6 questions journalists should be able to answer before pitching a story

By Tom Huang

I can’t believe that my former editor never threw me out of his office. That’s because, back when I was a cub reporter, I used to pitch story ideas by proclaiming that I wanted to write about “the homeless,” or “drug gangs,” or “teen mothers.”

While these were interesting and important topics, that’s all they were — topics. They didn’t have enough shape or specificity to be ideas.

Several months passed before I finally learned how important it was to do research to support a story idea. I realized I could do “pre-reporting” without getting too invested in a story. I could read previous stories and interview a few sources to have a better sense of what the story might be about.

And with that background, I could pitch my ideas in the form of a small quest: “The number of homeless families is increasing in the suburbs, and I’d like to find out why.” “Juries seem to be particularly unforgiving of drug gang members, and I’d like to see what prosecutors and defense attorneys have to say about that.” “A school has started a program for teen mothers, and I’d like to examine who’s behind it and what they hope to accomplish.”

Story pitches can come in all formats. (The narrative blog, Gangrey.com, has a good piece on pitches — particularly magazine story pitches — here.) Pitches can vary depending on the reporter’s track record, and how long the reporter and editor have worked together. In general, the more the editor and reporter have worked together, the more they can communicate in shorthand.

But regardless of the reporter’s experience or how mature the editor-reporter relationship is, I think it’s important for the reporter to be able to answer a handful of questions before pitching the story to his or her editor. These are questions for both reporters and editors to ask.
What piques your curiosity about the story?
I always ask this when a reporter approaches me with an idea. I want to know whether she is genuinely interested in the idea and whether her curiosity will drive her to seek the answers she needs to tell the story. I want to know what aspect of the story first caught her attention. If she ever gets lost in the weeds during the reporting, I can remind her about the initial moment of intrigue. Finally, I want to understand how the writer thinks. What topics are of natural interest to her? Where is she getting her ideas from? What is she reading?


What’s new about the story, and why do you want to tell it now?

I want the reporter to have done enough research to understand where the story lies in a timeline. What previous events have led to the current situation? Give me that context. Then let me know what’s new about the situation. Does the story reflect a new trend, a turning point, the start or the end of a conflict? Do we need to tell the story in advance of an upcoming decision, meeting or event?

Such “news pegs” can be limiting, and I’ve often argued that we should be able to publish stories just because they are good stories. But given how busy readers are and how many distractions they face, it helps if a story — even “just a good story” — has a compelling reason to be told today.

Why will the reader or viewer care about the story?

Yes, I’d like to know why a reporter is curious about a story idea. But I’d also like him to step outside of his reporter’s role and think as a reader or viewer. How can we frame the story in a way that’s relevant to the average person? This is where the reporter considers why the story would grab the attention of his parents or, say, his friends at a bar (or his parents at a bar).
Not that his parents or friends are average people, but they live outside the newsroom (which can sometimes become fixated on a story that’s not relevant to others). Ordinary people are most concerned about their finances, health and safety. And if they have kids, they’re probably concerned about all of that, plus education. Does the reporter’s story idea touch upon any of these issues?


How can we tell this story digitally?

We are increasingly telling our stories across platforms — on the Web and on tablets and other digital devices. It’s important for the reporter to develop a sharp sense of what kinds of storytelling work well on different platforms. In addition to producing the traditional story, could we create short videos of the people in the story for an online package? Are there any ways of telling the story through an interactive graphic that would work on the iPad?

I’m not expecting the reporter to produce these packages himself. But I’d like him to have the judgment to say, “Here are the components in my story idea that I think would lend themselves to digital storytelling.”


What questions will you need to ask to get this story, and what sources will you need to consult?
Since this is still the ideas phase, I’m not expecting the reporter to know what the story is going to say. I hope that he has a hypothesis that he’s going to test through his reporting. That’s why I’d like to know at least three or four questions that the reporter wants to ask, plus two or three sources he’ll consult. I’d also like to know whether there’s a central question that the reporter is trying to answer in the story. The central question can help us focus the story after he’s done most of his reporting.


How much time will you need to produce the story, and how much space/time do you think the story deserves?

As an editor, I think it’s important to talk about the scope of a story before much of the reporting gets under way. I don’t want to be rigid about it — we can increase or decrease the scope depending on what the reporter finds out. But it’s important for the reporter and editor to agree on the story’s ambitions at the beginning, and then adjust as the reporting progresses.

