Hearsts & Firsts

The stories behind our award-winning stories

hulkhogan

PHOTO BY ALEXA CHRYSSOVERGIS | IDS


Hulk Hogan awarded $115 million in salacious privacy rights trial against Gawker

A jury awarded $115 million in damages to Hulk Hogan on Friday after a salacious trial that tested the limits of the First Amendment in the world of celebrity journalism.


By Alexa Chryssovergis | INDIANA DAILY STUDENT | March 19, 2016

Second, Hearst, Breaking News Writing



How did the concept originate?

I just happened to be traveling in St. Petersburg for a class trip while the Hulk Hogan vs. Gawker Media trial was going on, and my professor, Tom French, said the trial would be a great opportunity for someone to write a daily. I’d been working on dailies in his class (it’s just what it sounds like — reporting and writing a story in just one day), and wanted to jump on the opportunity to cover an intriguing and salacious trial that’d garnered national coverage.


Walk us through the early production — the reporting, the sourcing, the visual planning. Walk us through the writing and self-editing. How many drafts?

I was in St. Petersburg during the week when the trial was in its second week, so I was hoping to be able to attend closing arguments on Friday before flying back home to Indiana. I was able to make it for a couple hours of the trial earlier in the week, on Monday, to hear some testimony. From that, and from reading dozens of articles online on the trial, following all the live tweets and watching videos of testimony that’d been published, I started to write up a draft for the story in anticipation of the verdict. I did maybe two or three drafts throughout the week and then was luckily able to be at the courthouse on Friday for closing arguments and verdicts. Then I revamped my draft and published that night.


How did the story evolve? How did IDS editors interact with the production?

Tom helped me edit my drafts during the week because it was an assignment I’d decided to do for his Story Mechanics class, but we were both constantly in communication with Mary Katherine Wildeman, the editor in chief of the IDS. She was excited to be able to publish my story on the IDS website because it was a nationally covered trial with potentially significant implications on freedom of speech and First Amendment rights. I told her Friday I was expecting a verdict and again texted her when I received one. She edited my story that night and then we published. It was only ever published online because it wasn’t relevant enough to Bloomington or IU to be included in our print product, but I did write up a brief on a small Bloomington connection mentioned in the trial, which made it into the print product the following Monday.


If you’re a reporter, how did you interact with visual journalists on photos, illustrations and design?

I actually took my own photos for the story. Because I was in St. Petersburg on a field trip, I obviously couldn’t recruit my own staff photographer to come. Luckily, I had brought my DSLR and could snap some shots when Hogans’ and Gawker’s teams left the courthouse after the verdict. It was exciting to be in my first media frenzy. I learned that journalists can be pretty ferocious and I have to stand my ground — literally, or I would have been shoved out of the way and wouldn’t have gotten any photos of Hulk’s face.


What was the toughest challenge? How did you overcome it?

The toughest challenge was synthesizing a two-week trial into an 1000 word story. Most people covering the trial had been there for the entirety of the event and had been writing stories about it every day, but I obviously didn’t have that advantage, so I needed to include only the most important parts and make sure the reader knew why they were important. I overcame the challenge by reading up on the trial’s coverage as much I possibly could in order to understand why it mattered. After reading what other news outlets had to say about the trial, it was easier to understand myself why it was so important and relay that information to my own readers in my story. Being at the closing arguments helped, too, because they were just a summary of the whole trial.


How did you grow as a journalist on this project?

I think this project helped me gain a lot of confidence. During the day of the closing arguments, I was surrounded by more professional journalists than I’d ever seen in one place in my life. There was a moment when all the journalists were waiting for a verdict in the media room and someone got word that the judge might have something to announce to us. We all rushed up from the media room to the courtroom, but it was locked. All the professional journalists were outraged. “They can’t do that!” one girl said. Quickly, we were let into the courtroom. Standing your ground is such an important part of being a journalist, and I saw that firsthand while reporting this story during this scenario and during the media frenzy I experienced after the trial. I also learned valuable lessons about the importance of pre-reporting and definitely improved my nut graf-writing skills.


What’s your quick advice for someone taking on a topic or project like this one?

If you’re reporting on something that dozens of other media outlets are also covering, it’s imperative you somehow cover it in a different way than everyone else. For me, that was the scene at the end of my piece where Hogan turned into the elevator so that he couldn’t see my face when he cried. I wouldn’t have gotten that moment if I wasn’t the last reporter in the courtroom, following his team into the elevator. So my quick advice is: be unpredictable and stay until the end.

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ALEXA CHRYSSOVERGIS served in many roles at the Indiana Daily Student including reporter, photographer, designer, and region and design editor.


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Hulk Hogan awarded $115 million



unsettled

PHOTO BY IKE HAJNAZARIAN | IDS


The unsettled

Forced to flee Syria and start over, a family adjusts to a state that suddenly doesn't want them.


By Alden Woods | INDIANA DAILY STUDENT | Dec. 7, 2015

First, Society of Professional Journalists Indiana Pro Chapter, Multimedia

Fourth, Hearst, Enterprise Reporting



How did the concept originate?

We wanted to understand refugees as people. That’s pretty much it. When the European Migrant Crisis, as it was called, kicked off in summer 2015, refugees ceased to exist as individuals. They were splashed on television and in newspapers as huddled masses, thousands of people trudging through European borders and begging for help.

And there was a fundamental misunderstanding of their journey — a refugee’s struggle doesn’t end once they’ve settled in a new country. It’s barely started.

At the very beginning, we chased one question: As a refugee, how do you start to build a new life in a place where everything is strange?


Walk us through the early production — the reporting, the sourcing, the visual planning. Walk us through the writing and self-editing. How many drafts?

I made more phone calls in the two weeks we spent looking for a family to let us into their lives than I ever had before. When we first started our search, there were only five families of Syrian refugees in Indianapolis, all of whom had been in America less than a year. So we knew we only had five shots of making this work.

We talked to people across the country, just hoping to find somebody who could introduce us to a family. We sat down with other Middle Eastern refugees in the city, and they all told us we’d never find Syrians who would talk to us. But eventually, we got in touch with a Syrian immigrant who made a couple phone calls and got us a short meeting with the Batman family.

I like to write as I go, so we ended up with a section or two a week as we reported. Most of those didn’t make the story, but it kept the process from becoming overwhelming, to have words and photos on a screen each week.

Once all our reporting was finished, we had a little over two weeks to put everything together — to write, realize it’s terrible slop, rewrite. You know, the usual. Draft No. 13 was the one that got published.


How did the story evolve? How did IDS editors interact with the production?

The story evolved across the world. The rise of ISIS, a series of terrorist attacks and our own governor’s plan to block all Syrian refugees from the state kept the groundwork of the story constantly shifting underneath our feet. Donald Trump’s announcement that we should bar all Muslims from the United States came four hours before the story published.


