Be not afraid to use periods liberally. And avoid putting two unfamiliar points in the same sentence, or even the same paragraph.
- Look for different-from-ordinary ways of expression.
- Give your story some focus and a place to go, then quit.
- Wring out the "water" of excess verbiage.
- What you leave out of a story can be more important than what you leave in. Otherwise the reader may drown in non-essential detail.
- Never let a story go without taking a second look. Is there some better or more accurate or appealing word or phrase, some lovelier expression, some sharper beginning?
- Do not begin a story with a question, except in unusual circumstances. Instead, answer the question.
- You likely will not get anyone to read your second paragraph unless you hook his or her interest in your first paragraph. Your opening --dramatic or soft key --counts hugely.
- In seeking how to begin or explain something, it often helps to verbally tell a friend what your story is about. The verbal telling may help you hone your thoughts, ideas and ways of expression.
- Your first draft is not written in concrete. It should be intended to put all that you want to say in one place, so you can see it all better. Let that draft flow. Don't interrupt when the thinking is flowing to look up some minor detail that you can insert later. Keep it coming.
- Digest your material. Then relax and say what you want to say.
With your story done, ask yourself:
- Is it good enough?
- Could I do better?
- Was I careless? Lazy? Tired?
- Did I really say what I wanted to say?
- Can I polish it? Find a better verb, better description, analogy?
Friday, June 3, 2011
Science Times guidelines for freelancers
From David Corcoran
Unfortunately, opportunities for new freelancers are quite limited. The great preponderance of material in the section comes from staff writers or regular contributors.
We do look at articles and essays on spec, and we make very occasional assignments for news features that catch our eye. Here are a few things to keep in mind.
Unfortunately, opportunities for new freelancers are quite limited. The great preponderance of material in the section comes from staff writers or regular contributors.
We do look at articles and essays on spec, and we make very occasional assignments for news features that catch our eye. Here are a few things to keep in mind.
- The article should be newsy and timely. It should tell readers something they don’t already know, and within the first few paragraphs it should answer the question “Why are you telling me this now?”
- Topics can range widely over science and health, but bear in mind that important news developments, including major findings reported in science and medical journals, are likely to be covered by our staff writers. The best outside articles are those that make a reader (in this case an editor) sit up and take notice, by calling attention to a surprising or underreported development or trend.
- Articles generally run 500 to 1,500 words. Science Times pays $1 a word on publication. Queries or pitches should run no more than 300 words.
- The pitch or cover letter should indicate whether the news has already been reported — in The Times, the mainstream press (including Web sites, TV and radio) or scientific journals. A yes answer does not necessarily mean we’re not interested, but we need to know what kind of exposure the story has had.
- Queries and finished articles should be sent by e-mail to corcoran@nytimes.com.
- We also look at personal essays, on spec only, for the Health page feature Cases. These are first-person articles of 800 words or so about an encounter with the medical system.
Give me your blogs!
Does anybody remember the whole list of names from Monday night, in order? Probably not, but it was an amazingly effective way to get to know everybody.
As the workshop winds down, we can keep in touch through our blogs. Please send me your blog link by email, or add it in a comment to this post and I will add them to the list at the right.
As the workshop winds down, we can keep in touch through our blogs. Please send me your blog link by email, or add it in a comment to this post and I will add them to the list at the right.
Lynn Friedman on Freelancing
Lynn Friedman
http://www.friedmanncommunications.com/
What I wish I knew then that I know now!
There are as many ways to become a science writer as there are coloring easter eggs.
Father was auto mechanic, high school grad, mother, cafeteria lady. Went to college at 27. Worked in police department, learned how to ask questions, how not to faint at sight of blood. Wanted to find a way to be in science without being a scientist. Changed to journalism in senior year Worked in pub rel in technology and other similar jobs. Worried about getting trapped in the pub rel rather than science writing, so decided to go freelance.
So she realized she needed a plan, to decide who, what, how, etc. First client was Academy of Sciences, after winning in competition with a big SF firm.
Consider geography. You want to be able to drop in, hang out, go to journal sessions, etc, so it makes sense to control your choice of clients by geographic range.
Legal issues – get professional help, tax advisor, etc.
