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The first effort by the designated writer is a working document. Once it is complete, circulate the story among the reporters for comments. This process allows reporters to unearth factual errors or culturally in-sensitive comments that have inadvertently been included in the sto-ries. If anything is missing, incorrect, or biased, it's better to catch it now and rectify it than to wait until it is in print and too late to change. After working together for four weeks, team members will be better able to speak frankly to one another when they meet to discuss each story. One way to approach this discussion is to have the coordinator com-ment first, highlighting both good points in each story and those that need improvement. The coordinator can also voice concerns regarding balance, objectivity, and stereotyping. This beginning may make the reporters more comfortable about bringing up their own concerns. Also, the coordinator can suggest that the reporters bring up what they felt were the strengths and weaknesses of each story and what they learned from it. If this doesn't work well, another option is to have each reporter write an anonymous critique of each story. Then the coordinator can read them out loud to the group to provoke a discussion. This is also the time for the coordinator to voice any major concerns with a story so that the "designated writer" can address them in the sec-ond draft. Usually, problems at this level can be solved by conducting additional interviews, restructuring the story, and excising any blatant commentary that has crept into the writing. While each project will create its own dynamic, there are some general questions to keep in mind for discussion. They include:
Reviewing the first drafts will reveal whether stories need any last-minute reporting to plug holes. This is when the group's cohesion and timing will be most important. One reporter may be finishing up a first draft while another may be called upon to do a little extra legwork to obtain one last interview or to reconcile contradictory statements made by a source. During this time, the team may again turn to individual reporters for contacts within various ethnic communities. During the Macedonian Reporting Project, for instance, it wasn't until the team reviewed a story about successful businesspeople that they realized the story fea-tured Turk and Macedonian successes but neglected Albanians, who comprise the biggest ethnic minority in the country. As a result, it appeared that there were no successful Albanian businessmen. In this case, the team turned to its Albanian colleague, who within several hours interviewed an Albanian manufacturer whose family-owned business faced endless headaches trying to get raw materials during the United Nations blockade against Serbia. Adding the Albanian voice provided a nice counterpoint to the snapshots of local businesspeople struggling in a crazy economy plagued by war, border controls, and murky legislation concerning private ownership. Once the team makes its comments and collects the last-minute facts, the story will go sent back to the "designated writer" for a second draft incorporating the agreed-upon changes. This is the document that will the coordinator will edit.
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