As a reporter, how did you interact with visual journalists on photos, illustrations and design?

I don’t know anything about photos or design, but photographer Ike Hajinzarain and designer Anna Boone made sure all our decisions were collaborative.

That’s what I loved about working in this team setting: everybody had their own work, but we were always aware of what everybody else was working on. We didn’t want to get to our run date and realize we had incompatible pieces.


Overall, were there different approaches for print and online?

For us, the online edition was our primary focus. We had more room for words, more space for photos and more freedom to present the story in the clearest, most effective way.

Weeks before we published, we sat down as a team and laid out the online product: where a photo could be more effective than words, where we needed to let the reader have a little break, which graphics to include and where to put them.


What was the toughest challenge? How did you overcome it?

We spent the first month or so just getting the Batman family to trust us. The fact we didn’t speak the same language made that process even slower.

In Syria, the media is state-run. It’s widely known for labeling innocent people as terrorists, placing targets on their back and letting the army do the rest. There’s definitely a limited market for narrative, long-form journalism, which is an American concept.

It was a long process. More than once, the Batmans pulled out, and we had to rebuild their trust all over again. We sent frantic texts, using Google Translate to get a quasi-intelligible form of Arabic. We wrote letters for them to keep on their refrigerator, paying strangers over the Internet to translate them for us. We spent hours just talking, putting our notebooks down while we got to know each other as people.

I’m still not sure why they kept letting us in their home. The access we had into their lives was completely unexpected, and I’m certain it’s because we spent those first few meetings building a trust before diving into our reporting.

Once we started everyday reporting, we could barely communicate with each other. We had an interpreter for some meetings, but when we were following Marwan at work, or Rakan at school, we were completely on our own. That took a little finagling to get around.


How did you grow as a journalist on this project?

Every story changes who you are as a journalist. Throughout this story, I was forced to learn how to report around the edges — 80 percent of what ended up in the story came not from interviews, but from just being with and understanding the Batman family.

Too often, we put too much stock in what people say, and not enough in who they are. I thought it would be hard to fully understand these people and their situation without them telling me directly, but I found the opposite. It’s small details that make people who they are and bring them to life on the page.


What’s your quick advice for someone taking on a topic or project like this one?

It’s OK to be angry. It’s OK to have your heart break for the people you’re reporting on, to put down your notebook and try to understand their situation on a human level.

If you don’t feel anything about your story, how are you going to get any readers to care?

A great reporter once told me, “If you know it, write it. Don’t be a coward.” If something is wrong, and you know it to be true, write it.

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ALDEN WOODS served as reporter, sports editor and managing editor of the Indiana Daily Student.


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The unsettled


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PHOTO BY TAYLOR TELFORD | IDS


Police officer copes with daughter's death

Every drunken driver he pulled over meant a possible tragedy averted. Despite all the strangers he saved, there was nothing he could do to stop the driver who killed his daughter.


By Taylor Telford | INDIANA DAILY STUDENT | Oct. 27, 2015

First, Hearst, Feature Writing



How did the concept originate?

The idea came from a story idea session in Kelley Benham French’s narrative journalism class. Another student had heard about the story through an Indianapolis TV news broadcast but had no interest in covering it. I thought it was a delicate but compelling story, and I expressed my interest.


Walk us through the early production — the reporting, the sourcing, the visual planning. Walk us through the writing and self editing. How many drafts?

I was working on a pretty tight deadline, so I only had about 10 days to report the story.

I contacted Officer Daniel Shragal and did a two-hour interview with him in an interrogation room at the Indianapolis Metropolitan Police Department station. We met two more times, once with his son.

Because it was such an emotionally charged subject, I handled the elements of storytelling myself so that Officer Shragal didn’t feel like he was having to open himself to too many different people. I took the photos myself, and I kept in diligent contact with him as I wrote and reported to ensure my accuracy.

I wrote the story pretty quickly — a late night draft, and then a 14-hour day of re-writing and editing with Tom French.


How did the story evolve? How did IDS editors interact with the production?

In the beginning, I wasn’t sure whether the story would end up being more about Officer Shragal’s daughter and her death or Shragal’s work in the context of losing her.

Ultimately I decided that focusing on Shragal’s career was most important. Kelley Benham French said that in narrative, it’s important find out what a person’s greatest struggle is, and how they confront it on a daily basis. I tried to anchor the story’s conflict in that principle — how Officer Shragal will continue to do what he’s always done, but now with this much more painful, personal connection to his work.


Overall, were there different approaches for print and online?

The approach for online was the same as print — emphasis on copy, with the portrait of Officer Shragal and posts from Kirstin’s Instagram to give the reader a feel for both of them.


What was the toughest challenge? How did you overcome it?

The toughest thing was the initial approach.

The story had been covered by several TV stations and a handful of other publications, and many of them were sloppy in their coverage — bungling basic details in the accident, misspelling names, etc. I knew that Officer Shragal would probably have a negative association with the press based on those previous experiences, but when I met him for the first time I tried to show right off the bat that I was committed to telling the story accurately, and in a way that would do his daughter justice.


How did you grow as a journalist on this project?

This was the first time I had ever done a long-form, narrative project. Additionally, it was the first time I had ever had to deal with such personal and sensitive subject matter.

Going into it, I had some real trepidations about how to report on something where I wouldn’t be observing anything, but instead writing entirely from reconstruction. It was a major challenge in terms of interviewing, because I know that every shred of my story was going to come out of three formal, sit-down interviews.

It also opened my eyes to the role of empathy in reporting. I’ve always felt conflicted about the role of the journalists as an impartial bystander, because many of the stories I’m drawn to are emotionally charged and personal. In this case, I found that my empathy was my greatest asset. While I strayed from offering my opinion on the accident that killed Kirstin, I tried to be human and earnest in all my reporting so that Officer Shragal would understand why I wanted to tell this story, and why I needed him to be open with me so I could accomplish that.


What’s your quick advice for someone taking on a topic or project like this one?

Some of the best reporting advice I’ve ever received is, “Be a human.” Journalism is always about people at the end of the day, and the best stories are anchored in emotional conflict and complicated human intersection.

Especially when dealing with weighty subject matter like death, it seems to me that the best way to proceed is to be genuine and empathetic. Make your source understand why you want to tell their story, but always be mindful of the sacrifices they have to make to share it with you.

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TAYLOR TELFORD served as a reporter and campus editor at the Indiana Daily Student.


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Police officer copes with daughter's death


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PHOTO BY MEGAN JULA | IDS


Waiting for help

Students seeking counseling have reached an all-time high. Does CAPS have the resources to treat them?


By Megan Jula | INDIANA DAILY STUDENT | April 23, 2015

First, Society of Professional Journalists Indiana Pro Chapter, Investigative Reporting
Fifth, Hearst, Enterprise Writing



How did the concept originate?