Naming business....helpful if you grow. Legal thing, “DBA”, publish three times, etc. Pay your business license every year to show that you are for real, and establishes you as that company. 25 years later, it has an effect. A company actually tried to take over her business name, Friedman Communications, claiming it didn't matter, not important to her. With her history, she was able to enforce her ownership of the name.
Home office....you need technology, adequate lighting, ergonomic chair, website, business card.
When you exchange cards, make notes, enter info into database, use for future contacts. Little hints that you can use in next meeting make you look like a genius.
What are you going to charge? How much do you need to do this?
If you work 40 hr/week, 52 weeks=2080 hours
Subtract 3 wks vacation, 8 holidays, doctor appointments, etc
Divide by 2 to account for marketing, admin, etc.
924 is actual number available for work.
Keep money separated from personal money, separate credit cards, bank accounts, etc. Use software to track all this. Look for tax benefits, incl use of car, insurance, etc.
Can you afford to take this plunge? It may be six months before you see a check. You need to have money in the bank, not just to start out, but as you continue your business. We call this walking money, for times when you don't have time for an assignment, or you don't like the trend of the request in terms of ethics, etc. You have to have the ability to walk away from a job.
How to find work? Look at local non-profits and see if they want help with their publications. Not a longterm commitment, but a way to get clips. Plus these orgs have powerful people on their boards, etc. Contact publications when a conference is in your town and make a pitch to cover it. Know the publication first and know what they expect. If you have hobbies, there are probably publications for those hobbies and they probably want articles. May not pay, or pay great, but you get clips. Conferences also often have a daily newsletter during the conference where they need journalists to fill up with stories about the conference presentations, etc.
Start building a network. Include not just other writers, or sources for work, but people who can support a project—photographer, graphics artist, indexer, etc. Use them as contractors on projects, then disband the team at the end of the project. You can also refer clients who have jobs you can't do, for time or whatever reason. If you solve their problem, they will be grateful and come back to you later.
Join professional organizations! NASW.org, many of their members are freelancers, so they have been adding services for freelancers. Check out Words Worth, a feedback forum where you can check out publications in terms of pay rates, working arrangement, etc. Note—does require five clips in order to become an actual member. The goal is to keep the membership to working science writers. On the other hand, the NASW card is equivalent to a press card that gets you into conferences like AAAS or SfN. Other conferences, esp smaller groups, may be more than happy to provide press credentials for participation. You can also be sponsored by, say, somebody running this workshop or speaking at it....
The site offers articles by other sci writers and freelancers, such as how to organize. __________ wrote article, describing how to track and organize time (project for Reuters was color-coded red, one for Urology Monthly was yellow...)
If you do join, you do want to become involved and not just read the newsletter. There are sigs and committees that you can give back, etc. Also the more you volunteer, the more you get known, which can bring in leads and work.
Make a point, every day, to say no to three things. Every time you say yes to something, you are saying no to something else. Buy time, think about how it fits in. Say no to your email, set aside time for such things and then turn the thing off when you are not. Check yourself—what have I said “no” to today?
Stay in touch, do things for mental health, interact with people, just to keep from only listening to the voice in your own head.
For example, Lynn had the opportunity to climb Kilamanjaro. To prepare for this, she quit many boards and other obligations, but at the end, she realized that she had narrowed her focus to her writing and her training and not much else. So she rejoin some, but not all the boards she had been on.
Always kept a component of freelance writing and made sure she had a number of bylines per year. But she wanted to avoid being tied to certain industries, so she broadened her writing and her clients as possible.
Annual report writing for technology-based companies. How to find these jobs....companies start this process, they go to graphics artists. Find those groups and contact them and make them aware of your expertise.
George made a distinction between being strictly a science journalist and writing science for companies or even non-profits. There is a “taint” when you are expected to highlight the company or the university or whatever, but on the other hand, you do have to make money. The key to do this full time is probably to seek variety but also become valuable to a handful of repeat clients. Gareth says the most successful freelancers see their work as a portfolio, with some work that is lucrative but maybe not your passion, some things you do as your passion, some things you do to be seen or become known, etc.
George asks about contracts, book deals, kill fees, etc.
Lynn says you want to work in a manner that you “avoid grievances”. When jobs became problematic in her experience, they were also ones with no contract. Oral agreements are not worth the paper they are written on. Get it in writing, even just one page, even if you have to write it for them.
