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As the project moves into its third week, the time comes to start thinking about assembling the raw interview data into tightly focused stories. Ideally, every reporter will contribute to every story. However, de-pending on the total number of writers and stories involved, the group may designate one or two reporters to put each story together with feeds from the others. (A newspaper may send a squadron of reporters to cover a disaster and then assign one or two writers to assemble it based on multiple feeds from others calling in and filing notes.) The precise breakdown of this configuration will vary from project to project. What is crucial is for each reporter to play a large role in writ-ing one story and to contribute, at least peripherally, to all the others. This approach has several advantages:
Reporters should know ahead of time that each story will go through two drafts before it is edited and finalized because the stories may require additional reporting, sources, statistics, or background. Like-wise, a reporter will be pleasantly surprised to be told his or her story doesn't have to go through a second draft if it turns out to be thorough and complete the first time around. The length of each story will depend on its individual merits and the newspapers' space restrictions. The coordinator will determine the appropriate story length and convey this to the reporters before each one begins writing. Explaining this up front can help reduce anger or resentment, especially for reporters who are unaccustomed to heavy ed-iting. In setting the deadlines for each story, remember that some will come in faster and cleaner than others. Set up a staggered deadline so that the group has enough time to read the stories and you have enough time to edit them. During the writing process, the coordinator remains available to meet with reporters who have questions or problems putting the stories to-gether. In general, the coordinator will want to discuss the following writing tips before team members sit down to compose their stories. Translate Jargon. Make your reporters think about the average reader. Will they understand these terms? Will they find the stories relevant and interesting? Don't let officials get away with "bureaucratese." If a bureaucrat gives a long-winded, complex answer, the reporter can re-spond, "I'm not sure I understand." Then rephrase the comments in simpler words. Go Beyond the Press Release. Teach reporters how to pick apart a press release, many of which are as significant for what they leave out as for the information they contain. Ask the reporters to analyze what ques-tions have been left unanswered, then have them pose those questions. Likewise, many press releases include flat, canned quotes that don't really say anything. Call up or visit the source to get livelier comments. Humanize. Present people as individuals, not as representatives of groups. Find average citizens to illustrate a statistic, trend, or problem instead of relying on "talking head" experts and bureaucrats. The re-porters may be reluctant to interview a person who isn't rich, important, or official, but encourage them to do man-on-the-street interviews, explaining this concept if they are unfamiliar with it. Provide context. Show the significance of the news. Make it alive
and relevant. Provide context, not just coverage of events. Give background
for readers who may not be familiar with the issues. Good stories tell
the reader why a problem exists and how it got to be a problem. This doesn't
have to be long-a few sentences should suffice. For instance, a Houston
Chronicle story about gangs included congressional testimony from a University
of Chicago professor ex-plaining that gangs have their origins in early
immigration. The story also talked about the role of poverty and community
in forming gangs. (For more on this, see "M. L. Stein's Racial Stereotyping
and the Media," Editor & Publisher, Aug. 6, 1994.)
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