This story idea came from a reader response to the IDS article “When students die.”

Constance Rodenbarger wrote to me with her concerns about the mental health resources available to students on campus. Her initial email detailed her suicide attempt and really alarmed me; my first thought was concern for her well-being.

I spoke with others in the newsroom about what my response should be as a human, not particularly as a journalist. After meeting with Constance in person, we came to the agreement that using her story to explore a larger issue on campus – an insufficient number of counselors at Counseling and Psychological Services – would be beneficial, not harmful to her own recovery.


Walk us through the early production — the reporting, the sourcing, the visual planning. Walk us through the writing and self editing. How many drafts?

The big question I wanted to answer was whether CAPS really is falling short in providing mental health services to students. I asked myself, “How do I identify and prove that there are issues? And if so, what is the reasoning behind them?”

Professor Joe Coleman, who was working with me on this project as an independent study, advised to look for national accrediting agencies for mental-health services on college campuses. Interestingly, there aren’t a lot of standards, and certainly no overarching accountability for universities. The certifying organization I did find, however, showed that IU was nine counselors short of the recommended number for a university of its size.

In addition to the number-based part of the story, I also wanted to emphasize the human element. What effects could a shortage of counselors have on students? In addition to Constance, I reached out to students in counseling, both at CAPS and off-campus, by contacting leaders of different mental health groups.

I also wanted to tap into the reason behind the shortage – i.e., why can’t we simply hire new counselors, if everyone agrees it would be beneficial? Where does the money come from? I answered these questions by talking to student government and the Health Center director.


How did the story evolve? How did IDS editors interact with the production?

One of the biggest improvements to this story was putting the IU’s number of counselors into context by comparing with other Big Ten Conference schools.

IDS digital journalist James Benedict and I contacted other schools to try to get a sense of who was meeting this recommended number. A few times we would contact the same school and get different answers, so we learned to be very specific about what we were asking for: full-time equivalent counselors offering sessions. For example, a head of the program could be a certified counselor, but not offering sessions.

We found that all but two schools in the Big Ten do not have the recommended number of counselors to serve their students.

This story ultimately came together online with the work of Kathrine Schulze, who coded the webpage for the story. She combined my writing, James’s graphics and photographs to form a complete package.


As a reporter, how did you interact with visual journalists on photos, illustrations and design?

As I mentioned before, James and Kathrine were crucial to bringing all the elements of this story together.

This story was tough to tell visually, and we decided the best photographs would be portraits of every “character.” This gave a face to both the students affected by and the administrators we are responsible CAPS number of counselors. I also take photos for the IDS and took the picture of Constance standing in front of the Health Center, where CAPS is located.


Overall, were there different approaches for print and online?

Online we had more freedom to make the story cohesive – i.e., when a source for the story is first quoted, we can place their picture along the sidebar so the reader can visualize them. We could also make the graphics interactive, so when you moused over a number would come up. In print, I think the story was a little harder to digest because it is so long and there were less visual breaks.


What was the toughest challenge? How did you overcome it?

For me, the toughest challenge was interviewing sources on the very personal issue of mental health.

I didn’t want to harm anyone’s wellbeing by publishing their name and image and personal struggle. By being clear with the sources about what to expect – we have to remember not everyone is used to the journalism process like we are! – I was reassured that the story wouldn’t be damaging.

I also suggested the sources talk to their friends about the article before it came out so they could have a support system. On the more logistic side of things, getting CAPS to admit that they have any type of problem was nearly impossible. Instead of acknowledging that they still can improve their services, they tried to present only the flattering sides of what they were doing, such as hiring a few more counselors. Even with these hires, however, they still fell short.


How did you grow as a journalist on this project?

I definitely learned how useful data can be to in giving your story weight. Instead of just giving a few personal stories of problem, by showing it is systematic or widespread, suddenly the story matters a whole lot more.


What’s your quick advice for someone taking on a topic or project like this one?

Now that I am retracing my steps, I wish I had seen the logic of how my reporting could develop. I initially had a handful of different tangents going on with this story, and I think narrowing down to the heart of a story as soon as possible will make the final product so much more focused.

Also, Investigative Reporters and Editors interviewed me for this story which was pretty neat.

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MEGAN JULA was a reporter and investigations editor of the Indiana Daily Student.


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Waiting for help


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PHOTO BY ROBERT FRANKLIN | SOUTH BEND TRIBUNE


Woman sentenced to 20 years for aborting and discarding baby

A 33-year-old woman was sentenced Monday to 20 years in prison for attempting to abort her fetus using pills ordered online and, after delivering a premature male baby, placing his body in a dumpster.


By Megan Jula | INDIANA DAILY STUDENT | March 31, 2015

First, Hearst, Breaking News Writing



How did the concept originate?

Another journalism student fainted when she read the affidavit proposing 32-year-old Purvi Patel committed feticide. The Granger, Indiana, woman allegedly attempted an abortion and discarded her premature baby in the trash while he was still alive.

When I came across the case in 2014, the media was not paying it much attention. I recognized, however, that the decision would set a precedent regarding women’s reproductive rights. I monitored the case for the next year, and the day of Patel’s sentencing, I woke up before the sunrise to drive two hours to the county courthouse.


Walk us through the early production — the reporting, the sourcing, the visual planning. Walk us through the writing and self editing. How many drafts?

This project was probably the story idea I’ve held on to the longest during my time at IU. Because of that, I had a lot of the background and context gathered before the day of Patel’s sentencing.

It was difficult to stay in the loop on the developments of her trial; I originally expected to be reporting it a year earlier, but the trail was delayed numerous times.

Before the sentencing, I actually wrote as many grafs as I could beforehand that I could use for this story. Time was of the essence. I showed up with an overload of information. I think I overwhelmed the other reporters by talking about minute details of the case while we waited for the judge.

As soon as the sentencing finished and I had my quotes, facts and details confirmed, I busted out the article from a McDonald’s down the road. I also was tweeting about the sentence at the same time and the IDS was retweeting my tweets.

We put a story online within 30 minutes, and then I drove back to Bloomington to finish a longer story for print and online. Within two days, the New York Times and the Washington Post had their own stories on the Patel sentencing.


How did the story evolve? How did IDS editors interact with the production?

Reporting from a remote location is always tricky in college journalism, especially with other commitments like classes and work. However, my editors at the IDS were in constant communication with me as I reported. We were clear on when I needed to have drafts in, what space I could expect in the paper and so forth.


As a reporter, how did you interact with visual journalists on photos, illustrations and design?

This story was tricky visually. Cameras weren’t allowed in the courtroom and photographers for other publications were shooting through a door in the lobby. We actually ended up working with the South Bend Tribune to use an image shot by photographer Robert Franklin.


