Finding Great Stories

I have to agree with lono here. Find the story first. Then figure out how to tell it in different media.

 

To Simon - I'd send you in the direction of This American Life, which has been - in my opinion - one of the best sources of journalism, anywhere, over the last 10 years. They were on radio for most of that time, and recently transitioned to TV.

You can find their radio show (free) at http://www.thisamericanlife.com. And the TV show can be bought, for $1.99-per, at iTunes. If this project is really important to you, it's worth it.

Honestly, I've only seen a preview of the TV show. But if it's anything like the radio show - where their musical transitions, ambient noise, and silence are quite powerful - it'd make for a good guide for you. And to speak directly to the issue you're dealing with, you should check out an interview with host Ira Glass (http://www.npr.org/templates/story/story.php?storyId=7600694) where he talks about the fear he had in trying to turn a radio show to a TV show.

Hope that helps.

P.S. - I realize in writing this I've outed myself as a loser. I'm willing to live with those judgments.

 

Hey guys,
I recently spoke with a young basketball player who has tremendous potential as a future D-1 star. At 15, this young pup has unusual connections, too, because his father was an agent for one of the NBA's 50 Greatest Players; he's also a first cousin of a current NBA player. I spoke with him and his father about his summer and all the camps he's attended and starred in. It almost seems like I have too much info, especially because I write for an online recruting fan site, which shies away from long features. Help?

 

Why not freelance it to the local paper?

 

Would it be best to write the story first and then contact local newspapers? or the other way around?

 

Mr Early,

Why is it a story? What makes it any different?

I'm not asking, mind you. That's what you should be asking yourself. If there aren't great answers, it's still a story, just not a great story.

YHS, etc

 

A short answer: There's a scene in Capote, wherein the title character opens the New York Times, reads, stops, cuts out a ten-inch story with a pair of sharp scissors, and calls his editor to tell him that he wants to write about this farming family, the Clutters, murdered the day before in tiny Holcomb, Kansas.

In other words, you find good stories by reading (and today, listening and watching). Then it's your job to take them and make them better, and if you're really lucky, maybe great.

 

I would pitch the idea to a couple of places and see if anyone bites before writing it. Unless you want to write it for you own benefit, don't finish it until you have a place to send it.