Preparing for enterprise stories
Plus some other odds and ends that may be helpful to you as we draw near the end of the term.
Enterprise story examples
Here’s some work produced by students like you, in previous classes and for Philadelphia Neighborhoods.
Multimedia story worksheet
I created this worksheet to help you think through some of the decisions you have to make when creating a multimedia news story. That is, rather than letting the source or the raw material you gathered decide for you what kinds of shots are available, you should decide what shots the story needs and then go get them.
I encourage you to go through the worksheet for both enterprise stories so that they can reflect your best work.
Lessons Learned
Here’s a post that I wrote with students in a previous class after I asked them what they wished they had known before starting the class. Among their tips to future students: have the right equipment, plan ahead and start early, and their list of criteria for a good multimedia news story:
The best multimedia stories:
- Cover all details, no questions left unanswered.
- Have tons of b-roll, lots of motion, action. This takes more reporting.
- Are very selective with quotes and shots.
- Move along quickly so it doesn’t drag.
- Have high technical quality: clear, steady shots, good audio.
Finding news stories
The term “enterprise” story refers to a type of story that the reporter finds or initiates herself, as opposed to “spot” news, which refers to event-driven coverage or things that just pop up. Enterprise stories are a good time to add depth to your coverage; look at social issues, identify trends, explain consequences, and so on.
For the two final stories you’re assigned this term, I’ve told you that you can report on whatever you like, which is both a blessing and a curse. With this assignment you may be able to find something you’re interested, but the burden is on you to find it in the first place. So how do we do that? I have a few suggestions.
Read the news. I get two email newsletters every day, the morning briefing from the New York Times, and the Philadelphia Inquirer morning newsletter. It only takes 10 minutes or so to go through both of them every morning, but it’s enough for me to know what’s happening in our area and around the world. When you’re actively looking for news stories, read more widely than this, even. You’ll notice that most news stories leave some questions unanswered or have incomplete information in some way, and that’s where you come in. Also, once you’ve decided on a story, check the archives of publications that might cover such a story, and see if anything has been written on this before.
Listen to people. What are people talking about? Your friends, your co-workers, your family, and so on. Read niche blogs and websites that publish things in the area you’re interested in. Scan social media to see what is trending there, because sometimes these trends will lead you to a news story. Be particularly sensitive to opinions and posts that are different from your point of view, or different from what you’d expect. Don’t dismiss them out of hand, but instead ask, what would make a person say that, or what would make a person feel that way? Often this can lead you to learn about a systemic or societal issue.
Consider the calendar. Some things happen every year. Like summer. Summer means a bunch of things: more people outside, more people traveling, more things happening outdoors. For instance, today I saw a story on an increase in poison ivy because of recent rain — but I’m sure this happens every time we have a wet spring. It’s perfectly good news to cover seasonal changes in gas prices, food supplies, employment, crime, and so on. There are also certain events that happen annually, like July 4th or city festivals, that generate easy story ideas. (This is not to suggest that we write the same Pride Parade story every year — but the annual Pride Parade is a good place to look for story ideas.)
Look ahead. Often when looking for news stories we focus on what happened yesterday. Instead, find out what will happen today or tomorrow, and write in advance of something. Last night, some folks I play video games with were talking about the (then-upcoming) U.S.-North Korea summit. Today, people are talking about upcoming elections. When a news story lists a deadline for accomplishing something or meeting a goal, take note and then follow up in advance of that date.