Overall, were there different approaches for print and online?

In this situation, getting the bare bones up online first was important. I then fleshed out the storyline for a print and updated online version.


What was the toughest challenge? How did you overcome it?

I was a little intimidated to be covering the same story as older, more experienced reporters in an unfamiliar area. However, by preparing beforehand and ignoring my nerves, I reported without a hitch.


How did you grow as a journalist on this project?

I learned to stick with my gut on story ideas and not sell myself short on my ability to cover a story in new territory. I actually hadn’t spent any time in American courtrooms (my summer in London reporting experience in British courts was a whole other ballgame), and I had to ask a lot of questions. But I’d rather seem dumb when I’m asking a question than print something incorrect.


What’s your quick advice for someone taking on a topic or project like this one?

Do as much pre-reporting and fact-checking beforehand as you can, and you’ll beat other reporters on breaking the story. Keep a list of story ideas to check on periodically, even if it’s years before you can use them.

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MEGAN JULA was a reporter and investigations editor of the Indiana Daily Student.


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Woman sentenced to 20 years for aborting and discarding baby


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PHOTO BY BEN MIKESELL | IDS


The Guardian

In Northwest Indiana, a coroner tries to reach heroin addicts before they reach his morgue.


By Michael Majchrowicz | INDIANA DAILY STUDENT | March 30, 2015

First, SPJ Region 5 Mark of Excellence, General News Reporting
Third, Hearst, Personality/Profile Writing



How did the concept originate?

I arrived at the idea for this story through some personal experiences back in my hometown of Northwest Indiana. A handful of students I knew from my high school and in the area -- over a four-year span -- had died of heroin overdoses. The original idea for the story was to return to my roots at my own high school and examine this pressing issue through the lens of my own graduating class. I began speaking with Coroner Harris pretty early on. He was a tremendous resource for me even through my pre-reporting. The more time I spent talking to him and visiting him up north, the more the focus of this story began to shift in my mind.


Walk us through the early production — the reporting, the sourcing, the visual planning. Walk us through the writing and self editing. How many drafts?

I grew up not far from where the majority of reporting for this story took place. However, I'd been living in Bloomington for three years attending school. It was important for me to piece together how others in these Northwest Indiana communities perceived the problem. I did a lot of reaching out via social media, appealing to former classmates, teachers, community leaders, etc. and invited them to speak with me. It was also important that I knew the precise scope of this heroin problem, so I made records request from the county health department early on in my reporting for the death certificates of all those who had overdosed in the last five or so years. I devoured those records, made a spread sheet and tried to identify trends and commonalities where possible. I researched and dug and reached out to friends and family to figure out who these people were beyond this horrible thing that happened to them. By now, I'd zeroed in on the coroner and had a pretty good idea where this story was headed. I made three trips to Northwest Indiana where I spent time with the coroner. When he became more comfortable and got to know me, he even granted me access to his lab. It was the coroner who connected me with most of the other sources that are included in the story such as the doctor who lost his daughter to heroin. Admittedly, I'm a horrible self-editor. But something that really helped in this case was outlining. More than once. Continue to revisit that outline and make structural revisions. Then write. I would eventually pen seven to 10 revised drafts of this story.


How did the story evolve? How did IDS editors interact with the production?

If you want to guarantee your story succeeds (at least from a planning standpoint) and is given thoughtful consideration from the folks who make editorial decisions in the newsroom, you need to always be talking to them. It's important you're providing your desk editor with regular updates if you're working on a longer term/project story. Update them on your progress (setbacks, too!), send outlines, drafts and talk things out when necessary. When it comes to planning and being forward-thinking about your own story, there's no such thing as overdoing it. Your editors and management will love you, and it will make your life easier in the long run.


If you’re a reporter, how did you interact with visual journalists on photos, illustrations and design?

In the middle of my reporting, I began working with a photographer who would end up traveling to visit the coroner with me. By this point, I'd also been feeding data I assembled from the death certificates and records requests to designers and visual folks.


What was the toughest challenge? How did you overcome it?

I realized a boy I went to high school with (though I didn't know him personally) was among the pile of death certificates I'd received. There came a point when I was trying to learn more about him, so I was going to reach out to his fiance. But I learned that she, too, had died of a drug overdose. They were both found in the same house on the same day. That'll stay with me forever. Those are moments you don't overcome. You just learn to process and compartmentalize and not always carry your reporting with you.

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MICHAEL MAJCHROWICZ served in a number of reporter and editor positions at the Indiana Daily Student including campus editor and editor-in-chief.


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The Guardian


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sold

PHOTO BY BEN MIKESELL | IDS


Sold, not told

The average IU football ticket on Stubhub.com is $41, which is down from $45 from the 2013 season. Still, Jeffrey tries his luck at making a profit by buying low and selling at face-value.


By Evan Hoopfer | INDIANA DAILY STUDENT | Dec. 15, 2014

Second, Hearst, Sports Writing
Second, Associated Collegiate Press Story of the Year, Sports Story



How did the concept originate?

For a class called Words and Pictures, we were assigned to teams of three — a writer, a photographer and a multimedia person. I was the writer for the story.

We had two big assignments for this class. The first one was a 24-hour assignment. We had to find, and report a story entirely within a 24-hour period. This was to get our group used to working together. The second assignment was a semester-long mega project.

For the 24-hour assignment, our group was kicking around ideas, and we came up with the idea to follow a ticket scalper at the IU football game. After we did our 24-hour assignment, we got to thinking about ideas for the mega project. We thought of a lot of different ideas and eventually came back to the same scalper. We said, ‘Uh, why don’t we just do a big story on him?” We asked him, and he said yes.


Walk us through the early production — the reporting, the sourcing, the visual planning. Walk us through the writing and self-editing. How many drafts?

I think my professor and I went through 13 drafts.

It was funny, for my birthday I went to my fiance’s place in Cincinnati over the weekend. The publication date was Monday though, so I spent my birthday exchanging drafts with my professor. My fiancée was a little peeved but understood how important this was to me.

We didn’t really know what the story would look like at first. But you can just tell when you have a good idea. You start talking about the idea with other people, and they’re engaged. They’re not breaking eye contact and they’re asking follow-up questions for curiosity’s sake. That’s how I knew we had something.

As for finding the ultimate angle (a veteran scalper trying to adapt to new times because if he doesn’t, he’ll be irrelevant), that came from just spending hours and hours with him and figuring out what he’s trying to overcome in his life. We traveled to his apartment in Indianapolis twice and spent all Saturday mornings/afternoons on the same street corner that he did.

He grew his trust because he could tell we were serious about reporting the story. He told us at one point he allowed us to tag along with him so much because he respected how persistent we were. There was no real secret to it, just observe him, write it down, rinse-lather-repeat. Do that enough times until you have everything you need, then go back and start making a story out of it.