Recommends contacting editor in the middle of a job, even if your contract doesn't require it, to keep connection alive, etc. Editors in the audience agreed that this is a great thing—give them a heads up if a problem has come up, assure them you aren't dead, etc. The editor wants to know you are in command of the story.
David Corcoran asks about ethical standards for freelancers. At the Times, they send out a contract that includes the rate and description of ownership of work, and expectation of ethics, including companies they work for, junkets they have accepted, connections to government, lobbying, would your family members have such conflicts, etc. They have a standards editor to help resolve problems. Suggests that we look at the Times Guidelines for Ethical Journalism, online.
Molly asks if there is a standard pitch formula. Lynn says the best pitch she ever received: “How would you like a science article that includes Marlon Brando.” Maria suggests Media Bistro for examples of successful pitches with explanation by the editor on why it worked. Gareth says, he wants it not too long, what is new in this, assure me that someone hasn't already written, who you are and why you are qualified for this story. Qualified means you have written for other cool organizations, but give relevant clips if needed. If it's two pages, it may not be read. You want to write a note that you are going to solve a problem that you are qualified to write and will not require him to do work. David says 250-300 words, and where else has this been covered, if so where and how. Kathy asks if email is the way to do it and what subject line will work? A well written query is like giving qualifications, even if the subject isn't of interest, it may solicit an alternative offer. KNOW THE PUBLICATION STYLE AND TYPE OF ARTICLES THEY USE. If you don't know the pub, how can you solve their problems?
Adam says do not say “have you guys done a story on this – with link” I don't know...delete....
Wildly inappropriate pitch—again KNOW THE MAGAZINE.
Front of the book suggestions: couple of paragraphs on two or three ideas, links to local coverage, roundup of options. Features require a more elaborate process, might be some give and take, ultimately produces a pitch letter that he takes to his editors. Wired has a front of the book contract, can be generic but means you will probably get more work, and they give other suggestions and support as well.
Gareth says that when he gets a good query but can't use the story, he sends back a boilerplate description of what they do need, which is a good outcome, because you have begun a relationship.
George notes there are two kinds of contracts. Freelance writers typically own the content they write, and magazines buy publication rights for this, sometimes “all world rights” which means they might translate it and print in elsewhere. Might get you more money when they do that. Or they may only ask for English rights, or second serial rights. Then there are electronic rights.
On the other hand, there are work-for-hire contracts. In this case, the client completely owns your product. Watch out for the clause that you indemnify and hold harmless the client against all lawsuits etc. Now they usually just say you vouch for not plagiarizing it, etc.
Lynn describes work-for-hire experience. Job had a very short deadline and the work-for-hire. She doubled her standard fee TWICE to account for the drawbacks and they paid it.
Cindy suggests having contracts examined by an attorney, at least the first time, who found shocking details in the contract that she could not live with. The client claimed the contract was intended to protect the writing, but the slant was all in their favor, not hers.
Re attending scientific conferences. Lynn says that some people go to these conferences just to hang out in the press room and meet the journalists.
George notes that it is possible to be sued for plagiarizing yourself. Example of someone who profiled a sport figure and then later got a job to write a bio of the same guy. He used some of this earlier writing and was sued by the publisher of the original work.
Google yourself periodically and deal with those who are using your work without paying you.
Betsy asks if you ever send a story to an editor rather than sending a pitch. Gareth says he hates that—it never works and he doesn't want to have to read it. Most importantly, he says he wants to work with you to shape the story and make sure he gets what he needs. Adam says he's almost insulted by such behavior because it's his job to decide that a story works for his publication.
Molly asks about the concern that after pitching a story, the editor will reject the query and then give the story idea to one of his staff writers. David says yeah there's a risk, although it's highly unethical. Lynn reminds us that you have a paper trail if you sent it, but George points out that you can't steal an idea, only the implementation of it, and it might happen.
From the editor's point of view, they hate writers sending in too many words. David simply rejects 3000 words instead of 1200. Gareth says if it's too long, the story is not finished, and he doesn't want to see it before it's done. Corry notes that if she doesn't have time to cut an article, she marks sections that could be cut if the editor wishes to shorten a too-long article. She says “complete the work assigned, on time and within the assigned number of words.”
