Every week, I will shine the spotlight on some of the best storytelling in the business and offer my comments. “3 Great Stories of the Week” will post every Monday at 8 AM.
One of my co-workers, knowing my propensity for telling inspirational, uplifting stories, sometimes calls me “Dr. Feelgood”.
I think he would approve of the following batch of stories.
Two of these stories were published this week; the third actually first aired ten years ago but was re-aired last Friday in podcast form. They represent different forms of media — audio, photo, and the written word — but they all stir up some kind of emotion, from awe to nostalgia to the warm, fuzzy feeling that comes from watching puppies. (You’ll see what I mean …)
So get in touch with your inner Dr. Feelgood, and enjoy …
World Water Day 2013 (3/18/13, boston.com/bigpicture): I have mentioned the Big Picture blog three times now in this space, and I will probably have to restrict myself eventually. But this is my favorite of the three I have mentioned: a collection of photographs relating to water. I guarantee you have never seen photos quite like the first four in this gallery.
The Ashes of the Phoenix: Saying Good-bye to a Boston Institution (3/15/13, Grantland.com): After writing my nostalgic ten-year anniversary piece about journalism school, I felt similar feelings reading this piece from Charles Pierce. He writes what Grantland calls an “obituary” to a legendary Boston publication, but he really uses the opportunity to speak about his experience as an employee there. Pierce was an upstart journalist at the time, and he clearly cherishes the memories and connections he made at the Phoenix. This is a powerful read.
Starting from Scratch (3/15/13, NPR’s This American Life): Speaking of ten-year anniversaries, this episode of NPR’s This American Life first aired in March 2003. But the show posted the episode as a podcast last week, and that allows us to revisit the glory of one particular segment: Puppy Love. Reporter Molly FitzSimons deftly re-tells the story of her parents’ quest to start a Mom-and-Pop cable channel … featuring nothing but puppies. It’s pretty funny — and makes you wonder why that channel never took off.
Have a suggestion for “Stories of the Week”? E-mail me at matt@tellingthestoryblog.com.