With the other two characters in our story — Dirty and the King — that was the same thing. They saw us every home game, so they got used to us and trusted us. It wasn’t that way at first. The King especially was especially grumpy and flat-out mean. I can’t remember exactly what we said to me during our first conversation, but it was something along the lines of “You’re not very bright are you?” While I was a little upset about being called stupid, I stuck it out. Really all he wanted to do was just talk. So I let him talk and talk and talk. I think nobody really listens to him anymore, so by the end our first hour-long chat, he was actually chummy to me.

Another scalper walked up to talk to the King and basically told me to go away, but the King defended me and told me I could stay. That’s when I knew I had earned his trust.


How did the story evolve? How did IDS editors interact with the production?

Tom French, Kelley French and Mike Majchrowicz edited the story. Tom did the most, the first 12 drafts, then Kelley took a stab at the last draft when I needed to cut like 400 words at the last moment. Mike gave it the last read, pointed out something I hadn’t thought of before, and gave great advice.

The story would have been absolutely nothing without editing. That’s a crucial, crucial step in writing. You have to get eyes on your drafts, and really listen to them and trust them when they disagree with something you wrote. A good writer with no editor is actually just a bad writer.

The biggest edit — the King’s racism. He was this old, white guy surrounded by black men, and he was overtly racist. Jeffrey even commented on his racism one time. I had all that in there originally, because it was compelling stuff. But at the final round of edits (Kelley and Mike) they pointed out that while it was interesting, it didn’t add to the story. My story was about Jeffrey and him adapting to a new world. It wasn’t about the tension on the corner, which would have been a whole separate story.

I think the two best pieces of writing advice I’ve ever gotten are —

(1) after you’re done, go through and look at every verb. And try to make them more active and compelling.

(2) Every single paragraph, sentence and word in your story should word toward telling your thesis/nut graf.

A great detail is only a great detail only if it helps tell the story. The King’s racism was a great example of not obeying No. 2. It was great stuff on its own, but it didn’t help tell my story. Jeffrey’s story. That was probably the hardest thing, because it was compelling stuff. But Kelley and Mike were right — it didn’t fit.


If you’re a reporter, how did you interact with visual journalists on photos, illustrations and design?

I constantly talked with the photographer. I wanted to make sure we were seeing the same stuff and seeing the same story.

I would share drafts of my early work with my team, so they knew what direction we were headed in. Communication was key to help tell a collaborative, compelling story.


Overall, were there different approaches for print and online?

The words were exactly the same. But in print, obviously, you have a finite amount of space. So, online, we were able to put a lot more photos in there and place them strategically throughout the story. It really came together quite well.


What was the toughest challenge? How did you overcome it?

The toughest challenge was gaining the trust of these men who wary of us at first. They saw us as kind of a bother and thought we were out to try and make them look bad.

But we kept coming back, week after week, and showed to them we were serious about painting an accurate portrait of their lives as scalpers. After a while we were just part of the corner. We belonged to be there just as much as the they did. That trust we earned came through working every Saturday possible. There was no shortcut, just being there all the time.


How did you grow as a journalist on this project?

I think as a sports reporter, you get complacent about your stories. And it’s really through no fault of your own. You sit in a chair and watch a performance unfold before you. You write down what happens, you talk to people who scored the most points or got the most tackles, and then you write something that basically 50 other people are writing, too. You can absolutely stand out, but it’s harder because you’re basically writing about the same exact same a room full of other reporters are, too.

With this, I was the only reporter watching something unfold. There wasn’t a PR person to get me in touch with the people I needed to talk to. I just walked up to them and did it myself. It was a lot of pressure, but it was so much fun. It’s almost like you had this little world all to yourself. The quality of your story was 100-percent dependent on your willing to put the work in. I hadn’t experience something so “libertarian” before in reporting. It was the single most important story I’ve written so far as far as growing as a reporter goes.


What’s your quick advice for someone taking on a topic or project like this one?

There are no shortcuts. Always be there, write everything down and become an expert in whatever you’re reporting. If you’re not, it will show in your story.

It’s a good sign if you feel as if you could write another good story with all the material you had to cut from your original story.

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EVAN HOOPFER was a reporter, sports editor and editor-in-chief at the Indiana Daily Student.


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Sold, not told


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grayzone

PHOTO BY MATT BLOOM | IDS


Caught in the gray zone

When Emily Smith reported she was raped, a prosecutor believed her. But believing her was not enough to be able to prove it in court.


By Samantha Schmidt | INDIANA DAILY STUDENT | Dec. 8, 2014

First, Hearst, Enterprise Writing



How did the concept originate?

When I was named IDS investigations editor for fall 2014, I pitched the idea of a series on sexual assault to our incoming editor-in-chief, Michael Majchrowicz.

We knew it was an issue of growing importance on college campuses nationwide. It was especially significant at IU because we had just learned that the Department of Education would be performing a Title IX compliance investigation into IU’s sexual assault procedures and policies. If the government was investigating sexual assault at our university, we thought we should, too.


Walk us through the early production — the reporting, the sourcing, the visual planning. Walk us through the writing and self-editing. How many drafts?

The early reporting process was one of the slowest, most difficult parts of the entire project.

Luckily, we had several people working together from the very start. Two different teams from the Words and Pictures class dedicated their projects to the series on sexual assault. Tori Fater, Carolyn Crowcroft and I served as the reporters on the IDS investigations team, and a number of other editors — namely Michael Majchrowicz and digital editor Janica Kaneshiro — were crucial in the process.

Our professors, Tom French, Jim Kelly and Bonnie Layton, were also invaluable sources of advice throughout the production of the series.

It was crucial for us to find students who had reported sexual assaults and who would be willing to share their story, their face and their full name. We felt that the issue of sexual assault was often shrouded in anonymity and spoken about in general terms. By lifting this veil of anonymity, we hoped to help readers connect to the issue and realize just how common and complicated it can be.

To search for sources, we posted fliers around campus, spoke with student groups and the IU Health Center and used social media to encourage students to share their experiences.

Through word of mouth, Matthew Bloom, the photographer working with me in Words and Pictures, found Emily Smith, a student who had reported a sexual assault about a year earlier. Emily was brave enough to agree to share the in-depth details of her experience and include her full name in the story. She was an extremely honest and open source, and we had several emotionally challenging interviews with her to understand the process she went through.

But we soon realized that the interviews with Emily were only the beginning — we would have to do a great deal of additional reporting to verify as much information as we could and take readers through the process of reporting a sexual assault.


How did the story evolve? How did IDS editors interact with the production?

The more we reported the more complex Emily’s story became.