George recommends “Open Notebook” site (http://www.theopennotebook.com/). They get freelancers to interview writers who have stories published to find out how they developed the story and got it published.
http://www.friedmanncommunications.com/
What I wish I knew then that I know now!
There are as many ways to become a science writer as there are coloring easter eggs.
Father was auto mechanic, high school grad, mother, cafeteria lady. Went to college at 27. Worked in police department, learned how to ask questions, how not to faint at sight of blood. Wanted to find a way to be in science without being a scientist. Changed to journalism in senior year Worked in pub rel in technology and other similar jobs. Worried about getting trapped in the pub rel rather than science writing, so decided to go freelance.
So she realized she needed a plan, to decide who, what, how, etc. First client was Academy of Sciences, after winning in competition with a big SF firm.
Consider geography. You want to be able to drop in, hang out, go to journal sessions, etc, so it makes sense to control your choice of clients by geographic range.
Legal issues – get professional help, tax advisor, etc.
Naming business....helpful if you grow. Legal thing, “DBA”, publish three times, etc. Pay your business license every year to show that you are for real, and establishes you as that company. 25 years later, it has an effect. A company actually tried to take over her business name, Friedman Communications, claiming it didn't matter, not important to her. With her history, she was able to enforce her ownership of the name.
Home office....you need technology, adequate lighting, ergonomic chair, website, business card.
When you exchange cards, make notes, enter info into database, use for future contacts. Little hints that you can use in next meeting make you look like a genius.
What are you going to charge? How much do you need to do this?
If you work 40 hr/week, 52 weeks=2080 hours
Subtract 3 wks vacation, 8 holidays, doctor appointments, etc
Divide by 2 to account for marketing, admin, etc.
924 is actual number available for work.
Keep money separated from personal money, separate credit cards, bank accounts, etc. Use software to track all this. Look for tax benefits, incl use of car, insurance, etc.
Can you afford to take this plunge? It may be six months before you see a check. You need to have money in the bank, not just to start out, but as you continue your business. We call this walking money, for times when you don't have time for an assignment, or you don't like the trend of the request in terms of ethics, etc. You have to have the ability to walk away from a job.
How to find work? Look at local non-profits and see if they want help with their publications. Not a longterm commitment, but a way to get clips. Plus these orgs have powerful people on their boards, etc. Contact publications when a conference is in your town and make a pitch to cover it. Know the publication first and know what they expect. If you have hobbies, there are probably publications for those hobbies and they probably want articles. May not pay, or pay great, but you get clips. Conferences also often have a daily newsletter during the conference where they need journalists to fill up with stories about the conference presentations, etc.
Start building a network. Include not just other writers, or sources for work, but people who can support a project—photographer, graphics artist, indexer, etc. Use them as contractors on projects, then disband the team at the end of the project. You can also refer clients who have jobs you can't do, for time or whatever reason. If you solve their problem, they will be grateful and come back to you later.
Join professional organizations! NASW.org, many of their members are freelancers, so they have been adding services for freelancers. Check out Words Worth, a feedback forum where you can check out publications in terms of pay rates, working arrangement, etc. Note—does require five clips in order to become an actual member. The goal is to keep the membership to working science writers. On the other hand, the NASW card is equivalent to a press card that gets you into conferences like AAAS or SfN. Other conferences, esp smaller groups, may be more than happy to provide press credentials for participation. You can also be sponsored by, say, somebody running this workshop or speaking at it....
The site offers articles by other sci writers and freelancers, such as how to organize. __________ wrote article, describing how to track and organize time (project for Reuters was color-coded red, one for Urology Monthly was yellow...)
If you do join, you do want to become involved and not just read the newsletter. There are sigs and committees that you can give back, etc. Also the more you volunteer, the more you get known, which can bring in leads and work.
Make a point, every day, to say no to three things. Every time you say yes to something, you are saying no to something else. Buy time, think about how it fits in. Say no to your email, set aside time for such things and then turn the thing off when you are not. Check yourself—what have I said “no” to today?
Stay in touch, do things for mental health, interact with people, just to keep from only listening to the voice in your own head.
For example, Lynn had the opportunity to climb Kilamanjaro. To prepare for this, she quit many boards and other obligations, but at the end, she realized that she had narrowed her focus to her writing and her training and not much else. So she rejoin some, but not all the boards she had been on.