I’ve also found that it’s not a good idea to tell the reporter, “Write what you think the story deserves.” In the newspaper world, if a story deserves a lot of space, let’s talk about it ahead of time, and I will fight for that space. But both the reporter and the editor will benefit from having a starting point and shared expectations for how ambitious we both will be.

U.S health initiative cuts maternal deaths by third

The first year of the Saving Mothers Giving Life initiative meant to reduce maternal mortality saw deaths from childbirth cut by a third, according to a report released January 9.

Saving Mothers’ first annual report, Making Pregnancy and Childbirth Safe in Uganda and Zambia details outcomes from the first year of the five-year initiative which began in June 2012.

It demonstrates that there is a 30 per cent decrease in maternal mortality in the target districts of Kabarole, Kibaale, Kamwenge, and Kyenjojo in Uganda and 35 percent in four of Zambia’s districts.

This initiative is led by the U.S Global Health Initiative (GHI), in partnership with Merck for Mothers, the American College of Obstetricians and Gynaecologists, Every Mother Counts, Project C.U.R.E. and the Government of Norway.

The U.S. committed $75m to this partnership.

“Uganda has not only seen a 30 percent reduction in maternal mortality in the four districts participating in the program, but has also registered a 28 percent increase in the number of women who received prevention of mother-to-child transmission of HIV/Aids services, said Dr Jane Ruth Aceng, Director General of the Ministry of Health during the report launch in Washington, D.C.

A gynecologist attends to a pregnant woman at Mulago Referral Hospital

She also said the districts increased the number of facilities providing basic emergency obstetric and newborn care and trained and hired 147 new doctors, nurses, and midwives.

With greater access to obstetric care, deaths from haemorrhage and obstructed labour were also reduced.

Health workers were trained to address childbirth-related complications affecting newborns, and saw an 11 percent reduction in institutional prenatal mortality.

Additionally, the districts also saw a 27 percent increase in the number of infants who received HIV prophylaxis and increase in the number of women giving birth in health facilities.

USAID administrator Dr Rajiv Shah said that in Uganda alone, 30,000 transportation vouchers provided by Saving Mothers, were redeemed and used.

Zambia and Uganda are the first two countries to operationalise the initiative because of their high ratios of maternal mortality. Uganda continues to struggle with high numbers of women who die during pregnancy and from complications of childbirth.

It is estimated 438 women out of every 100,000 die in pregnancy or childbirth every year – ranking Uganda 141 out of 172 high burden countries globally.

Malnutrition costs Uganda Shs 1.8 trillion in 4 years

In four years since 2009, government has spent an estimated Shs 1.8 trillion on stopping and treating malnutrition, a new report by Save the Children International’s Child Rights Governance Initiative (CRGI) reveals. 

The report titled, ‘Budget transparency and Child Nutrition’ says it costs the country about $120 (Shs 300,000) on average to treat a malnourished person and the opportunistic infections. This is equivalent to 5.6 per cent of the country’s gross domestic product.

According the 2011 Uganda Demographic Health Survey (UDHS), an estimated 2.4 million children (about 33 per cent) aged less than five are stunted and about 110,220 children have died in the last five years due to malnutrition.

“Uganda could save Shs 266bn if the prevalence of stunted children is reduced to 10 per cent. Unfortunately, adequate nutrition is seldom treated and prioritized as a human right and there are flaws in accountability and transparency,” said Peterson Kato Kikomeko, a senior lecturer at Kyambogo University, during the recent launch of the report.

The report also revealed that access to budget information about the government’s child nutrition interventions was limited at national level and almost non-existent at sub-national level.

Photo/Courtesy

By far, Karamoja, West Nile and the southern western region have the highest number of stunted and wasted (low weight for height) children.

Being stunted has long-term effects on children including loss of cognition, low self-esteem, societal marginalization and poor performance at school as their brains do not reach their full potential.

Boaz Musiimenta, a senior policy analyst in the prime minister’s office says malnutrition is also associated with almost a quarter of all maternal deaths, despite it being preventable.

“Such preventable deaths reduce Uganda’s gross domestic product by an estimated 4.1per cent, costing US$ 310 million in lost economic productivity every year,” he said.

“Most mothers simply boil bananas add salt and a meal is fixed and instead of giving children a balanced diet, many people, especially in rural areas focus on quantity.”