Our most important source, in addition to Emily, was Darcie Fawcett, the deputy sex crimes prosecutor for Monroe County, who decided not to press charges in Emily’s case. In a number of extensive and honest interviews, Darcie explained just how hard it is to prosecute cases like Emily’s. She said that even though she believed Emily’s story, she didn’t have nearly enough evidence to prove it beyond reasonable doubt in court.

We also spoke with Bloomington Hospital’s sexual-assault nurse examiner, who helped perform Emily’s rape kit. We even spoke with the alleged perpetrator in Emily’s case, who claimed the night was consensual.

All of these different perspectives made the story much more nuanced. It wasn’t simply a profile of one survivor of sexual assault — it became a case study in why many campus sexual assault cases unfold in a “gray zone,” making it very difficult for prosecutors to pursue criminal charges.

The IDS editors were invaluable partners and advisors throughout our reporting process.

We faced many ethical questions, including how to incorporate some of the alleged perpetrator’s side of the story and which photographs to use with the article. We had to work closely with Janica Kaneshiro, who built our website and helped include an interactive map, videos, photographs and more.

We owe a great deal of thanks to our editor-in-chief, Michael Majchrowicz, for overseeing our work and writing multiple compelling letters to the editor to be published alongside the story. The entire staff — the page designers, photo editors, opinion editors and many other talented folks — contributed to the final product and follow-up coverage.


Overall, were there different approaches for print and online?

We knew we wanted to publish all of the stories online on cohesive websites, but we also had to figure out how to appropriately publish the stories.

We decided to publish the four stories on two different days. We really struggled with space, especially on the second day.

With all of the moving parts and different reporters, it was a chaotic night trying to publish three major investigative stories in the same issue. It required a lot of word trimming and focused teamwork.


What was the toughest challenge? How did you overcome it?

The hardest part for me personally was considering the ethical implications of each our actions on this project. We took on a really big, complicated topic, and we wanted to make sure we were as accurate and fair as possible.

About a week before our story was published, the controversy over the Rolling Stone rape article was all over the news. We were faced with an immense amount of pressure to make sure we didn’t make the same mistakes. We had countless discussions about how to ensure that our word choice, photographs, design, and even social media use were sensitive and appropriate.

These ethical questions were some of the hardest decisions I’ve had to make as a journalist.


How did you grow as a journalist on this project?

My extensive, compelling interviews with Emily gave me a taste of what it’s like to cover trauma.

At times it was difficult not to let the emotions get the best of me as a reporter. I always did my best to show empathy, respect and restraint when need be. But I also had to constantly remind myself of my role as an unbiased journalist. This project helped me learn how to maintain this journalistic balance in order to be both sensitive and professional.


What’s your quick advice for someone taking on a topic or project like this one?

I realized that a topic like sexual assault is incredibly complex and confusing. I had to put all of my energy into understanding every aspect of the criminal justice process.

I conducted several background interviews with detectives, counselors, lawyers, nurses, students and university staff that never even made it into my article but informed a great deal of my writing.

One of the biggest obstacles we face when covering sexual assault is producing follow-up coverage. Because of the turnaround of reporters and editors, we often lose contacts, sources of data. It was extremely helpful for me to reach out to previous reporters who have covered sexual assault for the IDS, especially Sarah Hutchins, who compiled an entire database of reports in 2011. By building on her data, I was able to include much more information that I would have compiled on my own.

I have also kept my data, sources and contacts well organized in digital files so that future IDS reporters and editors can continue to build upon our coverage. This project was not mean to be the end of IDS coverage of sexual assault, but rather the beginning. The IDS continues to produce frequent, professional stories regarding campus sexual assault to help our readers stay informed on this important issue.

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SAMANTHA SCHMIDT was a reporter and investigations editor at the Indiana Daily Student.


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Caught in the gray zone


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PHOTO BY GLORY SHEELEY | IDS


When students die

Four students died this semester, three in a 15-day period. Somewhere between balancing private grief and public concern, the campus community is left wondering: How many students die, and what causes their deaths? IU doesn’t always have the answers.


By Megan Jula | INDIANA DAILY STUDENT | Dec. 5, 2014

First, SPJ Region 5 Mark of Excellence, General News Reporting
Eighth, Hearst, Enterprise Writing



How did the concept originate?

The rumor of Kelly Hackendahl’s suicide spread through the college grapevine with a buzz of tweets and texts. Ambulances blared down Indiana University’s Greek Row, making the tragedy apparent on campus. The next morning, university officials confirmed that a 20-year-old female student had died in her sorority house.

But the student body was not told that two days before another female student had killed herself off-campus. And when, about two weeks later, 21-year-old Brian MacLafferty committed suicide in his off-campus apartment, the University said nothing publicly.

I was aware of the string of deaths as a reporter for the Indiana Daily Student. Our newsroom grappled with ethically covering a series of tragedies that brought more questions than answers. Why does the university acknowledge certain deaths and not others? Who should be informed? How is information collected, including causes of death?


Walk us through the early production — the reporting, the sourcing, the visual planning. Walk us through the writing and self-editing. How many drafts?

My investigation required reporting skills on opposite extremes. I uncovered an incomplete university list of 161 student deaths since 2000, and in the wake of a recent Indiana Supreme Court ruling that made death certificates public record, filed stacks of FOIAs to find out how these students died.

I interviewed the families of deceased students. I spoke with parents who had time to come to terms with their loss, but I also spent months slowly and compassionately interviewing Brian’s family, beginning just weeks after his death. I went to see Brian’s old room and simply listened as his dad showed me his senior pictures.


How did the story evolve? How did IDS editors interact with the production?

The story developed as records and interviews led to further questions.

We began with broad questions and could have gone in several different directions. Editors at the IDS and within the class Words and Pictures were key to narrowing down the focus of the story.

There was also a lot of communication regarding logistics. In a newsroom the size of the IDS, it’s important to coordinate when there will be space to run a big story, how much time the web journalists need to lay it out and how many words or inches you have to work with. There are a lot of moving parts, and I’m grateful to the IDS for bringing it all together.


As a reporter, how did you interact with visual journalists on photos, illustrations and design?

The class Words and Pictures is designed around the concept of a team of reporters working together on one or more projects. I worked with photographer Glory Shelley and multimedia journalist Mary Shown for this story.

We spent hours meeting just to generate the story idea. Glory, Mary and I reported together, and several times Glory and I would drive to meet parents who lost their children to do interviews and portraits at the same time. We always kept each other up to date on where we were at with the project.


Overall, were there different approaches for print and online?

Both the print and online layout were beautifully designed by IDS staff members (Lacey Hoopengardner and Janica Kaneshiro, respectively).

Online we incorporated graphics Mary Shown had designed and we split the story into chapters to let readers jump in and out.


What was the toughest challenge? How did you overcome it?

This story weighed heavily on me. The University, aware of its unsystematic response to student deaths, was initially distrustful to talk. Family members were skeptical of my ability to portray their sons and daughters.