Always kept a component of freelance writing and made sure she had a number of bylines per year. But she wanted to avoid being tied to certain industries, so she broadened her writing and her clients as possible.
Annual report writing for technology-based companies. How to find these jobs....companies start this process, they go to graphics artists. Find those groups and contact them and make them aware of your expertise.
George made a distinction between being strictly a science journalist and writing science for companies or even non-profits. There is a “taint” when you are expected to highlight the company or the university or whatever, but on the other hand, you do have to make money. The key to do this full time is probably to seek variety but also become valuable to a handful of repeat clients. Gareth says the most successful freelancers see their work as a portfolio, with some work that is lucrative but maybe not your passion, some things you do as your passion, some things you do to be seen or become known, etc.
George asks about contracts, book deals, kill fees, etc.
Lynn says you want to work in a manner that you “avoid grievances”. When jobs became problematic in her experience, they were also ones with no contract. Oral agreements are not worth the paper they are written on. Get it in writing, even just one page, even if you have to write it for them.
Recommends contacting editor in the middle of a job, even if your contract doesn't require it, to keep connection alive, etc. Editors in the audience agreed that this is a great thing—give them a heads up if a problem has come up, assure them you aren't dead, etc. The editor wants to know you are in command of the story.
David Corcoran asks about ethical standards for freelancers. At the Times, they send out a contract that includes the rate and description of ownership of work, and expectation of ethics, including companies they work for, junkets they have accepted, connections to government, lobbying, would your family members have such conflicts, etc. They have a standards editor to help resolve problems. Suggests that we look at the Times Guidelines for Ethical Journalism, online.
Molly asks if there is a standard pitch formula. Lynn says the best pitch she ever received: “How would you like a science article that includes Marlon Brando.” Maria suggests Media Bistro for examples of successful pitches with explanation by the editor on why it worked. Gareth says, he wants it not too long, what is new in this, assure me that someone hasn't already written, who you are and why you are qualified for this story. Qualified means you have written for other cool organizations, but give relevant clips if needed. If it's two pages, it may not be read. You want to write a note that you are going to solve a problem that you are qualified to write and will not require him to do work. David says 250-300 words, and where else has this been covered, if so where and how. Kathy asks if email is the way to do it and what subject line will work? A well written query is like giving qualifications, even if the subject isn't of interest, it may solicit an alternative offer. KNOW THE PUBLICATION STYLE AND TYPE OF ARTICLES THEY USE. If you don't know the pub, how can you solve their problems?
Adam says do not say “have you guys done a story on this – with link” I don't know...delete....
Wildly inappropriate pitch—again KNOW THE MAGAZINE.
Front of the book suggestions: couple of paragraphs on two or three ideas, links to local coverage, roundup of options. Features require a more elaborate process, might be some give and take, ultimately produces a pitch letter that he takes to his editors. Wired has a front of the book contract, can be generic but means you will probably get more work, and they give other suggestions and support as well.
Gareth says that when he gets a good query but can't use the story, he sends back a boilerplate description of what they do need, which is a good outcome, because you have begun a relationship.
George notes there are two kinds of contracts. Freelance writers typically own the content they write, and magazines buy publication rights for this, sometimes “all world rights” which means they might translate it and print in elsewhere. Might get you more money when they do that. Or they may only ask for English rights, or second serial rights. Then there are electronic rights.
On the other hand, there are work-for-hire contracts. In this case, the client completely owns your product. Watch out for the clause that you indemnify and hold harmless the client against all lawsuits etc. Now they usually just say you vouch for not plagiarizing it, etc.
Lynn describes work-for-hire experience. Job had a very short deadline and the work-for-hire. She doubled her standard fee TWICE to account for the drawbacks and they paid it.
Cindy suggests having contracts examined by an attorney, at least the first time, who found shocking details in the contract that she could not live with. The client claimed the contract was intended to protect the writing, but the slant was all in their favor, not hers.
Re attending scientific conferences. Lynn says that some people go to these conferences just to hang out in the press room and meet the journalists.
George notes that it is possible to be sued for plagiarizing yourself. Example of someone who profiled a sport figure and then later got a job to write a bio of the same guy. He used some of this earlier writing and was sued by the publisher of the original work.
