A toast to learning

I received, yet again, another epiphany: I believe I was over thinking online reporting.

After hearing about the fast pace of the online world and the immediate demand for a story written quickly, I began to worry. Was I going to be able to keep up? Could I truly handle writing two to three stories a day and briefs and online updates?

Sometimes I do my best work under pressure. But there are times when the weight makes me feel as though I’m sinking into the ground.

After the class with my career coach, Mary Ann Hogan, I realized online updates are not supposed to be complex or even stressful. The key word is simple. Be quick, concise and accurate, and that’s all. Don’t worry about inventing the perfect, most articulate lead—just give the facts. Think “Dragnet” and everything will be OK.

On a different subject, I loved the first five graphs session with Chipster alum Kristen Go. I’m all about bulleting and Kristen gave me exactly that. The first five paragraphs of a story should include the news, context, impact and human dimension. That’s all. Simple. Precise. Easy to remember.

I never had it broken down that plainly for me before. I knew that those aspects needed to be included in the story, but I never knew exactly how to arrange them. Scary thought, considering I just graduated.

It’s interesting—in a sad and disturbing way—that I’ve learned more in the last four days than I learned in some of my classes. I found that the classroom instruction at my college didn’t get to the nuts and bolts of story breakdown.

Writing is a learning experience. I figure if I don’t learn something new every day, I’m not truly living. Here’s to living.

-- Maria Miranda, reporter, Madera (Calif.) Tribune, and California State University-Fresno