The Not-So-Thin Line Between Reporting And Writing

 Everyone wants to write or be a writer. Not everyone can or should be a writer.

In the past few years, as Associate Editor of the Canarsie Courier, I received some positive feedback from people in the community who want to do some writing for our publication. Many of the candidates, who are professionals in other fields, are interested in submitting pieces and covering newsworthy events. There are those who love to “write” and those who are simply interested in getting their foot in the door of the wonderful world of publishing.

While meeting some great writers who had their works published previously for other media, I realized that many applicants who hope to write for us don’t seem to understand the fine line between creative writing and professional reporting.

Not to discourage those who want to dig their hands in the news world, but if you haven’t heard of “the five W’s and an H” (who, what, where, when, why and how), chances are, reporting may not be for you. A lot of people say they want to write the “hard news” bits, yet they will start a sentence with a number in numeric form and not spell it out – a BIG no-no in newspaper reporting – and they do not follow the format of anecdotal leads or the hour glass structure. Furthermore, “hard news” is classified as a report on an incident that just happened with the raw, expedient facts at the beginning in the “lead” and a review of any other history later in the story. If I’ve already lost or confused you with this mini-journalism lesson, then you’re definitely not heading down the road to being a reporter.

It took me all of three and a half years at Brooklyn College to learn how to write headlines, address a hard news story, hone my interviewing techniques and allow my writing tone to flourish while simultaneously following the professional format of newspaper writing. Once you learn the basic structure of a news article, being able to write for the public – especially when it’s a small community – is easier.

There are still some basic grammar faux pas that writers can’t get past. One of my biggest pet peeves is when someone writes “they must of” instead of “they must have.” It may seem like the simplest thing to sit down and write a story, but if you don’t even have the basics of grammar style covered, the skill of reporting as a journalist is almost lost completely.

What prevents someone from expressing themselves in a clear and accurate manner once they are sitting in front of a screen ready to write a story? One of my colleagues and I discussed the disconnect that exists when it comes to understanding a topic and actually writing about it on paper. Some very intelligent teachers, businesspeople, and passionate civic leaders write to us about what it is going on with their organization. However, there is something that prevents the average professional, who may not write often, from interpreting clear, concise, and organized facts in their minds and then putting them on paper.

Admittedly, even though I practiced writing stories at only six years old because I loved to write, I’m still learning how to efficiently and effectively incorporate my personal style with the professional journalism format.

We welcome writers of all kinds who would like to give professional reporting a shot, but our readers must understand, in clear, simple yet thorough terms, what is going on in their neighborhood. Therefore, it helps to have skilled and schooled reporters, who are able to clearly express on paper what’s going on.

You may think you’re a writer because you enjoy “writing,” but – hey – I’m just telling it like it is!