Google yourself periodically and deal with those who are using your work without paying you.
Betsy asks if you ever send a story to an editor rather than sending a pitch. Gareth says he hates that—it never works and he doesn't want to have to read it. Most importantly, he says he wants to work with you to shape the story and make sure he gets what he needs. Adam says he's almost insulted by such behavior because it's his job to decide that a story works for his publication.
Molly asks about the concern that after pitching a story, the editor will reject the query and then give the story idea to one of his staff writers. David says yeah there's a risk, although it's highly unethical. Lynn reminds us that you have a paper trail if you sent it, but George points out that you can't steal an idea, only the implementation of it, and it might happen.
From the editor's point of view, they hate writers sending in too many words. David simply rejects 3000 words instead of 1200. Gareth says if it's too long, the story is not finished, and he doesn't want to see it before it's done. Corry notes that if she doesn't have time to cut an article, she marks sections that could be cut if the editor wishes to shorten a too-long article. She says “complete the work assigned, on time and within the assigned number of words.”
George recommends “Open Notebook” site (http://www.theopennotebook.com/). They get freelancers to interview writers who have stories published to find out how they developed the story and got it published.
Thursday, June 2, 2011
Gareth Cook – Writing Science
Gareth introduces his talk with a scene in Kiev, where he had traveled with a Russian “photographer/body guard” to try to interview the head of a clinic. As they approach the clinic, the doors swing open as if someone were waiting for him. He hesitates briefly, remembering that he promised his wife he would not get killed in this process. The story he was pursuing earned him the Pulitzer Prize.
8 Habits of Highly Effective Reporting
Reporting is the engine of powerful journalism. Its going places, meeting people and finding out what people don't want you to know.
How I got into Science Writing...more or less by accident.
Gareth was a math geek as a kid. In college during the Reagan era, got two degrees, in physics and international relations. Went to DC to join the foreign service, but decided he didn't like the lifestyle requirements. Did some freelancing and got work as a fact-checker, but started acquiring the skills to actually write stories. Finally he realized that he wanted to write about what he was most interested in, which was science. He became a science editor without ever having written a science article.
The story of Kiev starts with the stem cell debate. These stem cells are an amazing tool for research, but they also stimulate concern from people who focus on the potential for these cells to “become” a human. In 2001, President Bush tried to reach a compromise by funding research only on existing cell lines. As it turned out, the “compromise” was actually extremely limiting and scientists found it frustrating. At the same time, both sides of the argument generated a lot of emotion and extreme rhetoric and fear. As the debate continued, both sides took more and more extreme positions, with scientists promising unrealistic claims about the treatment options, and the other side fixating on the moral issues.
The story moves to the Rossetti family, and a little boy who seemed okay but started showing strange problems. The family heard the diagnosis of muscular dystrophy in extreme terms describing his eventual decline, with words “no hope, no treatment”. The family was extremely frustrated by their helplessness. So they started looking on the Internet and found EmCell, a site in the Ukraine. The site presents a strongly scientific front which naturally gave the Rossettis a great deal of hope. When Gareth learned about this, he took a four part approach:
learn about the science of MD
the family's story
what is the clinic doing, how can I know?
Find other patients?
He contacted the clinic, but they were “uncooperative”. He started emailing faxing and calling everyday until they finally responded. He told them he was with a family who had been there and were happy and that he wanted to learn more.
Gareth then shows a picture of a Russian investigative reporter who had disaapeared and was later found dead and decapitated. He chose to go for the interview anyway, but he chose not to take any of his existing notes to avoid signalling to the “wrong people” what kind of story he was writing, and he got in touch with the Russian photographer, who was coincidentally also very big. He was warned that his conversations would be overheard and his room might be searched. He used the spy's trick of putting a bit of paper in the door to detect and intrusion, but fortunately none was detected.
When you go to an interview like this, you want to have a plan for what you want to accomplish, how you want things to go, and some plan B if things seem to be going wrong.
They get a cab and arrived at what' supposed to be the hospital, but it looks more like an abandoned building. The front door was locked, but they found a side entrance, which opens as they approach. It's dark and people are sitting on the floor, then take an elevator to a completely different kind of space, clean, well-lit, and nicely furnished. This is the office of Dr Smikodub, with diplomas and US patents on the wall. Gareth later investigated the patents and found that while they were authentic, but he also found that the Patent Office does not actually determined whether the patented process works, only whether it is an original process or item.
