Brainstorming
and creativity are essential in good journalism. In story meetings before a broadcast, all the
people involved in the process bounce around ideas of what stories should be
done that day. As a reporter, I have to
come in already with my own ideas and then fit them in with the ideas of my
producers and news director.
In my
personal brainstorming session before the story meeting, I follow the four
basic steps of creativity outlined in the book: (1) understand, (2) incubate,
(3) develop, and (4) refine. I think
this is a pretty solid process to follow when looking for stories. I first look for problems or issues people are
debating and talking about. I get an
understanding of this, and find out more, then I find one person who may have a
solution to the problem. Then I find another
person with a different idea or solution to add more depth to the story. Finally, I refine how I want the story told
and the angle I want to take. After all
these steps, I can start writing.
The
story meeting runs the same way as the oral group brainstorming session
described in the book. There’s a group
of producers and reporters and there are no fewer than six or more than twelve
in the room. The facilitator is normally
the executive producer of the show and he or she will also be the recorder, and
write down all the ideas to make sure there is a flow and cohesion in the
show. This structure allows for the
brainstorming session to be effective.
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