Editor’s Corner
July 10, 2009
Past, Present, Future
By
Andrea Pitzer
Part of narrative’s lure rests in the idea that telling stories can lead to transformation. “For Their Own Good,” the most recent Notable Narrative from the St. Petersburg Times, argues powerfully that it matters whether or not stories from the past can change the future.
In their print story, reporters Ben Montgomery and Waveney Ann Moore recount widespread abuse of minors at the hands of state employees and a century of violence at the Florida School for Boys. While their article serves as the linchpin for the project, it is not the only element that makes an impression. Edmund Fountain’s photo gallery, with its pull quotes from former inmates, renders the Marianna experience vivid and horrific: “I looked over to my left and one dryer was going,” says Dick Colón.” There was a black boy in it.” Fountain’s accompanying video achieves the same effect—it is terrible, and instructive, to see the boys today as broken men.
And so we come to the question of Marianna’s future. After the multimedia project ran in April, the St. Petersburg Times kept following the story, posting source documents and addressing omissions in the state’s investigation of the graveyard on the school grounds. Noting that allegations continue to be made about present-day treatment of inmates at Marianna, reporter Waveney Ann Moore says, “Something should be done.” Two months later, the Times continues to post new narrative stories on Marianna.
We at the Digest hope to be just as reliable in serving our readers, though the economy has spurred recent changes at Harvard and the Nieman Foundation. Those changes include a shift in staff. Connie Hale, who has run the Narrative Digest for the last two years, will continue teaching narrative journalism at the Foundation, while I will serve as editor of this site. (Read Connie's farewell Editor's Corner.)
It seems fitting to feature a project with a classic print narrative at its heart as we announce Connie’s departure. She possesses a boundless enthusiasm for well-written tales. I have had the honor of learning from her devotion to language and story since September 2007. At times, Digest editors—myself among them—have fallen in love with an interesting idea or good reporting among the submissions we receive. Connie never failed to stay focused on how the pieces worked as narratives. I hope to honor Connie’s contributions and those of founding editor Nell Lake by continuing to highlight pieces like this Marianna story.
While preserving the Notable Narratives and Editor’s Corners that have been the mainstays of the Digest in the past, we will be making some additions to the site. In the coming months we will bring readers more frequent and expansive posts, examine the mechanics of story, expand our coverage of multimedia narratives, and address questions posed by emerging narrative forms.
The staff and contributors of the Digest do not claim to have those answers, but we plan to shine a light on approaches that connect the best aspects of print narratives to the digital age, to collect the best examples of story from every medium, and to invite our readers into the conversation.
If you would like to be a part of that dialogue, or to begin hearing more about what the future holds, please join us on Twitter: @niemanstory.