John Branch speaking with guest of his lecture on October 7th at the HUB-Robeson Center.
Branch Brings Advice for Aspiring Journalists
UNIVERSITY PARK, Pa. – Building strong relationships, seeking originality, and preparing great story ideas were among the most notable pieces of advice from John Branch, New York Times sports reporter and 2013 Pulitzer Prize recipient, during his lecture on Tuesday evening at the HUB-Robeson Center as part of the two-day Foster-Foreman Conference of Distinguished Writers.
Branch opened up about the importance of sports journalism and noted the transparency it brings to the industry and the significance it has on readers.
“Sports reveals human character. [You] see the good in people and the bad in people, on and off the field,” said Branch. “It’s almost a disservice to [the public] if you don’t write about the people [in the industry]. The best stories are about people.”
He described that the process of constructing a good story, especially involving people, is building trust between journalists and subjects and taking time to develop relationships to use as an advantage.
Being honest from the beginning is crucial for full, accurate, and fair reporting according to Branch.
“Talk as if you’re having a conversation over coffee,” he said. “[It’s about] building relationships and getting to know [the interviewee]. Let them know you are interested in them. Do not show up with a recorder and a notepad and say ‘Okay, here’s question one’.”
The trick to a great story, he proceeded, lies in preparation and utmost attention to detail. Practice and preparation are avenues to new and different reporting. Detailed descriptions and observations lead to originality, which is the key to stand out reporting.
“You have to walk into a room with a great story idea. If you walk into a room and expect [the idea for a story] to fall on your lap, it will fall into the lap of 100 other people, too,” said Branch.
Student journalists and media fans in attendance found Branch’s advice to be genuine and inspiring noting the sincerity and straight-forwardness of his lecture.
“He has a great personality and, obviously, he’s very humble. You can tell he is deep and for the people. He’s very likeable,” said senior communications major Amanda McLaughlin. “I enjoyed hearing him speak about going out of the norm and discovering new facts and new places and that’s inspiring.”
Senior journalism student Samantha Podias agrees with McLaughlin and finds Branch’s idea on ‘fringe’ reporting encouraging.
“He wants to do something he has never done and if he can do that, it’s great,” said Podias. “Everyone knows a journalist’s job is to bring information to people but to bring things that people have never heard of before, that’s – that’s inspiring.”
Branch’s speech clearly touched and inspired the people in the room. The lecture was time well-spent.
Links:
Most notable work:
Snow Fall: The Avalanche at Tunnel Creek (NYT)