The fellows saw blurry halos around the classroom lights as deadline neared. We were all a little slap happy that Tuesday night in May, and a live video stream from a Wendy’s drive-through was so cool and bizarre we couldn’t help but cluster around a computer screen and laugh.
But in those hours we poured all the energy we possibly could into defining our field. In clusters of five computers, every single person explored an uncharted digital realm. For me, it was SLR photography and editing. Marantz recording and audio editing. Others swore under their breath at Sound Slides or stared at the Final Cut Pro screen for tens of hours. Several got intimate with the tutorial guru Lynda.
We were working in the grey areas, thriving on all the hard questions, proving to ourselves we could do this new journalism.
I’m a big fan of a two-word phrase that I think describes our struggles and successes: Delicious ambiguity.
Maybe for some the ambiguity facing journalism — and the world — is overwhelming. But think about the experienced faculty we learned from at Poynter. Think about the mentors we have, those we found and the ones we’ll seek out. They’re excited to help.
So, all of us youngsters can turn that overwhelming ambiguity into opportunity.
Talk to any of us. We’ll share. Whatever topic you’ll ask about, there’s a common theme: Ask questions, Google things, seek answers out. It sounds obvious, but at my college paper last semester, I literally didn’t touch anything except a pen and a keyboard.
There’s no reason for it.
Now, going beyond the basics of a story is pivotal. In his final presentation Aaron Montoya strung together a series of pictures and audio that made us connect, maybe without any personal background at all, to a couple dealing with a mother’s Alzheimer’s. That’s multimedia storytelling done right.
It’s hard to find coaches to support such storytelling. We’ve been incredibly fortunate to have brilliant faculty and visitors at Poynter. But hey, now we’re vessels of their knowledge. Insist that we tilt slightly toward you and something useful will probably pour out.
Since the fellowship ended we’ve continued to question, probe, and occasionally answer in the effort to learn ever more.
After dozens of hours of learning, reporting and storytelling, we’ve seen just how rewarding it is to tackle that delicious ambiguity.
We hope you’ll join us.
i really love this, andrew. wendy’s vimeo + pcf09, ftw.
Hey thanks Maren.
. That night was something!