Media Pro Tips: Ricci Shryock, Covering Ebola and Other Stories from West Africa
Dakar, Senegal-based Ricci Shryock works for a multitude of clients in both strategic communications and news reporting, from United Nations agencies to international news organizations, producing high-quality, multimedia stories from across West Africa.
Covering the recent West African Ebola virus epidemic, taking photos of oyster gatherers in Guinea Bissau and documenting female motorcycle taxi drivers wearing pink helmets in Liberia are examples of what Shryock does for a living. She is also prolific on social media, including Instagram where she has over 75,000 followers. During a recent Skype conversation with an international reporting class at the Reynolds School of Journalism, Shryock gave tips on storytelling, thriving as a freelancer, the importance of fixers, staying safe as a woman journalist and trying to find her balance in life and work.
Q: Tell us about covering Ebola, and the importance of doing that.
Shryock: I first went to cover Ebola in October 2014 in Sierra Leone. It was a bit scattered and unorganized, no one knew how to cover it. So, it was a bit odd at the time because it seemed no one knew for sure how to cover it and stay safe. I went there for IRIN. And I did a film for them.
The story was important, because it was taking a toll on thousands of people’s lives, and also because it seemed to open a giant gaze on how many crucial infrastructure and development gaps were looming in these areas. And how things can go horribly wrong when these gaps exist. On the macro scale, it was not just about this one virus.
Ever since October 2014, I have been in and out numerous times in Guinea, Sierra Leone and Liberia doing a bunch of different Ebola-related stories. I actually just got back from Guinea doing work on Ebola survivors for a medical NGO. So, the Ebola work expands and will continue. There are a lot of different stories to tell about the outbreak. I have done photo, video, and radio work on Ebola.
Q: As a multimedia storyteller who does strat com work, journalism, self branding and passion projects, how do you find your balance and time?
Shryock: Balance, although I haven’t achieved it yet … is extremely important. If I do strat com work, I try to do editorial work afterwards. I was in Gambia in February for Der Spiegel, a German newspaper, and did a migration story for them, so that’s editorial. Then a couple weeks later I did a strat com job. It’s also the same for combining media, as far as videos, radio and photos go. Sometimes people want a videographer, sometimes (they want) a photographer. Sometimes they want both, but I try not to do all at once anymore. For instance, when I was working for Der Spiegel in Gambia I did mostly photo, but I also agreed to do a short video. Sometimes you can do photo and radio together, which I often do, because it goes along with the reporting. You’re going to report anyway as a photographer, so you might as well record the interview you’re doing, then you could maybe go collect material for some radio as well for a bonus story.
Q: So do you make more money on the strat come side or with editorial work?
Shryock: It depends on the client. February was interesting. I made more money for editorial than for strat com, but it’s not usually that way.
Q: How did you get work in the strat com field? Was it through your editorial work? Does one job lead to another?
Shryock: Being here off and on for nine years and meeting people and being around, being stable leads to work. Meeting people (and having them be able to rely on you) is a big thing for both editorial and strat com work. Then also, social media, Instagram, is a big help and people do find me there.
Q: So is it important to have a strong social media game going?
Shryock: I think so. And for me it is a really great personal outlet for creating stuff that you maybe might not get in the paper, or that I might not use otherwise. So, I think sometimes for instance, if you are doing strat com work you might not be fulfilled as far as what shots were used, so you can put the shots you liked out there on your own platform. That’s how I think it works on Instagram and how I’ve gotten followers by putting the things I love on Instagram. It’s at least a place you can put the work you love besides letting it sit on your hard drive somewhere.
Q: Any security tips in general and for women in particular?
Shryock: The places I go in West Africa are pretty safe. I guess the biggest security tip would be to listen to people who have been there longer and know what they’re talking about. If something feels wrong, don’t continue doing it, know when to stop. Know when … If all of a sudden, you’re taking photos and it feels like it’s going to get dangerous, leave. Don’t take anymore photos, because that can be your biggest safeguard sometimes, just the way you feel. If you feel something is going to go wrong, it probably is.
Q: How about planning a trip to a country you’ve never been to or finding new clients? How do you begin?
Shryock: I had been a staff journalist, but never freelanced full time, so from a business angle, I didn’t really know what I was doing when I started as a freelancer. So I guess the biggest tip would be to find people who do know and ask their advice (and crucially : remember to pay if forward when someone comes asking you for advice years later!!) They will help you out as far as finding things in the freelancing world, as far as work goes, as far as logistics if you’re going to a country you’ve never been to. A good start is Facebook. For a lot of the countries in West Africa there are logistics groups that you can join. There’s a Nigeria logistics group, an Ebola logistics group, all these logistics groups where you can join and can ask a question and everybody will help you out. Is there a fixer? What do I need? What’s the visa situation? What’s the safety situation?
Q: Are fixers useful? Do you use them and how much do they cost?
Shryock: It depends on where you are, how much they cost and what you need from them. I’ve paid anywhere from 50 dollars a day to 100 dollars a day. Fixers have relationships with people already in the country, and they will facilitate better access. They are often the most undervalued people in our profession in my opinion. They will help you get interviews with people, and they will help you get photos of people that you would normally not have access to. They will give you logistics information, everything down to where to stay at a hotel, to who you need to interview who knows the most about that story. So, a good fixer can help you on all of those counts and will also be able to help foresee any issues you might have and keep you safe. They might know better when you’re not supposed to go to a certain place or where you shouldn’t go at a certain time.
Q: What are some of the major challenges you’ve faced working in a country different than your own?
Shryock: Culturally, there are a lot of differences that you have to be aware of and respect, but there is always a fine line between respecting and questioning, because while you have to question many things, certain questions — or ways of asking questions — that might be considered ‘normal’ in the US, can also be considered impolite when working in other cultures. I am working somewhere and have had opportunities maybe a Senegalese photographer wouldn’t have had, so I have to ask myself why do I have this opportunity? Is it partly based on deeper, institutional and societal bias, etc? It’s very much my home, I live here, but I am not from here and I have to remember that.
Note: Some of the questions and answers were trimmed and rearranged for clarity. Interview done via Skype and transcribed by Sarah Parks for the Reynolds Sandbox.
