Journalism Lesson #11 - Writing and Reporting

I've been sitting on two posts the last couple days, but they keep getting pushed back because I keep coming up with more timely ideas. They say waiting makes it better, right? Well, you'll find out eventually, hopefully tomorrow and then Friday.

While I'm at it and before I forget, I should probably just issue the blanket statement that the content on this blog are my own personal thoughts/opinions/viewpoints/etc., and in no way represent the thoughts/opinions/viewpoints/etc. of NESN. Since I'm an intern for them this summer, I should probably do my due diligence and make it clear that Stretch's Take is unaffiliated in every way from my work there. Save, of course, for when I link to any of my articles I think are particularly good or worth a read.

Anyways, with that out of the way, it's time for the long-awaited Journalism Lesson #11. In my initial post introducing the master list of Journalism Lessons back in February, I wrote that any subsequent lessons would get their own post and be added to the master list. I then proceeded to not add any more lessons.

At least until tonight. Tonight marks the return of Journalism Lessons, and it's one that is really quite important.

Journalism Lesson #11: Never let the writing get in the way of the reporting.

What this boils down to is being a reporter first and a writer second. Good journalism flows from the reporting, not the writing. Without good reporting, good writing is just that - good writing. Sure, it may sound good, but it could be shallow, unimportant, or worst of all, inaccurate. It's important for us not to get caught up in trying too hard to craft clever turns of phrases and attempting to make every article the equivalent of a John Updike masterpiece - especially if that means sacrificing doing your due diligence on the reporting side of things.

You still by all means can craft clever turns of phrases and even write your own "Hub Fans Bid Kid Adieu" (Probably one of my favorite essays of all time, and easily one of the best examples of sportswriting I've ever read). I've just found that you have to make sure that you take care of the more important stuff first. Imagine journalism as a hamburger. The reporting is the patty and the writing is the condiments. Now, of course, the condiments make it better - but you'd have a pretty crappy hamburger if you paid more attention to them than the meat, now wouldn't you?

Take care of the reporting, and the rest will follow. And that's the lesson for today.