Stories aren't always easy, fun

Wow. We're almost done. We're almost done! We're almost done?

Looking back at these past ten weeks it's hard to imagine that we've come this far.
Our first Web site featured a preliminary story to the Virginia Military Institute rape case trial, and it also had our first of many H1N1 virus stories. I remember sitting at the computer and staring at the screen wondering how in the heck I could tease a broadcast package about a rape story with very hazy facts still awaiting a solid conclusion.

Two weeks ago I sat at my computer writing scripts late into the night and once again encountered the swine flu and the difficulty of teasing a serious piece about sexual misconduct. But that time around, I felt a little more prepared to do it. I was pleasantly surprised to discover that along with learning how to do the technical, concrete tasks a producer needs to know like how to time a show, organize reporters, assign stories, lay out rundowns, incorporate video and live elements into stories, and run a control room, I've learned something less tangible, too. I've learned a little about the art of tact in news writing.

As a reporter I never covered a story that required me to carefully choose my words because misused words might have grievous ramifications for a victim or an accused person. Nor had I ever covered a story involving delicate issues like sexual misconduct or death (and sadly, we covered the deaths of one Cadet, one local high schooler, and a Washington and Lee alumni). But these are unavoidable stories in any real newsroom local or national, and learning how to handle them gracefully is an invaluable skill. I'm just glad we had the guidance of seasoned professors-sum-reporters to point us in the right direction and show us how to handle both ourselves and the stories.

I think you'll find Cameron Steele's follow-up piece to her sexual misconduct broadcast investigation to be an example of quality in-depth reporting combined with tasteful writing. Steele took an explosive, sensitive issue and handled tearful interviews gracefully and tactfully, being careful to use just enough to tell a story but not so much as to be exploitative.