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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.”
