roger ebert

3 GREAT STORIES: Best of 2016 (so far), written edition

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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.

We are halfway through 2016, which means the continuation of an annual tradition: the “Best Of (so far)” editions of my 3 Great Stories segment.

I will post my three favorite audio/video stories of the year so far next week. This week, my three favorite written pieces from January through June, along with what I wrote about them back then, with minor edits for clarity:

Brotherhood (3/23/16, Bleacher Report): Early on in “Brotherhood”, Howard Beck’s infinitely engrossing long-form story about the friendship between two basketball superstars, one of those stars makes a poignant statement.

“In our sport, or sports in general, everyone wants instant oatmeal,” says LeBron James. “Put it in the microwave, hit 30 seconds, you got a meal. Sometimes, no matter how great you are, it doesn’t happen like that.”

Now replace “sports” with “journalism”. In this era, many audiences — and news bosses — demand “instant oatmeal” from journalists, seeking and investing in clickbait and easy answers over more layered, complicated work.

Stories like this prove what one can get by waiting for a splendid meal.

Beck presents a fascinating portrait of two players — James and Carmelo Anthony — whose friendship and rivalry have provided a powerful undercurrent to the NBA’s past dozen years. This piece made headlines for a different “instant oatmeal” quote, where James muses how he would love to, one day, join forces with Anthony. But that quote comes at the end. The rest is a beautiful blend of smile-worthy memories, did-you-know-that stories, and revealing quotes from two of the league’s best.

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3 GREAT STORIES: Best of 2013 (so far), written edition

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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.

I am on vacation — and out of commission — for the next two weeks, so I figured I would use those weeks to post “Best Of” editions of my 3 Great Stories segment.

I will post my three favorite audio/video stories of the year so far next week. This week, without further ado, my three favorite written pieces from January through June (although, it seems, they were all written in April), along with what I wrote about them back then, with minor edits for clarity:

Yearning for the Golden Age in Crisis Coverage … That Never Existed (4/25/13, Sabato’s Crystal Ball): Larry Sabato is the director for the center of politics at the University of Virginia.

The man can also craft a good Tweet.

He got my attention in April when he Tweeted this one-liner: “Think coverage of Boston bombing was bad? JFK assassination coverage was worse.”

That line provides the premise, and Sabato’s article delivers.

The doctor, most known for predicting election results, goes into detail about the CBS broadcast after President Kennedy’s assassination; he documents the misinformation CBS and Walter Cronkite reported as well as the general behind-the-scenes madness. It’s an educational read for those who long for the good ol’ days of news coverage.

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3 GREAT STORIES OF THE WEEK: Starring Roger Ebert, Roger Ebert, & Roger Ebert

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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.

I am breaking formula with the 3 Great Stories segment this week in a few ways.

One: Only one of the three stories was published this week.

Two: Every story was written by the same person.

Three: That person is no longer alive.

I loved Roger Ebert for the same reasons most did: he reviewed movies in an accessible way, and he authored reviews that stood out on their own merit as great writing. I decided to honor his passing by posting three of my favorite Ebert pieces. Only one, by the way, is a movie review.

Casablanca (9/15/96, Chicago Sun-Times): Casablanca may be my favorite movie of all-time. Ebert’s review of Casablanca may be my favorite movie review of all-time.

(Truth be told: I really do not keep track of movie reviews. I only remember maybe a handful I have read. This is one.)

This review is unique in that it was written in retrospect; Ebert wrote the piece more than a half-century after Casablanca premiered. As such, he writes about the movie in an atypically analytical way; he clearly has watched the movie numerous times, and he breaks down scenes and performances on a much grander scale.

I simply love his use of language here. Ebert refers to the film’s plot as “a trifle to hang the emotions on”; he says the movie “plays more like a musical album”. He writes with affection about a classic film, and as a result he authors a classic review.

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