Gareth works hard to get information, or better still a sample, but he gets very little that amounts to hard, source-able, verifiable facts. The interview didn't go as expected, not because it was very tense (as Gareth had expected) but rather because despite the doctor's pleasantness, he really said nothing. The questions (which were gathered from scientists in the US before he left for Russia) were intended to elicit scientific evidence, but the answers were insufficient to decide exactly what was going on. It turns out the doctor didn't have a lab and wasn't following up with his patients, and he would not share any names. Due to concerns for his safety, they leave the hospital quickly, before getting all the answers he hoped to get.
There are layers to this story—the science and the story of the family. In the hospital, he hoped to recreate what Rossettis experienced. In retrospect, he thinks he was overly concerned about potential danger, and that he might have gotten more out of the doctor himself, but at the time, he did not know that. He decided to look for other families who had been patients, using newsgroups related to various incurable diseases. This took enough time that his editor began to get frustrated, and it turns out that the part of the story about other patients ends up a small detail. But he felt compelled by the hardship and suffering of the one family that he knew about, and wanted to have at least one additionally family to help corroborate the story. Eventually, he found twelve families to talk to, but the stories were not as conclusive as he hoped. He focused on whether the clinic had actually followed up with them, and they were not. In light of the claims made by EmCell about their results, that seemed like an important matter. He concluded that the clinic was fraudulent and he then had to decide how to write the story.
The Rossettis agreed to work with him on the story, but they wanted to know whether they should go back for another treatment. He agreed to tell them what he found out and what the other scientists said about it, and in exchange, they needed to realize that their experience would be made public, and it might not be entirely favorable about what happened. The conversation was difficult to say the least. In the end, they decided to go back, and he became concerned about how to tell the story so that readers accepted or at least understand why they made that decisions. He did eventually realize that he was at the very limit of his reportorial limits.
This was not a story that could have been done by a freelancer. It required time and support and resources that would be hard to muster without a committed organization behind him.
Molly asks how you deal with subjects that end up angry about your stories about them. Do you just live with it, or do you put on a veneer of distance that means you don't care right from the start? Gareth says that in general it works best to get the conflicts out there. When you challenge people, you get answers, and you might find that you were wrong. Better to know that ahead of time rather than after it shows up in print.
Adam adds that most people are naïve about being interviewed, but others are not and you may have to cajole or trick a subject into revealing information. However you always do this with a level of integrity that makes sure they will talk to you again next time.
8 Habits of Highly Effective Reporting
Ask people stuff. People usually like to talk about themselves, so they will probably talk to you if you ask.
Be there.
Have conversations in person whenever possible. Contexts make for different kind of conversations. Also you have to go places when doing research. You learn things you couldn't otherwise.An interview is not a conversation.
The point of an interview is get answers, so you need a strategy for what you want to learn from this person. What needs to be in my notebook when I get back to the office. If you don't get an answer, ask the question differently. Listen for quotable statements.Dare to be stupid.
You need to ask stupid, basic questions. Leave your ego at home, and be willing to ask basic questions to get useful answers. If you know the answer, so much the better. The answers to obvious questions can reveal additional information you may not expect. You are an employee of your readers. Ask the questions they might ask.Be relentless.
Sometimes you do a lot of reporting for very little, or even nothing.
The effort you put in does not qualify you to highlight it even if you got nothing out of it, out of ego.Keep asking: Where am I?
What is the story now, what's my lede, what' the nutgraph, what's the narrative, what other evidence do I need to support this changing story line. Keep track of what you have to go back to follow through and finish up. You overestimate your ability to keep track of things. Assume you are pretty stupid.Think broadly: or, WNhat would be great to know, and how could you know it?
Sometimes it's good to think like an editor rather than a writer. Ask what you'd like to know, even if that means you will have to do more work.
(In this story, he wondered what he would do if he knew what every stem cell lab in the world was doing. He started calling labs and asking basic questions, and then asked “who else is doing this”, which led to more labs, etc. His final assessment of the numbers drew the attention of the NIH, who did not have this info!)Surprise yourself
While focusing on your planned story, make yourself uncomfortable, seek out somebody who might disagree with the premise.
