What makes a voice authentic? It’s more than just including a verbatim quote or a full sound bite. It also means understanding a source well enough to know which bite, quote detail or scene best captures the personality, motives, and meanings of the source. That comes from strong reporting. Without that authentic voice, stories are done about people rather than with them.
Context lends meaning to facts. It adds to understanding. It puts action into perspective, zeroing in on the reasons things happen as they do so that the viewer, reader, user or listener won’t have to guess about the motives of a character in a story. When a story provides too little context, a character’s actions can seem odd, inexplicable.
There are always more than two sides to any story, and there are usually more people in the middle on a controversial issue than there are at either extreme. Pursuing that complexity is a part of excellent journalism. When journalists can see past the polarized sides of an issue, they gain access to more nuance, more truth, and, often, a more interesting story.
We frequently frame stories about race and ethnic relations in the false dichotomy of saints and sinners, with little acknowledgment that there’s probably a bit of both in everyone. Such stories don’t always ring true in the public ear. Three ideas to remember:
✰ There’s more to it than that: Begin your reporting with the expectation that each interviewee or group has more than one perspective on the issue. Be counterintuitive, listening for the things you don’t expect to hear from individuals or groups.
✰ Prejudice is universal: Report thoroughly so that you can put prejudice in its proper context and you’re better able to show all sides of your sources.
✰ Contradictions can coexist: When there are competing pictures of a person – the saint and sinner, for example – one need not cancel the other out. Journalists should include both in the story, trusting that the more complete, more genuine picture will resonate with readers, listeners, users and viewers.
Source: The Authentic Voice: The Best Reporting on Race & Ethnicity
by Arlene Notoro Morgan, Alice Irene Pifer, and Keith Woods
On the Web at: www.theauthenticvoice.org
