Off Beat

Out with the boring titles for my blog entries. Time to spice it up a bit. The first reason I call this entry "Off Beat" is because of the story I listened to this week. It was a WGBH Morning Story by Tony Kahn. It's not hard news by any means, but it's a story of a relationship between two people, Tommy and Chuck. These two men first met when their mothers walked them together as kids and then reacquainted themselves during a high school basketball game on opposing teams. They ended up going to college together and stayed in close connection ever since.

The story is told almost entirely through the first-person perspective of Tommy. This immediately draws you in as you're listening to an actual person, not a journalist, tell the story. It doesn't feel like you're listening to media, it feels like you're talking with a person. I really like this extended use of first-person audio. It's not often you hear five or six straight minutes of one source telling a story. I think reporters should try to leave a source telling a story for as long as possible if it fits in your package. It leads to a far greater emotional reaction when Tommy tells that Chuck dies of a rare disease when the men are middle-aged. An acoustic music track is then brought up after Tommy reveals this, which adds even more emotion to the story.

Tommy says because Chuck knew a secret that he didn't tell anyone else, he felt like part of him died when Chuck died. Tony Kahn goes on to discuss this at the end of the story. He discusses the importance of holding someone else's secret and how much that can mean to a relationship. It's a simple element of life, but Kahn shows how meaningful it can be with the story of these two men.

The second reason I call this entry "Off Beat" is because this is the first time in four weeks that I haven't been on the beat for a story. I was cleared last week to KOMU and had a week off from searching out a story topic. It has been a little difficult trying to stay on top of the news while not reporting this week. I am now preparing to go out to KOMU and deliver even higher quality work than I did in lab. I feel like I got a great start in lab with ideas and editing tips that will help greatly at KOMU. I know what it takes to contact people for a story and make sure I get everything I need for a story. I also know how important it is to keep contacts at different places around town to help with interviews or finding story ideas. I am excited to head out to KOMU and do some on-air stories.

I'll be back on-beat soon.