"Just the facts, Ma'am"

     That's what Sgt. Joe Friday from the old TV series "Dragnet." And that's the way reporters think as well. 

     Reporters are taught to look for the facts. We are taught to look for the facts. We are also taught not to trust our emotions. Or anybody else's. We have to learn to write fast and short and use lots of quotes. That's what tells the whole story. But is it really the complete story?

     Since we have been taught the average attention span of the average reader is growing shorter, so clear, concise stories would seem to be the best choice. 

    Breaking news and other deadline stories do need to be told that way, but not all stories fit that format and we are not doing justice to our readers if we stick to it. 

     Tom Hallman is a Pulitzer Prize winner who had a story turned into a movie-of-the-week starring William H. Macy. He travels the country teaching old pros and new graduates his form of narrative journalism. He was one of the speakers at JournCamp, a joint Society of Professional Journalists/Kiplinger traveling show that made a stop in New York City in June. 

     Even though the room was full of people who rarely have the luxury to write exactly the way we want about whatever we want, he did present plenty of tips we can all use. 

     He reminds us while j-school can teach the skills, it can't teach the feeling necessary to craft a great story. And it can't teach you to see, to observe. 

     Hallman offered some advice that is basically common sense: read everything you can get your hands on, meet people, talk to people. You have to be able to talk to anybody at any time.

     I talk to people in the checkout line. On the subway. People are interesting. They have stories. And sometimes the best way to learn those stories is to tell a story of your own. 
      
      Today's newsroom isn't conducive to getting out of the newsroom, but getting out of the newsroom is essential. You have to people-watch and talk to people face to face. You can't fake interest. You have to be interested. 

     Hallman says you've got to be willing to dance with the story -- to bring your own energy. Sometimes your subject has energy, but you can't always count on it. 

     Always be open to the humorous, the lesson learned, Hallman says.

     So often there is humor even in the worst situations. But there is a limit, a difference between black humor (a staple of journalists) and bad taste. 

     When a giant sinkhole opened up in a municipal parking lot, I couldn't resist the headline, "The Sinkhole That Ate Stanhope." The mayor and council weren't happy, but even they knew I had to do it. 

     Just, as Elvis said, "don't be cruel."

Tom Hallman reads one of his narrative stories at JournCamp