This article is part of a series called Backstory where I reveal how feature and in-depth stories were crafted. You can find more with the Backstory tag by searching “Backstory” in the search bar.
The original story was published here:
This was the first and will probably be the only time that I use a large headshot of myself as a cover photo for a story and start with “I.” The cover photo was mine, but it wasn’t my choice to put it there; I wanted it somewhere in the middle – but I guess the editor thought otherwise.
It’s rare for someone in their first semester of journalism school to write about anything from first-person. It takes a particular kind of craft to be able to link the firsthand experience to the wider context without being the focus of the story. I did not do well. What is published was edited at least twice.
Looking back, it really wasn’t much of a feature story. I’ve progressed since then and this article now reads a bit underwhelming. Sure, it had all the right elements of an anecdotal lede, some statistics to tie it to a national context, and relevant interviews to convey a balanced variety of thoughts, but it lacked pzazz. The only interesting bit in the story was the amazing Tableau graphic that I spent two nights piecing together.
What I learned from writing this article wasn’t the art of structuring a piece, it was how to interview people with empathy. Often, as journalists, we haven’t experienced what the other person has, especially if it was a terrible event. We shouldn’t be saying “I know how you feel” because we often don’t. We are approaching them at an arm’s length to keep ourselves out of the story.
But this was different.
I grew up during SARS in Hong Kong, recovered from a strain of the Spanish Flu when I was 13, and recovered from COVID-19 in March 2020 during the first global wave. I know, I was there, I understand. Instead of asking for information from those I interviewed, I exchanged experiences and thoughts with them through a structured discussion. The conversation followed so naturally.
There’s something about going through a common unfortunate event that draws strangers together. The “yes, I know” and “I did that, too” creates mental hugs between two faces on a screen. I could use what I know to ask them for their experience, it helped yield deeper, more thoughtful quotes.
I can’t go into detail about how I felt unless I’m writing an opinion piece, but I can use how I feel to find out whether others felt the same. Empathy is not the same as understanding.
