|
 
Finding Evergreens
Dear Coach,
Reporters at my newspaper have to come up with “evergreen”
stories several times a year. I am doing one now on an elderly nun who is also
a midwife. But I am stumped about finding others. Where and how do I find good
evergreens? Are there any “evergreen guidelines?” -- Ever Asking
Dear Ever:
Let’s define evergreen: It’s a story (or series, photo,
photo essay, video presentation) that can be published any time – a story that
didn’t happen yesterday, won’t happen next week, has no connection to
Christmas, Valentine’s Day or any other date. It is, in the best sense of the
word, timeless – a story or photo an editor can turn to when something or
someone else falls through and a key piece of newsprint needs filling.
A big mistake reporters make is to think of evergreens as
unimportant -- something to drag out of a beat, something they wouldn’t
normally have time for but that might make a nice feature, like an interview
with a court or town clerk who’s been around for 40 years. Instead, think of evergreen as a chance to really let loose with a cool story idea – a chance to do
whatever you want, what speaks to you, a great story.
Let your imagination run wild. The nun-midwife is perfect.
So is a humorous history of the $20 dollar bill. Brainstorm. Ever captured the true
sounds of your community? Give yourself a writing challenge: Profile a rock, a
barn, an intersection, an old sign in town, the only barber pole left. Think
inside out, think depth. Is there a museum (some offbeat place) that has an
exhibit or artifact that triggers a slice of history? Find a different point of
view: a child's, a dog’s, a nesting sea turtle’s, a building’s. Ask around. Is
there a teacher or a class at one of the colleges/high schools/technical
schools with an engaging take on anything (Math? Flowers? Stars? History? Auto
repair? Plastic?) Scour the community pages, the upcoming lectures and club
performances, the bingo games, the community bulletin boards in supermarkets.
Listen for something that strikes your fancy. Come up with five or 10 ideas.
Infect your editor with your excitement. (Maybe you can ask readers in a blog
to vote for their favorite evergreen idea, and do that one.)
This is a wonderful an invitation. Accept it.
Back to top
|