Read Paul Meyer’s piece, Two Dallas Morning News Reporters Take ‘A Novel’ Approach to Storytelling.
There’s much to talk about. During a time of chaos and downsizing in the newspaper industry, two writers for The Dallas Morning News proposed a creative approach to telling the story of a Mexican girl’s shame-filled journey across the Rio Grande into the United States. Paul Meyer, one of the reporters, was told not to expect a favorable response. “My editor, after seeing a draft of the proposal, was willing to lend public support but frankly didn’t think it had much of a chance of getting approved. These were difficult times.”
But as it turned out, the “difficult times” had the opposite effect. “What none of us counted on, however, was that this period of intense newspaper instability, like most great periods of institutional or cultural instability, would also generate a kind of creative energy and hunger. If the industry was failing, and failing fast, why not turn to new forms of storytelling, in print and in Web-based multimedia presentations, to attract new readers and rekindle the loyalty of old ones?
So let’s hear from you, the honored members of our literary tribe. Is a period of major downsizing in the newspaper industry the time to develop new, more creative forms of nonfiction storytelling? Speak Tribe.
Too often in life, we let the difficult times hinder us. Instead of seeing how we can adapt to the new way of life, we make desperate attempts to maintain the old order. We should look at this period of downsizing as an opportunity to develop stories in ways that may have been shunned in the past when the industry was thriving. Growth is rarely easy, fun and painless. But if today’s newspaper writers are to grow and develop their craft, they must learn to become fitter and survive in difficult terrain.
Dear Monique,
You’re a wise member of our literary tribe. Your words – “newspaper writers and editors if today’s newspaper writers are to grow and develop their craft, they must learn to become fitter and survive in difficult terrain” – will be etched on our wise writers’ totem pole.
Many thanks,
Writer in Residence
The Mayborn Conference
George,
Newspapers are shrinking. Story-telling is not. It’s unclear yet whether long-form narrative will find a permanent home on newsprint — whatever direction newsprint takes. Papers seem willing to try it, and readers respond to it. It’s a noble experiment, but the results aren’t in yet, and management’s committment, it seems to me, is paper thin.
While things sort themselves out, we writers have to start thinking of ourselves more as story-tellers than as journalists wedded to any specific medium. Where’s our audience? How do we find them?
Ira Glass, on “This American Life,” is practicing exactly the kind of story-telling many of us set out to invest our careers in. Narrative still has a foothold in books and certain magazines. The web is unexplored territory. Think narrative is dying? What’s “The Bachelor” all about?
For those of us who grew up newspapering, this has been a hard ride. But maybe not, if we think of where we’re going, rather than where we’ve come from.
I think since many of us have the technology to do video and audio slideshows and multimedia pieces for the Web to accompany our stories, we should go for it. In print, we only have enough room to put a couple of photographs; online we can upload so much more. The more visual we have the better; it’s engaging our readers more and making them want to read our stories.
” For those of us who grew up newspapering, this has been a hard ride. But maybe not, if we think of where we’re going, rather than where we’ve come from.” — Bill Marvel
“The more visual we have the better; it’s engaging our readers more and making them want to read our stories.” — Audrie P.
More words of wisdom worth etching on our wise writers’ totem pole.
.
I wouldn’t be here if it were just for the job, so yes the creative energy is the only motivation. There’s much pioneering left to do in journalism. If you believe in creativity – it gets noticed. The Yolanda Crossing piece was epic and unlike anything I’ve read in newspaper. Stuff like that is the future. Interactive experiences will create an enormous amount of buzz for newspapers once they figure out how to do and or promote them well. I just bought a new video camera and see this era of transition as boundless. We are living in difficult, but exciting times as long as you’re willing to try first, ask questions later.
Yes, newspapers are shrinking. We have become a visual culture as opposed to a print culture but… As a teacher at a State University and seeing so many things come and go with my students, I get a sense that is a trend and like all trends, may not last. Stories–stories are something that have lasted and will last. We as a culture need stories to tell us who we are, who we have been, and where we are going. We tend to like our stories written down, whether in the vast electronic reaches of the internet or … newspapers. Not everyone likes to read on a computer screen.
Reporting won’t be done by newspapers in the future. Seriously, the Dallas Morning News isn’t ‘doing anything great in terms of news. I can get better local and international news from a hundred different outlets. Ditto sports, where nobody really knows anything anyway. Arts? Please, galleries and theatres have their own websites and artists/actors do too. I can learn more firsthand from their community’s web-space than I can from DMN.
