My Writing Buddy Experience

I found the experience of having a writing buddy as incredibly beneficial, for both of us. I think that we worked together well and found a balance between my role as an editor and his as a reporter, roles that initially, I don’t think either of us felt completely settled in. He helped me feel more confident as an editor, and in return, I offered him a new insight into his stories that I don’t believe he was getting elsewhere.

Advice that I would consistently offer to Faris was to choose to reword some phrases, and to check his sources constantly. Faris’ stories were at times full with sources, and at others, only contained one. I told him that he needs to find a balance between his sources, because it would make the story more authoritative and overall flow better. He also used a statistic from wikipedia in a story, which he was embarrassed about when I asked him where it was from, so I think that might have just been a typical Newswriting student attempting to bolster a story. He also needed some work with structure in his story, since sometimes when he was editing it himself, he would cut and paste things without re-identifying a source when necessary.

While he had some things he had to work on, I found that his work exceeded my expectations of a 621 student. He consistently chose topics that would warrant an expert to report, and he did so fluidly and authoritatively. I never once questioned his authority on a topic, which I think is a good trait to bring to the table, since many times, one will have to write on a topic that is completely unfamiliar. He had a great vocabulary, flowing writing, and a good understanding of the inverted pyramid, and the structure of a good story. One thing that impressed me was his leads, since they were both interesting and informative in many cases. He was able to convey the basics of the story in the lead, but with a creative twist that drew his readers in.

When I came into this experience, I was extremely nervous and felt unfit to edit my writing buddy’s work. I thought back to my own writing buddy, who seemed very calm and confident, and felt that I would never be able to reach that level of expertise. I think that this experience taught me to be confident in my own knowledge, and gave me the ability to defend my decisions. In class, when we’d edit a story, it was either right or wrong, but with Faris, it was not as clear cut. Each change that I chose to make, I would have to go over with him, and give him a good reason why I was choosing to change it. This practice forced me to be decisive and go with a gut feeling that something wasn’t right. By coming up with reasons to tell Faris, it gave me a better idea how to make decisions that can be defended. As an editor, sometimes I am going to have to do things that others do not like, but as long as I am confident in what I am doing, I will be able to get through any editing experience. I definitely benefitted from this, and I would recommend it to any Editing or Newswriting student coming through the program. It is definitely something to take advantage of.

Day 3

Item 1: In this case, I would not use Jake's name in the story. Another news station using it doesn't make it okay. He is still a juvenile and his name has not been officially released. Proving this later would just make us seem desperate that we were willing to print things through word of mouth.

Item 2: I would agree to use the alias. Being an illegal alien does not make her information less credible. I would, however, not reveal to my readers why I was using an alias. Some people just don't want their names in print, so there doesn't need to be any explanation beyond that.

Item 3: No. I will identify him as a juvenile, that's it.

Item 4: At this point, I would identify him. If an arrest has been made, and he is to be tried as an adult, there is no reason not to identify him. Of course, I'd be sure to write "arrested in connection with" and not "for the murder of..." I'm assuming that because we know that Mahoney has been arrested, his name has been put out there.

Item 5: I would own up to it. Nothing good can come out of hiding evidence, and it would be better to be up front about the bottle, than to keep it hidden. The truth would come out eventually, and it makes me look more credible by presenting it outright.

Item 6: I would fire her. She has tampered with evidence, lied to police, and implicated our newspaper with her actions. Keeping her on staff would not only make us look bad, but I don't think that I can trust a reporter that has put the paper in such a bad spot.

Item 7: I let them in. This is, considering, that I haven't yet brought forth the evidence. Not letting them in would just make us look worse, like we have something to hide.

Item 8: I wouldn't resign right away. I would look into the legal responsibility that I would have, possibly as an accomplice. I was not the one who directly stole evidence from the scene, but I suppose I did put it in my desk and keep it a secret. If public outcry really wanted me out, I would resign, although, I really don't think that I am the one who should pay for this.

Day 2

Another day, another story to get right. Our first reporter who discovered the bottle of gasoline did some great investigative reporting, but screwed up on many fronts in her conduct. The information she gathered shouldn’t be used. She crossed over police tape and a No Trespassing sign to get her evidence, which was already illegal enough, but then she didn’t tell the police what she had found, stealing evidence from the scene. It would be impossible and irresponsible to go to press with her information, since we would be keeping vital evidence away from the police in their case to use for our own benefit.

Good thinking on the photographer’s part, but we will not do anything with the photograph right now. Keep it on file in case the boy is charged or considered a suspect, but we will not print anything until we are certain he has a hand in this case. All signs seem to point to Jake Mahoney, we can all agree about that, but until he has been considered a suspect or charged with anything by the police, we shouldn’t run anything about him. We got his name as a suspect off the record from a police officer, but that was exactly what it was- off the record. We are not going to break ties that we have with the police for a fact that has only been confirmed off the record. We will be patient.

What we will use for this coverage are the quotes from Sally’s husband, Bob (without the ones about how he will kill Jake Mahoney) about his wife and how he is not sure if she is going to make it. The reporter who talked to the Red Cross should use that information to write a story on the families who have been displaced because of the fire. This would make an interesting, touching piece, and will suffice for now, since our information is still a little shaky. In the main story, we will mention that the fire is being investigated as an arson (not naming names) and offer a number for people to call with anymore information on the fire. If the police know more, then we will know more.

I am concerned that my reporters will want to jump the gun and print something before it is ready so we will have a good story. While I’m all for breaking news first, I think there are a lot of risks that are being taken in this case, such as stealing the bottle of gasoline, and printing the name of a minor who has not officially been considered a suspect. These kinds of things can get our paper in a lot of trouble. Bottom line: We’re holding the story until it’s confirmed that we can go ahead. Other than that, we have to be patient, and wait it out.