Now he's going to interview us all. He tells us to ask ourselves:
- How could you use reporting to improve a piece you are working on now?
- Who knows a lot about your topic that you have not spoken with?
- What reporting lessons have you learned in your work? What did I leave out?
- Who does one source know that might be able to give you more info?
Homework: reverse engineer the reporting in a story you love. Who did the writer talk to? What did they ask?
Adam Rogers talks about Getting Edited
Adam Rogers starts his talk about Getting Edited with advice from his father: don't ask someone to edit your work, because they will. Editors edit.
After working with the writer on the query, Adam develops an assignment letter that includes specific statements about what he expects, advice on what is lacking or alternatives the writer could use. It includes instructions that he explicitly wants or does not want the author to do.
The article comes back with many problems, including a lede that directly contradicts a verbal request Adam made to avoid focusing on one of the researchers. Metaphors don't work. After several paragraphs, the nut has not appeared and we still don't know what the article is really about.
Adam returns the commented paper under a memo reiterating some of his instructions and softballing his objections without losing clarity about what he wants.
Second version arrives, things are quite different and looking more promising, but many issues remain. The article goes back to the writer with more comments.
The third version is a regression. Things have reappeared that Adam has removed, without so much as a by-your-leave. Frustration shows in the edits of this round, explicitly and in the way new comments are worded. Comments still center on simplicity, clarity, and focus on the science, with suggestions and recommendations that remind the author of best practices. To make sure he was on the mark, Adam had other editors look at this draft as well, and they each had a lot of the same misgivings and concerns. However, he sees his job as the lead on the articles he has assigned, and therefore chooses to maintain control of the process unless and until he feels that his head editor could help improve the article or shed light on where the problems are and how to resolve them. Sometimes one editor will ask permission of another editor to use one of his standard authors, because they would do the best job on the story.
Adam admits that he is a pretty “voicey” editor, with a tendency to rewrite sections of an article to such an extent that it takes on his voice instead of the author's. He is aware of this and tries to avoid that, but his colleagues can still occasionally recognize that paragraphs in some of the articles he has worked on.
The extent and timing of edits depends on timing, quality of the writer, angle of the story, etc. If he feels the writer really missed it, he will say “I see what you are trying to do here. Let me take a pass at it.” From the audience, Gareth notes that it's not enough to say “I see what you are trying here”. It's also important to actually understand what they are trying to say. When asked what makes a good editor, Adam cites the ability to move words around on the page, but also the ability to work with the writer and understand the goal of the article and the goals of the organization. The best thing an author can do is get all the expectations clear ahead of time.
Cues he might use to help an author: tell me what you were doing, what happened, where you were, what you did and why did you do it that way. Show the scene to the reader, but avoid the cliches. “Not just details, but telling details.” At Wired, they use a lot of movie metaphors: does the gun you placed on the table in scene 1 get fired before the end of the article? How do we get from scene 1 to scene 2, etc. A phone conversation can help resolved problems more easily, although using email is easier.
By the time the author is ready to start writing, they already have all the background pictures, journal articles, recordings of interviews, etc, but they still make choices in the writing. If the editor asks for something different, he might say “I'm sure you have this in your files...” with the implicit hint that if they don't, they will have to go back for more interviews or research.
Cited researchers will not be given a draft of the article, but they will be contacted by fact-checkers and given the opportunity to correct what has been cited. Corry notes: If the author or editor thinks they might be vulnerable to a challenge, the Times used to say keep all your notes. Now they say destroy notes to avoid spending time in court to protect them.
The story finally got to the proof stage, and everyone takes a look at it. Can still make small changes at this point, but mostly the process moves on to presentation of the article. For difficult subjects, they might add a graphic or sidebar to bring in additional explanations. Final changes to the conclusion were made and the story did finally come out. It was an engaging read, it works even though the background info didn't work in all cases. The writer was “glad to have done it” but he did “break up” with Adam, by requesting a different editor after this.
Last thought--Adam mentions the conflict between Assigning Editor Adam and Editing Editor Adam. When Assigning Editor Adam assigns a story, he's enthusiastic about how great it will be, while glossing over the potential difficulties. But when Editing Editor Adam gets the first draft, he castigates that dastard Assigning Editor Adam for screwing him again with a really tough job.
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