To curb malnutrition in the country, Musiimenta advocates both direct and indirect interventions. Direct interventions include: food supplements, micronutrients powders and fortification of the food that the children eat whereas indirect interventions include: de-worming, safe drinking water and malaria control among others.

RECOMMENDATIONS

Civil society organizations under their umbrella association; the Uganda Civil Society Coalition on Scaling up Nutrition (UCCO-SUN) urged government to provide detailed and robust information about child nutrition interventions, both at national and sub national levels.

“Regular information should be provided throughout all phases of the budget process and at all levels of government and information on planned child nutrition spending over the multiple budget years should be released,” reads a UCCO-SUN statement released during the launch of the child nutrition report.

It adds that timely annual accounts must be submitted to independent audit offices to allow for timely release of audit reports. Independent audit institutions should also be made available for public scrutiny after completion.

The new report focuses on investment in children aiming to ensure that all children, especially the most marginalised, benefit from greater public investments and better use of society’s resources in realising children’s rights.

It was launched under the theme, “Recommitting to scaling up nutrition: the need for effective accountability and transparency” in Kampala.

Dyslexia children find haven in Munyonyo

After years of struggling to speak, Musa Njuki is finally learning how to read. But this milestone never came automatically for him. The 12-year-old primary school pupil of Rise and Shine Dyslexic Organization (RASDO) in Munyonyo is one of the best athletes the institution boasts of.

During last term’s sports day, he emerged the second in the whole school in the running event.

Before getting help, Njuki used to dread the time when teachers said he had to write or spell words. The firstborn of three, he grew up with a speech disorder that limited his words. He hardly spoke.

“I had a hard time in my former school because I could hardly speak with other children and whenever I would fail the exams, I was beaten,” Njuki, a former pupil at Lungujja Infant School chokes out. 

Njuki at the Centre

Luckily, a teacher at his former school noticed his problem and recommended he joins the Munyonyo centre. His parents agreed and he enrolled this year.

“The teachers here are patient with me and slowly, I am beginning to learn how to talk, read and spell…I love Science,” the soft spoken, small-bodied, primary five pupil says.

He looks forward to becoming a pilot in future.

With an ever increasing emphasis on education and literacy, more and more children like Njuki are finding themselves in need of help in learning to read, spell and write.

 One particularly damaging general misunderstanding of the condition is the belief that children who suffer from dyslexia possess diminished academic potential, says Jesca Nakibirango, the executive director, RASDO.

She says dyslexia is a neuro-developmental disability where a child experiences difficulty in reading and writing, and not a thinking disability.

“Dyslexic children usually have mirror-writing problem in which, for example, they substitute the number 9 for letter P, mispronounce words, have ineligible handwriting and have difficulty in coping with work on the chalkboard,” Nakibirango explains.

Children will also produce incomplete work because of the difficulty in reading, they read haltingly, word by word, and may have difficulty in buttoning their clothes or tying up their shoelaces, when younger.

However, children afflicted with the condition may possess extraordinary talent. For example Fred Kizza, 16 employs excellent leadership skills that go a long way in disguising his condition. 

Fred Kizza tries to write what is teacher has written on the chalk board

Teacher Nakibirango (c) leads Kizza (L) and Njuki (R) through a Maths lesson using rubber cuttings

Kizza, a P.6 pupil, is currently the head boy at Munyonyo primary school, a government school affiliated to RASDO. He also presides over the school’s peace court where he arbitrates cases of conflicting and undisciplined pupils.

But these aside, Kizza knows that he has trouble spelling and pronouncing words. He is however hopeful that if others can, then he can, something that is in keeping with the organization’s ideals.

Internationally, actor Tom Cruise, legendary artist and inventor Leonardo da Vinci and inventor Graham Bell all suffered from dyslexia, the learning disability that is supposedly the most common.

Tragically, however, the public knows too little about the condition and therefore too few children get identified early enough while many more do not get identified at all.

“There is inadequate knowledge, a hurdle that presents itself right from the parent and teacher level. Many private schools turn away such children while others are forced to repeat classes over and over. Some end up being abused and beaten by their parents when they do not perform to their expectation,” says Richard Semanda, the chairman of RASDO.

DYSLEXIA EFFECTS

MedicineNet, an online medical dictionary, defines dyslexia as a specific reading disability due to a defect in the brain’s processing of graphic materials.

