Explore the untold stories of narrative journalism with the Cincinnati’s Storytelling of Journalism Project

By Michele Day

Four years after a shooting in a Madison, Ohio, junior high school cafeteria, Cincinnati Enquirer reporter Keith BieryGolick provided readers with a different perspective on the tragedy. Whatever happened to the survivors?

Cincinnati Magazine writer John Stowell set out to tell a story about a mountain climber’s exhilaration at reaching the summit of Mount Everest. But when the pandemic disrupted that  quest, Stowell found a better angle. He framed a portrait of never-give-up grit and stubborn defiance of Murphy’s Law.

 

Narrative journalists such as BieryGolick and Stowell specialize in capturing the behind-the-scenes, highly personal dramas of news. But as a journalism educator, I often wonder about another narrative that the public rarely sees. It’s the story of BieryGolick attending physical therapy sessions with a young adult still recovering from the impact of bullets ricocheting through his body. It’s the story of Stowell gently probing a mountain climber to share the painful emotions that accompany missing the opportunity of a lifetime.

NKU Student Media Adviser Michele Day

It’s the story of narrative journalism at work. That is the purpose behind the Cincinnati’s Storytelling of Journalism Project, a collaboration between Northern Kentucky University journalism students and the NKU and Greater Cincinnati chapters of the Society of Professional Journalists.

The idea began as a way to take my NKU students inside the minds of Greater Cincinnati’s best non-fiction storytellers. Inspired by the Nieman Storyboard Annotations, I began developing a class assignment for students to interview journalists about process and craft. I wanted the students to understand how journalists put themselves in the right place to capture that wonderful moment of dialogue and to recognize the extra pains reporters must take to verify even the tiniest details.

Thanks to the efforts of Greater Cincinnati SPJ leaders and the generosity of seven amazing journalistic storytellers, 19 NKU journalism students had the chance to explore those questions early last December. The students, working in groups of two to three, researched the works of narrative journalism in the 2021 Excellence in Journalism Awards, sponsored by the Greater Cincinnati SPJ chapter and then met with the journalists via Zoom to explore the complex process of developing these stories. To make the process most effective, I reached out to Chip Scanlan, a nationally known writing coach and frequent author of Nieman Annotations, for tips on how to question journalists about journalism and how to present your findings in a most engaging way.

NKU SPJ Chapter President Madison Plank

Students found the assignment enlightening. The interviews provided unique networking opportunities and in-depth insights into the nuances of journalistic reporting and writing, said Madison Plank, president of NKU’s SPJ chapter. “It felt more personal compared to a panel discussion,” she said. Plank, whose group interviewed Cincinnati Enquirer reporter Dan Horn, said they talked a lot about journalistic values. “We were able to see the message behind the story,” she said. “When we scroll through the news, we just see the surface level and we don’t see the work behind it.” The student documented their learning experience by writing Q&A pieces highlighting the most interesting insights and then transcribing the journalists’ annotations into the text of the stories. As a teacher, I would have been satisfied if the project had stopped there. But thanks to the efforts of SPJ Board Member Kevin Schultz, Chapter President Ginny McCabe and many others, the benefits of this project can extend beyond my NKU classroom.

Cincy SPJ Chapter Board Member Kevin Schultz

Schultz edited, formatted and fact-checked the students’ Q&A pieces and collaborated with McCabe to post them on the SPJ chapter website. Now anyone on the Internet can share a behind-the-scenes glimpse of narrative journalism in Greater Cincinnati. In our fractured and skeptical media world, telling the untold stories of quality journalism seems more important than ever. I think you’ll find the efforts of these journalists inspiring. Personally, the efforts of my students give me hope for a bright future in narrative journalism.

           Keith BieryGolick, Cincinnati Enquirer, Best of Show

Keith BieryGolick spent 1.5 years reporting to reveal the full story of a local school shooting victim

Student interviewers: Peyton Duncan and Kathy Dubois.

John Stowell, Cincinnati Magazine, Best Feature Story
John Stowell persevered through the pandemic to write a story about disappointment and perseverance

Student interviewers: Brendan Connelly and Matthew Dietz

Terry DeMio, Cincinnati Enquirer, Camilla Warrick Award
Terry DeMio discusses covering the opioid epidemic, the pandemic’s impact, and the intricacies of the beat

Student interviewers: Lauryn Rosengrant & Kiley Shea Steiner

Sarah Haselhorst, Cincinnati Enquirer, Camilla Warrick Award
How a former Cincinnati Enquirer intern explored the pandemic’s impact on individuals in addiction recovery

Student interviewers: Olivia Barrell, Bailey Cooper, and Aaron Magee

Dan Horn, Cincinnati Enquirer, Government/Community Issues Reporting
This veteran local reporter used narrative writing to tell the story of eviction in Cincinnati

Student interviewers: Amari Brandy, Andrew Flynn and Madison Plank

Max Londberg, Cincinnati Enquirer & Ambriehl Crutchfield, WVXU, Best Education Story Finalist
How two local news outlets teamed up to capture a day inside six tri-state home classrooms during the pandemic

Student interviewers: Tareza Chiasson and Paul Kremer

Carrie Blackmore Smith, Cincinnati Magazine, Best Feature Story Finalist
How Carrie Blackmore Smith Turned a Canoe Trip Down the Ohio River Into an Award-Worthy Story

           Student interviewers: Cassidy Akers, Sam Shelton & Margo Roysdon

Michele Day advises the NKU student chapter of the Society of Professional Journalists.