The future will be electronic news organizations dedicated to single issues. It’s already happened to magazines. I was thinking on the topic of this post the other night, however, and considered that as they become less of a necessity, newspapers can be freed to print less “necessary” story forms, specifically narrative and long-form non-fiction stories and perhaps short fiction as well. Why not re-invent themselves as hubs of literary culture?
Of course, there’s nothing to stop reporters/writers from having their own sites and being individual reporters who generate their own revenue through ads or subscription fees (or other money-makers we haven’t yet considered) But an organization provides a certain amount of protection in the event of legal missteps and lack of story ideas.
A lot of structures are breaking down and this period of “chaos” has much to offer frustrated creatives who’ve been standing on the sidelines feeling stifled by the powers that be. I hear it all the time in the field of education, how the “system” has been dictating what we teach and how students learn–take your pick on conspiracy theories from there. I think this article makes the point that “powers that be” are willing to open up to new ideas now because the old map on how to sell papers is not working. It’s up to us writers/teachers now to have courage to come up with stories, make proposals and take the risks that will move newspapers/schools into a place of greater truth/decency/morality (circle one). Many have made the point that risk often involves financial insecurity or some form of collegial marginality…oh well, if you can swing it do it.–
For some time, I’ve been struck by the similarities between what’s happening to the newspaper industry now and how it has been preceded, if only slightly, by turmoil in the music industry. I watched many symphonic musicians — including my late husband, Mark — cope with catastrophic job losses when orchestras went belly-up in the 1990s. Now, even popular bands are crying out for a new business model as the recording industry changes and CD sales nosedive.
Mark taught me that there was a difference between music-making and money-making. I got into writing knowing that there was a difference between story-telling and making a living. The digital paradigm shift could improve things. But it has yet to make it easier for musicians. I can barely keep my own children from file-sharing — knowing their momma’s pension depends on the old model!
I remain skeptical that new ways of delivering media/art has any built-in reward for creative content. Here’s hoping some smart person figures it out, because THAT paradigm would be the true digital revolution. The rest of it, til now, has just been noise.
To the comments above: “I can get better local and international news from a hundred different outlets.”
Hundred sources? Give me a break. Name one.
I like the idea, however, of using the challenging times as an excuse to be more daring in how we move forward. Just as Paul Meyer found in pitching his story, we may find that as the old model wears thin, support for new modes will grow.
We are living in interesting times.
The simple question, “Is a period of major downsizing in the newspaper industry the time to develop new, more creative forms of nonfiction storytelling?” has no simple answer. On a personal level I choose to try to find new, more creative forms in everything I do regularly. For the short term, it helps to keep my interest in a project, whether it is writing or the arts. For the long term, it helps me to adapt to what the world throws my way. Life is change, and once we find a way to cope with that in our daily lives, then it can’t help but influence our writing creativity as well.
In the interest of full disclosure, I am the director of the Mayborn Graduate School of Journalism and chair of the department of journalism at UNT in Denton. The Mayborn School sponsored the Mayborn Literary Nonfiction Writers Conference of the Southwest.
I was intrigued by a presentation made at the conference last weekend (July 18-20) by Fort Worth Telegram writer Tim Madigan whose series, “To Catch a Thief,” was approved by the senior editors. The editors had a hunch that such a series would attract new readers while generating interest among their faithful subscribers. They found a significant increase in reader interest as a result of this 24-part series. Now, it seems to me that if there is a readership out there keenly interested in narrative journalism that some smart entrepreneurs will come up with the idea of launching a whole new print and online newspaper daily or weekly that does just that … IF the metropolitan dailies don’t do this. My point?…. to use the cliche, “Build it, they will come,” suggests that such a venture might just be successful. And, just as special interest magazines replaced the general purpose magazines of the past such as LIFE, LOOK and others, this special interest venture will pick up where the metropolitan dailies fail to establish. Bottom line: I’m not worried. As someone in this blog pointed out, “storytelling” is here to stay.
While working at the Star-Telegram, a percentage of my fellow reporters have been laid off. As a result of their layoffs, my internship has morphed into someone who juggles vacant beats.
After the original news of layoffs, the newsroom seemed to be drained of creativeness as other reporters contemplated what they believed to be the end of their careers. Some reporters said they were feeling hopeless about the writing industry as a whole.
It has been difficult to focus on trying to jump-start a career as a storyteller when other reporters have asked, “Why are you going into journalism?” and “Have journalism professors told you there are no careers in journalism anymore?”
Despite the onslaught of questions that can seep into anyone’s brain, I’m focusing on stories, wanting to tell the best story I possibly can, everyday.
Earlier this week, a fellow reporter said, “When I read your article, it reminded me of reading a novel.”
Already a change. Thank you fellow storytellers for helping me focus on storytelling.
What happened to Paul Meyer? Where is he writing these days?