A well-told story in black and white
If you didn't get a chance to see the Boston Globe video that accompanied Maria Cramer's story on the white firefighter who was reunited with the black infant he rescued 40 years ago, you owe it to yourself to have a look. Good stuff.
Labels: Boston Globe, video
posted by Dan Kennedy @ 3:55 PM
10 comments
10 Comments:
Dan,
Really nice. Thanks for bring attention to it.
Alright, I'll admit it: I got weepy (in a good way).
In addition to it being a sweet story, that was a really well-produced video. Kudos to the Globe and thanks, Dan, for pointing it out.
Here's a compliment for the Globe.
They get the concept of video storytelling. I have been very impressed by some of the pieces they have posted. I would like to know how many people they have dedicated to shooting and editing those videos. Some have better production values than others, but I have found them all watchable.. Which I cannot say for other newspaper's websites.
Beautiful story and well-done video by the Globe. Not sure what the point is of mentioning the race of the participants though.
Firefighters around the world do this sort of thing every day, and, like William Carroll, most are humble and genuine. I'm not a firefighter but I think that they would agree with Neil and me that race was irrelevant to this story.
"Well, sometimes we get lucky." - William Carroll
Excellent. Bravo!
I guess I thought that was the point, that this scenario in which race was not relevant was being contrasted with its larger social context.
I didn't watch the video but was appalled that the Globe generated that story, then had the hubris to put it on the front page. They buried the fact that the paper had facilitated the false "reunion." What happened to observing rather than creating the news?
Alison,
I think there's a lot of behavior that on the collective level may be ultimately "self-destructive" to the group as a whole (just as there's been in the financial sector). People seem to go for short-term gain at the expense of the system as a whole, do what's easier and more fun, and find a justification for it. In other professions, I see this in the preference for referrals and meetings and paperwork over actually rolling up the sleeves and getting to work on the underlying problem.
I disagree that this was a "self-generated" story -- it was based on a citizen approaching a reporter and asking for help setting up a reunion. Citizens approaching the paper is how tons of stories are found, especially when it comes to columns and personal stories like the one Cramer wrote.
It's the kind of story that's important to tell, because it tells a new story based on an old issue. Sure, it wasn't breaking news, but it was good storytelling, in two media forms, and represents the kind of work the Globe needs to do more of.
Matt
thetortoiseandthemayor.blogspot.com
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