Reporting and Writing
Reflection:
Journalistic integrity is the most important aspect of newsgathering.
It’s crucial, especially as the media loses trust from the general public. According to a study done by the Knight Foundation, 46 percent of Americans say there is “a good amount” of bias in today’s media.
I’m here to gain some of that trust back. Let me walk you through how I’ve taken steps towards it.
News - In Depth Coverage
Informing the community about new school safety policies
The Bridge Oct. 10, 2018
Click the underlined title to read the story.
I wrote a story about school safety, specifically new measures taken by Cypress-Fairbanks Independent School District (CFISD) to protect students while at school in order to prevent tragedies like the Parkland and Santa Fe shootings.
The first step in creating this story was identifying five sources with different perspectives on the issue. I was mindful this story not only affected the students at Bridgeland High School but also the 116,000 plus students in the third-largest school district in Texas.
I knew from the start I had to speak with CFISD’s superintendent, Dr. Mark Henry. The district’s decision to require clear backpacks for all secondary students created a firestorm of conflicting opinions. I reached out to Dr. Henry’s office and was able to interview him about what the process entailed, as well as his take on the public response.
Dr. Henry is open to subject topics when it comes to an interview. An important part of the conversation was talking about trust in the community. Alongside informing readers about new school safety policies, another priority was to interpret Dr. Henry’s thought processes so others around the school district could understand the large responsibility he has on his shoulders, and how he handles all the pressure.
In addition to Dr. Henry, I featured perspectives from a student, teacher, parent, and CFISD’s Chief of Police. All of the perspectives helped to paint a picture of how nuanced this conversation was for readers. While everyone agreed safety was the top priority, the approach was heavily debated. As a reporter, it was important for me to shed light for the community on the issue from all sides.
This article was the first I wrote for Bridgeland Student Media and the first in-depth news report. Because it was the first year to have a newspaper class, there were no editors to show me what to do or where to go next. As I reflect on this piece, I would advise a new reporter facing a similar story to write a single article that weaves the perspectives together to tell a complete story.
For insight into the reporting process for this story, click the audio link below for some highlights of the interviews.
This story won Best of the Best in Texas in Objective Writing for the Texas Association of Journalism Educators.
Tommy’s Takeaways from News Reporting and Writing:
How to conduct multiple interviews and combine them to produce an in-depth package.
Writing a series of stories from different perspectives and combining them to cover an event/topic.
News elements of proximity, prominence, and conflict.
Calder Hodges warms up with some passes during practice with his school team. Photo by Tommy Yarrish
The Old Coach Feb. 23, 2020
Click the underlined title to read the story.
While scrolling through Twitter one day, I came across Calder Hodge. Calder was born with missing tibia bones in his legs and was later on diagnosed with fibular hemimelia, a very rare condition occurring in only 1 of 40,000 births. As soon as I saw he was a Houston area player, I reached out on Twitter immediately.
A number of media groups had already written about him, but no one really told his full story, they focused on his disability. I wanted to learn more about him, and I knew there was some factor that had to keep pushing him to play and achieve his goals of playing professional football.
Screenshot of direct message to Hodges
After a few weeks of coordinating, I met up with Calder and his family for an interview to write the story. That’s where I found out why he kept pushing through even though all the odds were against him, it was because of his brother. During the process, I learned reporters have to follow where the story goes and people are almost always more than meets the eye.
I wrote this piece for one of the media groups I was interning with at the time, The Old Coach. The article earned a good amount of engagement across the state, and the Hodge family appreciated the deeper insight into Calder’s life, and why he does what he does.
Tommy’s Takeaways from Feature Reporting and Writing:
Learned how to apply the technique of writing a chunking story.
Chasing down a story idea from beginning to end.
Dealing with sensitive issues while bringing in a human voice to draw in readers.
Personal Column
A tribute to Kobe Bryant
As a tribute, Tommy Yarrish poses for a recreation of the famous Kobe Bryant image which appeared in Rolling Stone magazine. Photo by Staff
The Bridge Jan. 30, 2020
Click the underlined title to read the story.
Not only was Kobe Bean Bryant one of the greatest basketball players ever, but he was an incredible inspiration to me because of the “Mamba Mentality.”
Jan. 26, 2020, was easily one of the worst days of my life.
It was one of those “where were you when…” moments. I’ll always remember dropping everything I was doing while preparing dinner and praying my eyes were deceiving me. But unfortunately, they weren’t.
After a day of mourning, I decided to write a personal narrative about Kobe and the impact he had on me. It was the most emotional story I’ve ever written, and I felt a sense of relief once it was finished. Taking a step away from my usual reporting to write such a vulnerable piece stretched me as a journalist. I gained a greater understanding and appreciation for personal narratives. I often ask sources to crack their souls wide open for a story, for this one, I had to be as open as I want from my sources. Personal narratives are a reporter’s way of turning the interview on themselves.
Tommy’s Takeaways from Personal Column Reporting and Writing:
Using tones in my writing.
Developing a personal style.
How to make readers curious and interested in the opening sentences and paragraphs.
Weekly preparation for games across the state
Setting up the camera for a sideline report, Tommy Yarrish reports on a playoff game. Yarrish primarily worked alone as videographer, producer, reporter and editor for his standups. Photo by Tom Dendy
Click here to see my script for all four state championship games I covered this season.
As a reporter for Texas high school football for the past four years, each game day requires a good deal of research so I go into the game knowing who to keep both my eye and camera on.
The week starts with planning out my schedule and sending out credential requests. I try to attend at least two games a week, which means contacting at least two school districts every week. I’ve been working in the field for a few years and have a good relationship with some of the athletic coordinators in the area.
From there, comes the planning. I utilized the database on Maxpreps to find rosters, look at stats, check results from previous games, watch film, and ultimately figure out what the game will come down to in order to get an idea of how the game will go.
Next, it’s time to prepare pregame standups for social media. The goal is to put everything viewers need to know in under two minutes and 20 seconds. I take everything I’ve learned from MaxPreps along with any articles I happen to find on prospects at the school to give a brief summary of what fans should expect for each game.
When game day arrives, there’s a strict schedule I follow. I always make sure to grab food three hours before kickoff so it can be digested before I have to run up and down the sidelines to get coverage. I arrive at the stadium two hours to an hour and a half before game time in order to get some pictures of the athletes warming up and see if anyone is injured.
With about an hour to go until kickoff, it’s time to record the pregame standup. After about one to three takes on a good day, it’s uploaded to Twitter so any followers of either team can get up to speed with any injuries, players to look for, and what to expect from each team.
After that, it’s back to snapping pictures and B roll footage of the rest of warm-ups to prepare for any post-game articles or video recaps. An hour is a perfect amount of time to gather most of the B roll needed for any videos.
Once the ball flies off the tee, it’s time to get to work.
Tommy’s Takeaways from Weekly Preparation:
How to request media credentials.
Managing time for work, school, and post game productions in a 72 hour span.
Conducting in depth research for players, teams, and sports terminology.