In Telling true stories
Jacqui Banaszynski underlines this idea that reporters have to write about a place they don’t know, about people they don’t know and for people who will probably never go in that place. That’s what is so interesting in this job; your life is other people’ lives. Actually, being a narrative writer makes you be a part of those ordinary people’s everyday lives. And your life becomes theirs…at least for a while. They matter for you, you build relationships with them and Gay Talese underlines the risks of sharing their privacies: “..trying to avoid work, so I could get my mind off the miserable life that I was living.”
3 comments:
I agree with you, it's such an intruguing idea that for a short time you get to experience someone elses life, it's what excites me most about this process.
I have traveled to many different places, but I rarely wrote about the experiences, leave aside the emails I wrote for friends. It's something I have come to regret, even though I younger and not as interested in it. Now I see how valuable it is to have something written down for posterity, and giving a voice to people who are often silenced or muted.
I agree with all of you, journalism is so intriguing as a profession because it allows you to experience the world in the shoes of others, meet people, build relationships, learn new things and then write about them, hopefully getting paid. Like Lickel said, you also can give a voice to people who don't have the money or power to be heard on their own. Your stories unveiling others' hardships can be published and possibly bring change. I liked the example from telling true stories of the journalist who worked in a prison and then wrote about the dirty windows, which were washed after the book was published, thereby brightening the situation of the inmates at least a little.
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