Coaches Input Sought on State Feature Writing Contest

By Jeanne Acton, Journalism Director | Friday, September 06, 2013 1:21 PM

As I listened to the State Feature Writing speaker this past year, I couldn’t help but be a little frustrated. Our speaker was from the Democratic Republic of Congo. She had witnessed genocide as a young child, and her father was still living in danger on a daily basis. It was an incredible story, but I don’t think the students got the full story. They just didn’t ask the right questions.

And it certainly wasn’t their fault.

When I prepare for an interview, I research. I read everything I can to become as knowledgeable about the topic or person as I can. I talk to people. I work through questions both with colleagues and myself. And I do all of this, BEFORE the interview. When I say before, I mean days, not minutes.
What we ask the competitors at the State Feature Writing contest to do seems contradictory to good journalism. We bring these 60 students into a room and expect them to do an amazing interview with only minutes to prepare. And sometimes, we give them a topic they are unfamiliar with like this past year.

Then, we (or maybe it’s just me) get frustrated when the interview falls flat, and the stories lack depth and detail.

So instead of complaining about the problem for another year, I would like to offer a solution (it’s what I tell editorial writers – Don’t complain about a problem unless you have a solution.).

Here’s my solution.

I propose that we take the secrecy out of the State Feature Writing Contest. I don’t want students to be surprised minutes before the interview, if I can help it. (A last-minute cancellation of a speaker would be the exception.)

I am contemplating releasing the bio sheet on the UIL website one week before the State Meet. Then, students can have the opportunity to research the person and/or topic so they can ask educated, solid questions. I propose that we allow students to bring in information with them to the contest to use within their stories.

For example, this past year a student would have been able to research the Democratic Republic of Congo and learn that “the civilian population in the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) has witnessed consecutive civil wars between 1996 and 2003 that have claimed an estimated five million lives.”

The student could choose whether or not to use the information in the story or use the information to help him or her craft intelligent, thought-provoking questions. Of course, if the student used the information, then he or she would have to cite the source.

I have proposed this solution to several advisers who posed several good questions to me.

First and foremost, the advisers questioned whether students could get help from their teachers or others to help understand the person or topic before the state meet.  Why not? Before I interview someone, I often talk with other people to deepen my understanding and knowledge. Professional reporters do the same thing, and I hope your reporters on your staffs work with the editors to develop questions, sources and angles for stories. Journalism doesn’t happen in isolation, but we expect these state competitors to do just that.

The advisers also asked if students could bring in information found on the Internet or from a secondary source. Again, why not? I don’t research my information and then leave it at home before a big interview. I use it to help guide me through the interview and story. I do think students would need to turn in any research notes with their stories so the judges could evaluate anything used.

Then, we have the issue of equality. What if a student doesn’t know to go to the Internet and discover whom the speaker is before the meet. Is that fair to the student? I don’t have a good answer for this one. We will do everything in our power at the state office to make sure all advisers know about the change (if we do it), but I can’t say with 100 percent certainty that all advisers will direct their students to the website. In years past, we have had students at the State Meet unaware of the fact that there is a speaker at this level. Those students assumed the contest would be another prompt.

I know there are other questions and issues to think about before moving forward on this change. That is where you come in. Call me, email me, heck, write me a letter if you want, but give me feedback on what you think about this proposal.

I honestly believe our students will have a more authentic journalism experience if they are able to prepare for the speaker, but I will not make this change without the support of the journalism coaches across the state.

Please contact me before Dec. 1 deadline with your questions or concerns. If we make a change, I want to have plenty of time to notify schools and advisers.