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Dear Storyboard community,
In 2010, reporter Michael Kruse followed the trail of a monkey that was on the loose in the Tampa Bay area. To tell the story, Kruse had to get inside the head of a young adult male rhesus macaque — where he went, what he ate, and what he was looking for.
One thing he was looking for? A partner. The monkey was alone and seeking its kind. For the piece, Kruse consulted with a loneliness expert, who reminded us: "None of us do well on our own."
It's a perfect theme for this week's Nieman Storyboard podcast, in which Kruse and his longtime editor, Bill Duryea, reflect on a 16-year partnership that spanned both the Tampa Bay Times and Politico.
It's rare for an editor and reporter to have such a long-lasting collaboration across multiple publications. And for many journalists and freelancers working in the creator economy, it feels like a luxury to have an editor at all. But their partnership is a reminder that we shouldn't have to do it alone. Our work gets better when we have trusted collaborators who empower and challenge us.
This is not just a mantra for journalism. Songwriter Dan Wilson recently reminded other artists that just because you can write and produce a song on your laptop all by yourself doesn't mean that you should. Making music — making anything — is a communal experience.
For Kruse, having access to an editor like Duryea gave him the confidence to pursue stories before the idea was clear. As Duryea notes: “Michael and I probably both subscribe to the theory that 90 percent of life, and reporting, is just showing up.” And a huge part of that is showing up for each other.
The journalists share how they supported and learned from each other at the Tampa Bay Times and Politico.
[ Read the story ]
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Links of note
- At some point in their careers, journalists and writers might get the (thrilling? nerve-wracking?) opportunity to appear on-camera and talk about their work. Author and journalist Alice Driver offers some succinct media training advice when it comes to sharing your work for TV or podcasts. My favorite bit: learn how to tell a story in 45 seconds.
- “What if key members of the family don’t want to give interviews, or are not physically able to?” Erika Hayasaki interviews Haley Cohen Gilliland, author of “A Flower Traveled in My Blood,” about the challenges of writing about Argentina’s Dirty War and the mothers who searched for their daughters and grandchildren who were abducted or killed by the military.
- In a new writing advice column, nonfiction writer Lilly Dancyger illuminates how writers can increase their presence on the page: “Go through the draft and highlight every moment that’s supposed to have emotional weight, and/or where your perspective shifts.” She suggests slowing down, lingering in the moment when the realization lands and letting the reader sit there — insights that can prove instructive for writers of all kinds. (Hat-tip: Carly Stern.)
- “Life is the best writer, and sometimes you have to let life show you a little bit of what that is.” I appreciated this conversation with writer-director Cameron Crowe, because it comes across as two journalists openly brainstorming stories and themes around Crowe’s career arc. The subject is enjoying the process, and the writer isn’t overly insistent on his own interpretation of the narrative.
You control your own story. Keep sharing it,
Mark Armstrong
Editor
Nieman Storyboard
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Photo: Feodor Chistyakov on Unsplash
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