group presentation ruth davenport slideshare

An Interview with Ruth DavenportJOUR 2001 – Reporting Techniques

By: Francesca Handy & Matthew Scrimshaw

Senior Reporter, Metro Halifax

A Brief Overview of Ruth’s Education & Experience…

1997-2002 – The University of Calgary

BSc (EXHP) 2002-2003 –

University of King’s College

Bachelor of Journalism

2002-2005: Halifax Daily News

Job Title: Reporter Freelance /

Weekend Reporter

Covered everything – crime, health, entertainment, etc…

1993 - Halifax Daily News was the first Canadian newspaper to publish an online edition.

2003-2004: The Canadian Press

Job Title: Editorial Assistant

Edited incoming copy

Formatted and redistributed material for pickup

Covered regional news as required

2005-2012: News 95.7Job Title: News Editor

Coordinated newscasts

Assigned reporters to stories

Maintained website and twitter feed.

Metro Halifax – Senior Reporter Nominally their

city hall reporter – only 2 full-time reporters on staff

Primary responsibility is to cover municipal government & politics

Does write some feature stories

“If I see an issue that I think is going to be of relevance or interest to people, then it’s up to me to identify that and try to jump on it.”

Working Within Different Media Constraint Every story at Metro Halifax goes online

immediately and has a web component Longer versions of each story are

published online Online story represents all voices &

perspectives Space constraints in print

In general: Online Stories – 500 to 600 words Print Stories – 275 to 325 words

Print vs. Radio Process is generally the same

Start with the latest & most important, and then flesh the story out from there

More liberty in print to use quotes that are too long or too dry

Print allows you to explain context Radio discourages quotes from people who

mumble or suffer from speech impediments

Where To Find Stories

Where To Find Stories Public Information Meetings

Schedule and agendas are online. Twitter History

What happened on this date 5 years ago? Effect of recent laws or initiatives?

Competitors’ stories. Reader Comments

Reader Comments…“If you’ve got the stomach for it, and sometimes I don’t, I’ll read the reader

comments on stories and see if they’ve brought anything up that we’ve missed

and see if there is anything worth chasing.”

The Common Thread…

WHAT HAS NOT BEEN COVERED YET?!!!

Determining What Is Good NewsGuided by the 3 principles of:1)Health2)Heart3)Pocketbook

“Is it going to affect my readers’ health? Is it going to tug at their heart strings? Is it going to cost them money?”

The Best People To Talk & Listen To…

Talk to a large and diverse group of people every day.

Listen to people vent

Are all over the place at all times of day and night

Are generally pretty chatty…

Talk to them, but make sure to LISTEN!!!!

Cab Drivers…“People let their guards down in a cab and they’ll vent.”

“I give more business cards to cab drivers than I give to anyone else. They know what people are talking about, what people are interested in and what they are concerned about.”

“…can give you all kinds of dirt about what goes on behind the scenes at a police station. Sometimes that’s information that you file away for later use and sometimes you can get a story out of it.”

Former Cops…

When A Story Isn’t A Story…

When A Story Isn’t A Story… People manipulate the facts to seem more

sympathetic Happens often in he said-she said situations

I.E.: Tenants vs. Landlords Decision rests upon how committed you are

to the story Are you in the preliminary fact checking

phase? Have you budgeted space for it in paper and

told copy editors it is coming?

Exceptions… Does the story

speak to a broader social issue?

Is it in the public interest?

Health, heart, & pocketbook?

“I am always trying to look at the

broader message, is there even a moral

lesson there?”

What Ingredients Are Needed For A Great Story? Someone with a

legitimate plight Someone willing to talk

openly Someone credible Someone who responds

defensively to allegations or questions

Documentation Health, Heart, and

Pocketbook!

A Certain Something… Your gut instinct will tell you if you have

a great story. Gut Instinct + 1 Ingredient = Probable

Story Gut Instinct + 2 Ingredients = Definite

Story

A Little Controversy…“A sweltering, suffocating nightmare: Metro reporter spends a dangerous 40 minutes in a hot car”

Metro News July 8th, 2013

Experimental Journalism Spent 40 minutes in a parked car on a

day when the temperature reached 37 C Inspired by a rash of stories about

children dying and dogs rescued from unattended cars

Thought she could articulate the suffering in a way that children and dogs could not

Compared experience to “bending over in a hot stove.”

Criticisms Story was labeled a “dangerous stunt”

Was supervised at all times Former high level athlete with awareness of

her own physiology Criticized for “seeking attention”

Personally committed to animal welfare

HOWEVER - Felt that the story brought attention to an important issue.

“We’re not just saying don’t leave your dog in a hot car because it’s kind of mean, it’s actually a torment. That’s my job as a reporter.”

In The Aftermath… First-person

journalism should be used sparingly

Must add something to the story that has not already been done

When done right, it adds value to certain stories

Advice For Young Journalists – WAIT! Fill in all the holes

in your story Be patient – Don’t

tweet before the story is published

It is better to have the right information than it is to be first

“The hardest thing for young journalists to do is wait.”

Contact Information

ruthsdavenport@gmail.com