Look beyond clichés. Too much disaster reporting is cliché-ridden, full of concepts and adjectives that are used so often that their original power has drained away. Must earthquake survivors always be “dazed”, for instance?
It is all too easy to follow the pack and go for obvious angles or easy (but inaccurate) descriptions. Ask yourself: is this stuff I’m writing really honest or is it all clichés? Is the story everybody else is chasing based around a cliché, or is it true?
Take those earthquake survivors. Far from being dazed, they are often far more proactive and resilient than journalists give them credit for. It’s always local people who respond first in an emergency – long before the government, army or international relief crews arrive. If you look, you’ll probably find local tales of heroism and fascinating examples of how people cope. You might look at the role of women in dealing with crises, or ask if the cost of sending expensive search-and-rescue teams from overseas might have been better spent on local initiatives.
0 responses to "Disaster tips #5 - shun the cliches"
Please note that comments should not be regarded as the views of Reuters.
Leave a Reply
When you submit a comment to us we request your name, e-mail address and optionally a link to a website. Please note where you submit a website address, we may link to it via your name. By sending us a comment, you accept that we have the right to show the comment and your name to users. Although we require your email address, this will not be published on the site, and is only required to enable us to check facts with you, e.g. if you are making a claim we can not confirm easily. Additionally, if you would like your comment removed at anytime, you'll have to use this e-mail address when you contact us. To remove a comment at any time please e-mail us at blogs-(at)-reuters-(dot)-com (address obscured to avoid spam) specifying who you are and what you would like removed. We moderate all comments and will publish everything that advances the post directly or with relevant tangential information. We reserve the right to edit comments in order to maintain the quality of the comments, and may not include links to irrelevant material. We try not to publish comments that we think are offensive or appear to pass you off as another person, and we will be conservative if comments may be considered libelous. Reuters will use your data in accordance with Reuters privacy policy. Reuters Group is primarily responsible for managing your data. As Reuters is a global company your data will be transferred and available internationally, including in countries which do not have privacy laws but Reuters seeks to comply with its privacy policy.
