Jennifer Retter - The Hardest Story

Jennifer Retter is the primary reporter and photojournalist for The Community News in Parker County, Texas. The TCU Scheiffer School of Journalism graduate is a talented newswriter. However, her gift for speaking with and interacting with the people of her subjects makes her feature stories simply brilliant.

 

Jennifer Retter

I felt the story developing months before I had the nerve to tackle it. When the time came to tackle it, I gave it my all.

 

Background
Over the summer, word came through that a well-known teacher in the community had passed away after a short, aggressive bout of cancer. She left behind a husband and four children: three girls and a boy, the youngest. Worst yet, she passed away on the boy’s eighth birthday.

 

While it was certainly a “newsmaker” in the community at the time, we simply did nothing besides run the obituary and a photo. The reasoning: the last thing a newly widowed husband and now sole parent of four children, we figured, had more important items to take care of then field calls from reporters.

 

A few months down the road, Homecoming festivities were underway at the local high school and the obvious feature story revealed itself: two of the daughters were nominated for the Homecoming Court.

 

Here are my tips on how I turned my hardest story into one of my most rewarding stories:

 1. Let your subject ease into the tough topics

Interviewing two daughters about their mother’s recent passing is certainly going to be no walk in the park, but you can at least make tough situations doable by letting your interview subject(s) decide how deep to take the conversation.

For example, instead of drilling in with a mom-centered question from the get-go, I asked about how they received their nominations, then eased into shopping for Homecoming dresses when they appeared comfortable, which naturally lent itself to a comment from them about their mother not being able to help. I let them mention her first, and my follow-up questions only probed so slightly.

 

2. Come as prepared as possible

After knocking out story after story, I got in the habit of never scripting interview questions. There simply wasn’t the time, and I felt experienced enough to wing most interviews. In fact, I even had a college professor who suggested we NEVER script interview questions; just let the conversation flow.

For a tough or emotionally difficult interview, however, it’s easier to over-prepare. Knowing that tears could flow at any time should be enough to remind you that you don’t want to sit there stumbling if your interview subject gets thrown off by emotion and your follow-up questions may no longer be appropriate. Prep enough soft, underhand toss questions to fill awkward breaks and get your subject feeling comfortable again.

 

3. Don’t get emotional; this is your job

As journalists, we often face emotionally difficult situations. In my short time as a news reporter, I watched a family sob as their home burned down – while I took pictures of the flames. But doing our jobs means putting that emotion into understanding your sources, not losing it in a breakdown of tears.

In my case, interviewing the two daughters wasn’t what got me first. It was the way the little boy, with the fresh memory of his mother’s death on his birthday, jumped up to shake my hand like a miniature gentleman when I came by.

 

4. Do the story justice

Unless a family member is a celebrity, it’s unlikely a family like the one in my story would ever see a mass-produced non-fiction account of a dear one’s passing. This is their one shot, and you better do it right.

When I wrote my story about the daughters on the Homecoming Court, I aimed for touching. After meeting the family, I saw their quiet strength and excitement for life during their darkest days. I knew it needed to be a story highlighting how the girls lived on in honor of their mother, who would have been thrilled to see them shine at Homecoming.

 

We ran with the story the week of Homecoming on the front page. I spent more time writing that story, tweaking every last word, to make sure it stayed true to its mission. After its publication, I was met with community members telling me the piece moved them to tears and a short, incredibly kind note from the father thanking me for making his daughters feel special.

 

P.S. The elder daughter won Homecoming Queen. We had the privilege of printing her photo again the following week on the front page under the title “All Hail the Queen.” She was pictured receiving her crown with a huge smile on her face as her proud father looked on.