I didn’t sleep the night before the story published.

The next day, my inbox flooded. The parents I interviewed wanted to thank me for my attention to detail. The University’s spokesman told me I gave IU administration a fair voice.

Two months later, the University remembered students who died that year at a public ceremony. I went to support Brian’s family. His dad gave me a one-armed hug. In his other hand, he held a copy of my article.


How did you grow as a journalist on this project?

Reporting this story helped me grow as a journalist in terms of both my data-gathering and interviewing skills.

I learned to work with hard numbers and talk with mothers and fathers about the worst day of their lives, when their son or daughter passed away.

Working with a team on such a long project taught me how important communication and teamwork is to creating an in-depth project.


What’s your quick advice for someone taking on a topic or project like this one?

Always keep asking questions and adapt your interview approach to the type of interview. A well-rounded story will involve experts/higher-ups/administration and you can ask these type of sources quick, hard-hitting questions.

But when interviewing a parent about their deceased child, respect and understanding are more important. That being said, don’t be afraid to ask direct questions — just do it with tact and empathy.

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MEGAN JULA was a reporter and investigations editor of the Indiana Daily Student.


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When students die


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dadsbucket

PHOTO BY ANNA TEETER | INSIDE MAGAZINE


Dad's bucket

Those buckets above the bar are about more than just Sink-theBiz for members of Nick's Bucket Brigade.


By Charles Scudder | INSIDE MAGAZINE | April 14, 2014

First, Spj Mark of Excellence, Online Feature Reporting



How did the concept originate?

The concept originated because, frankly, I wanted to get on the wall at Nick’s. I was at an alumni meeting as a senior with JR Ross, an EIC in the 1990s. He pointed out a story he did that was framed on the wall at Nick’s. I’d been telling the story about Dad and his bucket for years, and someone said I should write about it. I knew that Inside had a “consumption” issue on the horizon, and I thought this would be perfect.


Walk us through the early production — the reporting, the sourcing, the visual planning. Walk us through the writing and self-editing. How many drafts?

This was a really fun one to report, mainly because it involved many, many trips to Nick’s. I started by getting and reading a small book about Nick’s that they sell at the bar, “The College of Beer” by Bill Weaver. I read it in an afternoon sitting in the Rose Well House. (Because if you’re gonna write a nostalgic Hoosier story, why not go all out, right?) I also had to interview my Dad, which was fun. We made sure to record all my interviews with audio and/or video for the web production. I don’t remember how many drafts I went through, but I remember self-editing quite a bit.


How did the story evolve? How did IDS editors interact with the production?

The Inside editors gave me a lot of free reign, and I think we went through one or two final drafts line-by-line. That said, I was working with the designer, Missy Wilson, and photographer, Anna Teeter, constantly to plan it out. The digital product was important to me as the words on this one. It was my last story for the IDS so I wanted it to be special and sharable.


As a reporter, how did you interact with visual journalists on photos, illustrations and design?

Missy and Anna were on-board day one. Because the story takes place mainly in the past, we had to work together to come up with a good plan for making it pop. I had the idea of the footnotes because I couldn’t kill my darlings and edit out some of those great details., and Missy helped make that a reality. Having Anna along on interviews was also great because we could get photo/video/all of the above.


Overall, were there different approaches for print and online?

Absolutely. In print, the footnotes had to be worked in a little differently. We couldn’t use the audio package I put together or the videos from the Kentucky game or the interviews with Rags. Our focus was on the digital package, and throwing it all together into print was almost an afterthought.


What was the toughest challenge? How did you overcome it?

We wanted the banner image to move. We wanted it to be a gif, because at the time we weren’t sure how to make video work up top. The original video Anna shot wasn’t gif-able because it jumped too much. On deadline night, I had to run to Nick’s for a bucket (poor me, I know) to re-shoot it. We got that great banner image from the last-minute shoot, but still convert it to a gif correctly. That’s why the static image is there now. So I guess we didn’t actually overcome it, but it was a learning experience nonetheless.


How did you grow as a journalist on this project?

Our digital-first focus was new for me. Also my audio project was new territory. But that was the goal of the project from day one. Ironically, an idea that was formed to get the print story on the wall of a bar (which I don’t think ever happened 🙁) became 100% about the digital package.


What’s your quick advice for someone taking on a topic or project like this one?

Take some time to think through your personal story before diving in, and then report the hell out of everything — including what you remember. Journal your memories a few times so you get the details out, and have someone else read it to make sure it’s not all “me, me, me.” Cross-reference your memories with other people who were there to make sure it’s right. And back up all that personal story with big-picture exposition — like the history of Nick’s.


Anything else?

This is ripe for a revisit for any intrepid young journalist. This story helped bring new interest in the old bucket brigade tradition. Recently, Rags & Co. revamped the bucket brigade with new “bucket head” branding. The old way of tin buckets above the bar is no longer standard, and the buckets have had a redesign. I’m glad to see the bucket culture coming back, but it’s definitely changing.

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CHARLES SCUDDER served in many roles at the Indiana Daily Student including reporter, general assignments editor and editor-in-chief.


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Dad's Bucket


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wafflehouse

PHOTO BY ANNA TEETER | INDIANA DAILY STUDENT


The end of the Waffle House

The Waffle House, the second oldest restaurant in Bloomington, closed after 46 years Sept. 4. It will be replaced by a luxury apartment building.


By Jessica Contrera | INDIANA DAILY STUDENT | Oct. 22, 2013

First, SPJ Region 5 Mark of Excellence, Online Feature Reporting
Third, Hearst, Feature Writing



How did the concept originate?

As a team bonding exercise, we were instructed to report, write, photograph and create multimedia for a story within 24 hours. The Waffle House was open 24 hours, so it was a natural fit.

We knew the news hook was that the restaurant was going to close soon. We had a hunch (from many years of walking by a full parking lot) that it was a place that was special to a lot of people. That was proven true from the moment we walked in and started talking with people, who were deeply upset they were about to lose this place. (One broke down crying to Emma, our designer.)


Walk us through the early production — the reporting, the sourcing, the visual planning. Walk us through the writing and self-editing. How many drafts?

For the writing, there were 10+ drafts and endless agonizing (of the best kind). Had we been left up to our own devices, we probably would have stopped at three or four and moved on.

Luckily, our professors saw the potential in this story and pushed us hard to keep working until it was better than we ever believed we could make it.

The wonderful thing about being in a student newspaper is that you have that kind of time. It seems that’s how you become a good writer – trying hard, then trying to make that better, and then not accepting that you’ve tried hard enough until it’s really, really good. And still expecting more from yourself on the next story.


How did the story evolve? How did IDS editors interact with the production?

