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.
After submitting three local TV news features for your approval last week, I wondered, “What would be the complete opposite of such stories in the media realm?”
My decision: print stories about international affairs.
(Granted, I did not spend too much time on this question. And that means one of you readers may correct me on whether these are indeed the “complete opposite”, a la George’s salmon-tuna situation on Seinfeld.)
As George would say, “Good for the tuna.”
In the meantime, check out the masterful storytelling — and, in one case, story-obtaining — in these three pieces from last week.
Bin Laden raid reveals ‘state failure’ (7/9/13, Al-Jazeera.com): Here is that example of story-obtaining, and it is a biggie.
The investigative unit at Al-Jazeera received a copy of a report, commissioned by the Pakistani government, to determine how Osama bin Laden could live in Pakistan for nearly nine years undetected.
Like any modern-day journalistic outfit, they take the correct first step and make the entire report available for viewing online. But beyond that, this piece by writer Asad Hashim — one of nearly a dozen that accompanied the release of the report — details the report’s blunt words about the government’s incompetence throughout bin Laden’s time in the country. The commission even coined a phrase for it: “Governance Implosion Syndrome.”
The commission’s report is scathing; give credit to Hashim and the Al-Jazeera crew for distilling it into manageable, yet quite shocking, terms.
McIlroy, a native son, divides Ireland (7/13/13, New York Times): Speaking of international tinder boxes, this in-depth piece from Karen Crouse talks about the successes and failures of golfer Rory McIlroy — mainly, how his career is being closely monitored by his countrymen in Northern Ireland.
There are all sorts of border tensions at play here, and Crouse deftly describes them with the appropriate mix of detached analysis and residential flavor. One of the strongest moments is when Crouse asks a former Olympic pentathlete, who lived under a similar microscope from fans, about McIlroy’s national identity. The pentathlete responds, “I’m not going to discuss it. No. No. No. No.”
Throw in some well-crafted wordplay — McIlroy’s confidence, in one example, appeared “as fragile as stemware” — and you have a riveting read.
A billion stories (7/5/13, The New Yorker): We end on a touching note, with a poignant piece by Evan Osnos that bends far more toward the straightforward storytelling side.
Except, Osnos tells the story so darn well.
He moved to Beijing in 2005 to report from China for The New Yorker. This is his final entry, and he details the massive strides and growth the nation has seen since he arrived. But he mostly focuses on the beauty of the individuals he has met — and who, much to his seeming chagrin, he cannot categorize into one unified group. China, in the 21st century, is a place where life is changing in leaps and bounds, and Osnos discusses how those leaps affect everyone differently.
Stick around through the end of the story, and Osnos leaves you with a beautiful quote about writing (I won’t spoil it here), courtesy of a Chinese street sweeper who also knows how to turn a phrase.
====
FOLLOW THE TELLING THE STORY BLOG ON TWITTER!
SUBSCRIBE TO THE TELLING THE STORY PODCAST ON ITUNES!
====
Have a suggestion for “3 Great Stories of the Week”? E-mail me at matt@tellingthestoryblog.com.