Reporting the inner-thoughts of dead subjects?

[Dick Whitman]

I've been reading this book, about the death in competition of elite free diver Nick Mevoli:

It's very well-written, deeply reported, and a compelling character study. Except something is really bothering me: The writer keeps telling me what the dead subject of his story thought, with no attribution. An example:

That's when she knew for sure that Nick had feelings for her(.) ... (But) she lived in the real world with a wonderful husband whom she loved and adored and was devoted to. Nick knew that, which is why he never made a pass. ... He would bottle it up, tuck his feelings away, and take the pain. ... They would be friends, he said to himself, all three of them, forever.

Thoughts? This seems really fundamental to me. The writer has written for the New York Times. I'm not sure if he's a staffer or not. He should know better.

 

[JohnHammond]

If this article was longform, it would be in BASW or win an APSE.

 

[Ace]

If this article was longform, it would be in BASW or win an APSE.

APSE second place Breaking News, 2013

http://www.nytimes.com/2013/11/18/s...klyn-dies-after-trying-for-a-record.html?_r=1

 

[Dick Whitman]

APSE second place Breaking News, 2013

http://www.nytimes.com/2013/11/18/s...klyn-dies-after-trying-for-a-record.html?_r=1

Correction: November 25, 2013

An article last Monday about the death of Nicholas Mevoli at Vertical Blue, a free diving competition in the Bahamas, contained a number of errors.

 

[Dick Whitman]

In fairness, I think that the NYT probably corrects things that a lot of newspapers wouldn't think twice about.

 

[Dick Whitman]

So I guess we're OK with this?

 

[Ace]

Some of my favorite reading is good historical fiction, where you may put words (and thoughts) in the mouths of Civil War generals and the like.

I like that if the writer seems to have captured the essense of the person.

So I don't really have a problem with the idea. Seems strainger to do it to someone recently deceased, but I assume if they spend a lot of time diving underwater, their would be a lot going through their head and this may be an effort to get at it.

 

[Dick Whitman]

Some of my favorite reading is good historical fiction, where you may put words (and thoughts) in the mouths of Civil War generals and the like.

I like that if the writer seems to have captured the essense of the person.

So I don't really have a problem with the idea. Seems strainger to do it to someone recently deceased, but I assume if they spend a lot of time diving underwater, their would be a lot going through their head and this may be an effort to get at it.

No ****ing way.

You referenced historical fiction. Key word: fiction.

This is ostensibly a work of non-fiction. A work of journalism. It's basically a biography of Nick Mevoli, who is dead. And throughout it, we're getting Nick Mevoli's inner thoughts on every major incident in his life, as well as many minor ones. The writer says in the acknowledgements that he knew Mevoli for a week. Did he talk to him about what he thought on a particular day when he was lobster diving with his uncle? Did he ask him what he was thinking during some mundane date he went on in Brooklyn? Nick never told Ashley that he had feelings for her. Never mentioned it. She strongly suspected it. Why? We're not sure. And yet:

Nick knew that, which is why he never made a pass. ... He would bottle it up, tuck his feelings away, and take the pain. ... They would be friends, he said to himself, all three of them, forever.

Did the writer and Nick talk about this during that one week? I guess it's remotely possible. But it's not indicated anywhere. Because those are some pretty specific thoughts attributed to a dead guy based on one married woman's intuition.

It's not journalism. It's not non-fiction. It shouldn't be presented as such. It's worse than the "Esquire" writer who told us what the Northern Illinois shooter was thinking as he prepared to waste a dozen people on campus. In that case, some defended it by saying it was clear that the lede was fictionalized. Except it must not have been that clear, because prominent writers were on here arguing that the reporter must have had access to leaked video footage.

 

[Ace]

At least I was able to prime your pump, ****.

 

[Dick Whitman]

I appreciate your contribution. I hope others chime in. This seems egregious to me. And yet it's getting good reviews, and no one's noting that he's making **** up. @Double Down gave us a laundry list of #longform's issues on the Holtzclaw thread. Well, this has always been at the top of the list: Making **** up.

 

[SnarkShark]

I don't know enough about this story, but is it possible he talked to me the guy before he died, or did he do all of his reporting after the death?

 

[BDC99]

I don't know enough about this story, but is it possible he talked to me the guy before he died, or did he do all of his reporting after the death?

He spent a week with him, as DW notes. Not sure what to think on this. Definitely odd but is a book journalism or do we give poetic license?

 

[Dick Whitman]

He spent a week with him, as DW notes. Not sure what to think on this. Definitely odd but is a book journalism or do we give poetic license?

He said he knew him for a week. I don't know that he conducted extensive interviews. He was there to write about the sport for a Times feature, I assume.

 

[Vombatus]

Did he get access to a diary?

Or, in this day and age, some emails and/or social media traffic?

 

[Shropshire Slasher]

"Damn, it's warm down here," Adolf thought.

 

[Dick Whitman]

Did he get access to a diary?

Or, in this day and age, some emails and/or social media traffic?

He quotes directly, on occasion, from some of Mevoli's message board posts.

 

[Dick Whitman]

On Mevoli's rivalry with his coach: "Nick could see the conflict of interest plain as day."

 

[Dick Whitman]

The head of Destalt took to calling Ashley and Nick “America’s Pink and Blue.” Nick liked that. In his mind it connected them all the more.

 

[Dick Whitman]

One night when Nick was on his way to the Metropolitan Pool to do laps he saw the young, blonde girl from church walking home. He didn’t know Denny’s story yet, but he knew she was in pain.

 

[Dick Whitman]

OK, looks like he told his uncle:

He knew Nick had a habit of brooding, and Paul had both the strength and sensitivity to get to the heart of any difficulty without intruding. “I can tell. Something’s eating you. What is it?”

“I’m in love. I met someone, and she could be the one.” Nick told Paul about Ashley Chapman. He gushed about her athletic ability, her beauty, and their conversations.

“That’s great, Nick! That’s really great, man! What’s the trouble?”

“I can’t have her. She’s married. Her husband is a great guy, and I’m ****ed.”

Paul knew what unrequited love felt like. Before he’d married his wife, Terri, he’d fallen for a different girl, but the timing was off. Paul had offered advice when Nick was troubled countless times, but that night he had no answer. He just put his arm around his nephew and opened another beer for him. There was nothing else to say.