News Gathering
The process of creating meaningful newspaper articles starts well before the writing. From brainstorming ideas to researching and developing thought-out stories, every step along the way is crucial when creating balanced, accurate and engaging articles. Our goal on The ReMarker is to produce relevant and purposeful content, which is only achieved when we put in enough time to be thorough in our news gathering.
Pitch day
The first day of every ReMarker news cycle is story pitch day. Every member of staff is required to bring in one issue-driven story idea and one personality profile idea. After a story idea is pitched, I lead the group in a discussion on how that story would play out in The ReMarker. Most of our major stories arise during pitch day because when everyone on staff is researching and developing story ideas, there are always some that evolve into powerful articles.
In the middle of this year, I was working with the section editors and they felt that notes taken on pitch day didn't always feel thorough enough for them to be able to slot stories in their sections. While this was not the case with most story ideas, we wanted every single pitch to make sense when the other editors and I went back through the pitch notes. After discussing the most important elements of a story pitch, we broke it down into four major components:
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What is the angle?
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What is the tie to St. Mark's?
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Is this story timely?
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Have we covered it before?
After setting up a new Google Doc to take notes with this layout, we saw an immediate improvement when it came time to slotting stories. This format not only helped note-taking, but it allowed for class discussions on each pitch to become more extensive on a story-to-story basis.
Beat system
One of our primary jobs as a school newspaper is to cover school news. So to make sure we're aware of what is going on with every organization on campus, we created the beat system. Every writer on staff is assigned to one or more of the 85 programs, clubs or sports teams at St. Mark's. Beat sources are talked to regularly throughout the year. With this system, we ensure that The ReMarker is representative of everything that is happening on campus.
An example of what a couple of beat reports look like.
Guidelines for what to ask when talking to beat sources. Asking them "what's going on with your program?" is never a way to get strong answers, so I emphasize that all our reporters pose questions that will facilitate getting their sources to cover everything.
meeting with the headmaster
My beat source this year is Headmaster David Dini. I am extremely grateful to have a healthy relationship with him and the rest of our administration. While I meet with the headmaster every two to three weeks to discuss what is going on with the school and to talk about certain story ideas, the administration also places a lot of trust in my team and me.
In my first issue of the year, I was challenged with covering a former St. Mark's instructor who was accused of sexual misconduct at another school. Because of the sensitivity of the issue in both my school community and in the city, I met with the headmaster many times over the course of two weeks to talk about the issue. While the school did release a formal statement after the accusations, this was an opportunity to expand on the measures the school takes to keep its students safe. After more edits and revisions than I have ever made to a story, we finally had an article that approached the issue with sensitivity but also discussed the major issues people in our community were talking about.
This is a sample of my notes from one of many meetings with the headmaster about our September issue cover story.
Planning stories
Before diving into any story, the first step I always take is mapping it out. Usually, that means creating a Google Doc that addresses the goal of the story, the direction of the story and potential sources we can interview for the story.
Our November issue cover story was a double-page spread on issues that had arisen after the appointment of Supreme Court Justice Brett Kavanaugh, so the first thing we looked at is making sure we had enough substantial content. We then broke it down into five different issues we wanted to talk about, and we created an extensive list of credible sources.
We broke down the story into five major points. We wanted to cover multiple unique angles to address the major issues brought up by Justice Kavanaugh's hearings.
The most important thing when gathering sources for this article was making sure we had a balanced mix of viewpoints. We reached out to everyone on this list of sources to make sure we had a fair representation of our community when discussing the issue.
Interviewing
Many of my interviews are with people I don't already know. Because of that, one of the biggest things I focus on when interviewing is developing a connection with the interviewee during the early minutes of talking to them. Whether that means talking about something totally unrelated to the story or easing into a difficult interview with lighter questions, gaining a mutual sense of trust with the interviewee is crucial in every single interview I conduct.
Paula Ellis
On Jan. 20, 2018, about 7,000 people marched through Downtown Dallas for the Dallas Women's March. While listening to the speakers, one caught my attention: transgender activist Paula Ellis. I tracked her down with no preparation and just started talking to her. She shared her entire story with me in the most moving interview I have ever conducted.
I interviewed Paula Ellis and spoke with her colleagues at the Dallas Women's March Jan. 20, 2018.
Riley Cole
As a senior at St. Mark's, they went by Zach Cole. At an all-boys school, they weren't exactly sure what they were. They didn't feel like a boy — or a girl. But in their senior yearbook blurb, Riley Cole '17 found the words: "I am gender-neutral." In this interview, Cole shared with me how they navigated their life at an all-boys school and how they are able to live today.
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John Loza
For a story I wrote looking at the current state of my school's financial aid program and the goals the school has for it, I spoke with Dallas City Councilman John Loza '81, who attended St. Mark's with the help of a generous family. Sharing the impact the aid had on his life, Loza told the story from his childhood to his position today.
I interviewed John Loza in his Downtown Dallas office. He shared an inspiring story of going from being the recipient of Financial Aid to someone who donates to it.
Verde and felicia
As a part of our Focus magazine on homelessness in Dallas, I interviewed two homeless women at the Austin Street Center. In an extremely emotional interview, Felicia Tribble and Verde both looked back on how they got into their current situation and spoke with hope about where they want to end up.