Nunzsense: Always a twist to the news

Here's another of my columns from a few weeks ago, talking about how a story can change between the pitch and the actual reporting.


http://beta101.nvdaily.com/news/2011/10/always-a-twist-to-news/

Update as of April 2015. It appears this link is bad, so here is the column:

It was supposed to be a simple advance. Some might call it a puff piece.

But when Northern Virginia Daily staff writer Kaitlin Mayhew started talking to some merchants in town a couple of weeks ago, she found that they were not that thrilled at what Downtown Front Royal Inc.’s Hometown Halloween had turned into in only two years.

An event that was supposed to help promote downtown businesses to the parents while the children collected treats had turned into a free-for-all (except for the people paying for the candy) that drew 2,500 participants last year.

Like any good reporter, Kaitlin knew she had found “gold.” The real story was concern from the businesses, with several owners saying they simply could not afford to participate in the event this year. Her story was balanced with others who said they would still take part, but readers seized upon those who said they were taking a pass, with some going as far as to blame the reporter and this newspaper for running the story.

Reporting news is not always pretty. It is often the third part of the old saw that holds that anyone who likes sausage or respects the laws of this nation should watch neither being made.

Countless times I have gone to a meeting with an agenda packet, figuring I knew exactly what I’d write about. But over the course of two hours in a town council chamber, three other items might turn out to be better fodder for a story. That original idea? Maybe something later in the week; maybe something for the bullets at the end of the story.

One of the big things reporters have to be able to do is think on their feet. In the course of an interview, you might hear something out of left field. Going down a different line of questioning than you might have anticipated, you find the real news.

In his outstanding book “This Just In: What I Couldn’t Tell You On Television,” Bob Schieffer of CBS News describes the way he figured out how to best do his job while covering the Pentagon. When he wanted to find out what the Army was doing, he went to someone from the Navy. After all, the Navy already knew what the Army was doing, but might be more willing to offer a tip or two.

Some stories are pretty obvious. When a house catches on fire, that’s a story. When a crash shuts down Interstate 81, ditto.

Others require a little digging — sometimes a lot of digging. And where that digging takes us may not please every single reader. That’s too bad. That’s news.

The reporters at this newspaper make every effort to be fair. I know the work they do each day. Sometimes those closest to the story, those with “a dog in the fight” are not going to agree. That’s what letters to the editor and the comment section on the web page are for. I am happier when people stick to the issue at hand rather than go after people who are doing their jobs.

We are not trying to trick anyone into anything.

* Charles Pannunzio is the assistant managing editor of the Daily.

Escaping The White Death

I didn't plan to spend part of this weekend at my mom and stepdad's place south of Richmond. But weather emergencies have a way of changing plans.

I woke up relatively early on Saturday and checked outside. Sure enough, the weather guys were right and there was snow sticking to the cars in the lot. I took a photo, pasted it on Facebook and made a phone call before I dozed off for another hour, with visions of a day of college football and decluttering in my head.

About 9 a.m., I was up for good and turned on the television, watching NBC4's coverage of Snotober. Or Ocsnowber, not sure which one of these will stick. I was falling back asleep again when the power went out. The way these outages go, if the power is gone for more than about a minute, it becomes open-ended. Could be back in an hour, or three, or seven.

With the snow still coming down, I figured Shenandoah Valley Electric Cooperative might just tell us we had to wait for the weather to improve before a crew could be dispatched. And the forecast called for the snow to continue until 6 p.m., so it would be a long, cold afternoon if i didn't take action.

So action, I took. I figured if I could make it over the Blue Ridge before things got too ugly in the Shenandoah Valley, I could head for Prince George, where there would be heat, power and company. So I had to hatch a plan to get out of the house as quickly as possible.

First things first. Stop trying to turn on lights. They do not work when the power is off. So I grabbed the "electric lantern" I have had since the Y2K scare, and put it in the bathroom. The water heater still had plenty of hot water, so I was able to take a quick shower. That thing about the lights? Well, the bathroom fan works the same way, it turns out.

There was plenty of light downstairs, and I only opened the fridge one time, so I could get milk for a bowl of Cap'n Crunch. Coffee would have to wait for Sheetz in Opal. Then I piled everything I figured I'd need for two days into the car and headed south.

As I expected, the first 30 miles of the trip was the absolute worst despite sticking to Interstates 81 and 66. It was a little hairy on U.S. 17 north of Warrenton, but the rest of the trip was uneventful, save for a near-death experience with a pair of snowbirds from Ontario who felt this was a lovely time to travel south for the winter. Those motorhomes don't do well in good weather, so when one of them decided to try to dislodge me from the right lane, I had to hang on tight.

I managed to get to Prince George in time for the second half of the Virginia Tech-Dook game, and the visit went well, I had not seen my folks in a few weeks, and there was plenty of college football to watch and good food to eat. The power was restored in Winchester about 4 p.m., I am told.

But an unexpected trip home can be good for the soul.

Nunzsense: The News In Texts And Tweets

I wrote this rather quickly while my apartment was being cleaned on a Thursday morning. Thanks to Brad and Christina for the inspiration, and Robert for his company at the Caps playoff game last May.

http://www.nvdaily.com/news/2011/10/pannunzio-the-news-in-tweets-and-texts.php

Nunzsense: Books Go The Way Of Music

Trying to deal with changing formats for books is like figuring out while my LPs won't fit in the CD player. Hey you kids, get off my lawn with your fancy e-readers.

http://www.nvdaily.com/news/2011/10/books-go-the-way-of-music.php

Nunzsense: Edison First Saw The Light

Another column from The Northern Virginia Daily. Christina gets a nod in this one.

http://www.nvdaily.com/opinion/2011/10/edison-first-saw-the-light.php

Nunzsense: A Siren Calls For That?

While I have not been blogging as much as I would like, I have started writing a weekly column for The Northern Virginia Daily, and figure I can link to my entries. This first one generated a lot of reader complaints, which may be funnier than the few laugh lines I got in this column, but I kind of asked for it.

http://www.nvdaily.com/news/2011/10/a-siren-callsfor-that.php