WEBVTT 00:00:17.000 --> 00:00:21.000 Every day we are bombarded on all platforms of media 00:00:21.000 --> 00:00:24.000 with personal stories that span the continuum 00:00:24.000 --> 00:00:26.000 from the embarrassing and the trivial 00:00:26.000 --> 00:00:28.000 to the dire and the critical. 00:00:28.000 --> 00:00:32.000 The foodie posting photos of every plate of lasagna he orders, 00:00:32.000 --> 00:00:34.000 the Iranian blogger describing the shooting death 00:00:34.000 --> 00:00:37.000 of Nedā Āghā-Soltān. 00:00:37.000 --> 00:00:40.000 Authentic narrative is the glue that connects people, 00:00:40.000 --> 00:00:43.000 providing a compelling reason to keep reading. 00:00:43.000 --> 00:00:45.000 It makes the personal universal, 00:00:45.000 --> 00:00:47.000 transcends the individual, 00:00:47.000 --> 00:00:51.000 and makes a story timeless and humanistic. 00:00:51.000 --> 00:00:53.000 How, as a journalist, do you ask the questions 00:00:53.000 --> 00:00:56.000 that yield this type of narrative? 00:00:56.000 --> 00:00:59.000 You have to know what to ask of whom. 00:00:59.000 --> 00:01:02.000 First you need to understand that every piece of journalism 00:01:02.000 --> 00:01:04.000 requires a trifecta of sourcing. 00:01:04.000 --> 00:01:08.000 If you picture the reporting process as depicted by a triangle, 00:01:08.000 --> 00:01:10.000 one side will be official sources, 00:01:10.000 --> 00:01:13.000 another side will be overview sources, 00:01:13.000 --> 00:01:16.000 and a third side will be unofficial sources. 00:01:16.000 --> 00:01:20.000 All three components are necessary in every well-reported piece. 00:01:20.000 --> 00:01:23.000 The first side has official sources. 00:01:23.000 --> 00:01:26.000 Those are the people with titles and expertise, 00:01:26.000 --> 00:01:29.000 who own the company; are spokespeople for the movement. 00:01:29.000 --> 00:01:32.000 They tell you the numbers, and the answers 00:01:32.000 --> 00:01:35.000 to how much, how many, where, when, and who. 00:01:35.000 --> 00:01:38.000 A second side of the triangle includes overview sources: 00:01:38.000 --> 00:01:41.000 academics, consultants, authors, 00:01:41.000 --> 00:01:43.000 who are not directly connected as stakeholders, 00:01:43.000 --> 00:01:46.000 but have knowledge of the big picture. 00:01:46.000 --> 00:01:49.000 Yet it is the third side of the trifecta - unofficial sources - 00:01:49.000 --> 00:01:52.000 who hold the power of the individual's insight. 00:01:52.000 --> 00:01:55.000 This is where you can find the why, 00:01:55.000 --> 00:01:58.000 Giving consequence on the event, trend, phase, or idea 00:01:58.000 --> 00:02:01.000 and what it means on a soul level to someone affected by it. 00:02:01.000 --> 00:02:04.000 So how do you mine for the gems, 00:02:04.000 --> 00:02:07.000 identifying what is compelling from what is chatter? 00:02:07.000 --> 00:02:09.000 You ask surprising questions. 00:02:09.000 --> 00:02:12.000 To achieve the complicated, fragile human connection, 00:02:12.000 --> 00:02:15.000 you regard the stories of every subject as sacred. 00:02:15.000 --> 00:02:18.000 Realize that an anecdote is oxygen 00:02:18.000 --> 00:02:20.000 that breathes life into a grey story of exposition, 00:02:20.000 --> 00:02:22.000 facts and data. 00:02:22.000 --> 00:02:26.000 What the surgeon did at home the morning he operated on a woman's brain tumor. 00:02:26.000 --> 00:02:30.000 How it feels to dream and train for the Olympics for a lifetime. 00:02:30.000 --> 00:02:34.000 There are times when it is important to convey information quickly, 00:02:34.000 --> 00:02:37.000 to present bulleted facts and updates. 00:02:37.000 --> 00:02:40.000 When a situation is urgent, when action is required now, 00:02:40.000 --> 00:02:43.000 when you need to know where the tornado will hit, 00:02:43.000 --> 00:02:47.000 how fast the fire is spreading, and if it will reach your home today. 00:02:47.000 --> 00:02:49.000 But the narrative personal stories 00:02:49.000 --> 00:02:51.000 that contribute to the buffet of journalism 00:02:51.000 --> 00:02:55.000 are pieces that have the luxury of a slow dance of information. 00:02:55.000 --> 00:02:57.000 It is this artful solicitation of story 00:02:57.000 --> 00:03:00.000 that will make the journalism memorable 00:03:00.000 --> 00:03:08.986 and will deliver the narrative bond that will connect us to each other.