The dictionary notes that children with dyslexia have impairment with the visual and auditory system and this makes it important to use touch and movement during teaching.

“Afflicted children may have problems related to concentration, for example daydreaming, getting lost easily and losing track of time,” the dictionary reads.

Such children also get frustrated about reading and testing and may experience difficulty in expressing themselves clearly and understanding what others mean when they speak.

Esther Nakaita, a P.5 pupil at Munyonyo primary, says she usually finishes a two hour exam within 30 minutes because of the difficulty that comes with reading and comprehending the questions. 

Nakibirango attributes dyslexia to poor nutrition during pregnancy, breech birth (birth of a baby in which the baby exits the pelvis with the buttocks or feet first as opposed to the normal head-first) and is a condition that may manifest itself in left handed children. She recently presented a paper on how to handle dyslexic children at the 10th conference in Language and Development in South Africa that was sponsored by the British Council.

A NEW WAY TO LEARN

According to the International Dyslexia Association (IDA), multisensory teaching is an effective approach to teaching children with dyslexia. In traditional teaching, students typically use two senses: sight and hearing. Learners see words when reading and they hear the teacher speaking. But children with dyslexia may have problems processing visual and auditory information.

“By including more of the senses, making lessons come alive by incorporating touch, smell and taste into their lessons, teachers can reach more students and help those with dyslexia learn and retain information,” the article on the IDA website reads.

ILLUSTRATIONS

By using letter diagrams of items shaped out of plastic, rubber, wood and  cardboard box material, Nakibirango says it enables the children keep a mental picture of the words in their heads.

For Maths, using beans for counting, blocks, cutting shapes for fractions and measuring liquids is helpful.

“To improve comprehension, talk to the children about trips, adventures and activities and encourage them to visualise the picture. Illustrate it; write a sentence about it, dictated by the child. Make a mind map or concept map about it for older children,” writes Dr Gloria Thomas on the lrien Dyslexia Centre website.

She adds that in order to improve oral language processing, one should play games, such as giving the child two or three short sentences, the aim being that the child should put them together into a sentence. Then the child could give you three sentences and learn how you string them into one.

RASDO CHANGING LIVES

Located a few hundred meters away from the Munyonyo-Salaama main road, RASDO stands out as a lone building. Its quiet environs, save for the chirping of birds and the blowing of soft winds, makes it appear desolate.

However, it is here that two special-needs teachers, Nakibirango and Semanda, are trying to turn around the fortunes of 15 dyslexic pupils − five whom are enrolled for fulltime learning at the centre while 10 are enrolled at Munyonyo primary school.

RASDO was established in March 2003 as a community-based organization with a mission of creating a centre that would handle learners with specific learning difficulties.

Its vision is to eventually integrate dyslexic children within schools and communities so that they can fully participate in activities with the other children and its key objective is to create more awareness of learning disabilities.

The organization handles three categories of learners: dyslexic, those with general intellectual disabilities, such as slow learners, and those with cognitive dysfunctions.

Because of the difficulties they experience in coping with academics, the children are sometimes referred to as ‘bimwongwa’- dull, ‘basilu’or ‘bifanta’- stupid, by their age mates, or even parents.

The writing on the wall

Semanda says teachers should learn to be patient with each child and must have the children’s success at heart.

“We use an individualized approach to teach the students so that we can repeat, over and over again, a concept they have not grasped, unlike in ordinary schools,” Semanda says.

In 2010, one of their pupils scored 19 aggregates in the Primary Leaving Examinations (PLE) and is currently pursuing a course in carpentry in a technical school. Last year, another sat for the same exams, but orally, and excelled, achieving aggregate 25. These are some of the milestones the organization has notched since its inception.

To raise income, the school charges every pupil Shs 250,000 per term.

Semanda appeals to government to train and recruit more special-needs teachers on top of motivating them with better pay and work incentives, such as bursaries.

In Uganda, Kyambogo University is the only institute of higher learning mandated to train instructors in special needs education. It offers a two year Diploma and Bachelor of Education in Special Needs Education.

RASDO is considering expansion of its services to include practical skills, such as sewing and weaving.

“Anyone who can make an offer to this cause is welcome,” Semanda says.

Regardless of the stigma attached to the condition, one fact will always stand out; dyslexics are not about to give up and have set out to be lifelong learners.