We asked the question: Who has the most at stake here? Whose lives will be most affected by the closing of this place?

First, the owner, Bud, was the obvious answer. Next, it was the people who found comfort in the way the Waffle House never changed. That was pretty much everyone, but those whose lives had been changing rapidly – Dr. Leyda’s wife getting Alzheimer’s, Rose’s husband dying – needed the place the most.

Once we had strong characters, we needed strong reporting about their lives. Our professor and mentor Tom French taught me all the ways in which reporting out the details matters, because details are what people connect with. How did it smell? How did it taste? How can you write it so it feels like you’re there?

This applies not just to description, but to the storytelling. For example, Dr. Leyda told me that his wife began hoarding clothes. I wrote that in a draft. Tom pushed back: what kind of clothes? So I asked. They were Talbots dresses. When my mom first read the story, she called and asked me, “Do you think I’m going to hoard dresses from Talbots?” She connected with the character because she too shops at Talbots. If I had just said “clothes” she would not have felt that emotional connection.


As a reporter, how did you interact with visual journalists on photos, illustrations and design?

With love and admiration. You will never work with a team as closely as you do in student media, and that is the best journalism education in the world.

For this story in particular, Emma Grdina and Anna Teeter were crucial to deciding what was the vibe the story should have and reading drafts to make sure that was coming across. I tried to be the same kind of resource for them: a knowledgeable pair of eyes who believed they would find ways to make the story flourish in ways I never could.

In my mind, each aspect – print, photos, multimedia/design – should tell a bit of a different story.

What was the toughest challenge? How did you overcome it?


Patience. This story worked because Tom pushed us to make it better and better.

As I mentioned, we would have let it go much sooner and get on to our next project. (It was only supposed to be a 24 hour practice run, remember?) But I am forever grateful that our professors saw the projects’ potential. In every story, every single sentence can be made better. As Tom warned me, in the “real world,” you rarely have that kind of time. In college, you do. You owe it to yourself and the subjects of your stories to use it wisely.


How did you grow as a journalist on this project?

Along with an appreciation for detail, I learned a very useful tool for getting that detail out of people: the follow up call. I use this constantly in my professional reporting.

When someone is telling you a story the first time and in person, you don’t want to spend the whole time interrupting them. But if their story is going to be an important part (or sometimes all) of your writing, you can ask them to tell it again, in more detail. You can stop and say – wait, what kind? When was that? How were you feeling in that moment? I’m trying to imagine what that looked like – describe it to me? And so forth.

What’s your quick advice for someone taking on a topic or project like this one?

If I haven’t said it enough above, take your time. Ask for more detail. Explain to your subjects that you’re in it for the long run. Then stay.

When it comes to writing, get it over with. Then go back and make it better, again and again. Often that requires more reporting, and that’s just great.

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JESSICA CONTRERA was a reporter, photographer and designer at the Indiana Daily Student.


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A bittersweet end


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107-2

PHOTO BY ETHAN BENNETT | INDIANA DAILY STUDENT


Beyond the score

Bloomington High School South beat Arlington Community High School 107-2. Is it possible there is more to the game than what the scoreboard says?


By Claire Wiseman | INDIANA DAILY STUDENT | Feb. 4, 2013

First, Hearst, Sports Writing
First, SPJ Region 5 Mark of Excellence, Sports Reporting



How did the concept originate?

Journalism professor Tom French called me one morning and said, “There’s this big story....”

Then I read a really crappy column calling for the Bloomington South coach’s head because he allowed the team to keep scoring, and I got so mad that he hadn’t done any reporting that I knew I was just going to go after it.


Walk us through the early production — the reporting, the sourcing, the visual planning. Walk us through the writing and self-editing. How many drafts?

My initial reporting task was to get as many contacts inside both teams as possible.

This happened right before Christmas break, so I spent a couple weeks over break just trying to make contact with both athletic programs and with both coaches. I also wanted parents, so I drove to an Arlington game in Indianapolis ... and learned there were only two sets of parents at the game. That was a detail worth driving for. When it became obvious that Bloomington South wouldn’t even talk to me, I started going to their games as well. We knew that was our best chance for a photo, though the photo didn’t end up being the focus of the print product.

Eventually, I convinced Arlington’s principal to walk me through the school. Somehow she ended up taking me to the room where the coach taught, so I got to make contact with her as well. She didn’t give me much at that point, but it made it possible for me to talk to her later.

I started planning the design of this story with Matt Callahan really early on in the project. It was an awesome collaboration because I could come to him with data and see his take on how creating graphics would help explain disparities between the two schools. That actually ended up helping me frame and focus the story, so I owe Matt a lot.

I did several outlines and drafts with Tom, down to the day I filed, and I want to say we did six or seven drafts. It was an extremely intense editing process because by the time I filed, I was fairly sure it would be a Hearst entry, and that created a lot of pressure.


How did the story evolve? How did IDS editors interact with the production?

I’ll be honest. I had to work really hard to sell this story to my editors.

When you hit that wall, I think you need to keep reporting until you can guarantee you have an amazing story that’s going to bring something unique to your readers. That was my first task.

Once it became clear that no one else was reporting on the fact that this game was basically lopsided from the beginning, I think everyone got a bit more on board. It ended up as a Monday story that I remember filing on Super Bowl Sunday, again with the hovering and the getting kicked out of backshop. Matt helped me nail down the headline, and I ran it by a couple sports reporters and editors to make sure everything was up to par. I was editing until a couple minutes before I filed.


As a reporter, how did you interact with visual journalists on photos, illustrations and design?

I made sure designers and photographers were clued in on this story from the beginning.

I didn’t take a photographer to the early games because I wanted to sort of tread lightly in the beginning and try to gain peoples’ trust. Being really aware of those visual elements in the beginning made it a lot easier when it got down to the final design, and Matt had lots of time to create that great graphic. And, as I said, it helped me focus too.


What was the toughest challenge? How did you overcome it?

I hit more roadblocks with this story than any other. Nobody wanted to talk about what happened. Everyone wanted to forget it.

I kept dragging it out in front of people and getting shut down. I basically had to learn how to keep calling and explaining my perspective, and I also had to learn that sometimes people just won’t talk — it doesn’t mean the story didn’t happen or doesn’t deserve to be written.


How did you grow as a journalist on this project?

This is probably one of the most heavily reported stories I’d written up to that point, and I think it showed in the writing.

The challenge was just putting it all together, rather than focusing on the narrative arc or specific details. I was really proud of it when I finished.


What’s your quick advice for someone taking on a topic or project like this one?

Ask yourself what questions other reporters aren’t answering.

Don’t think that a national news story can’t be reported even better by a college journalist.

Don’t take no for an answer.

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CLAIRE WISEMAN served in a variety of reporting roles at the Indiana Daily Student including national elections reporter.


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Beyond the score


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