After watching the film clip - describe in 250 words how an investigative story differs from a "feature story" or basic news story and post.
Think about the following:
1. remain objective
2. focus tightly
3. cast a wide net
4. keep your nose clean
5. work the web * * * * *
Megan Reece
ReplyDeleteThe Difference between a Feature Story, and a Investigative Story
Investigative story can be set up initially with feature clips in order to give the reader an idea of what the story is about. But a feature is mainly profile, analysis, and addition of important facts. It’s important to highlight people, and then lay down the facts; a very strict recounting of the facts; the black box, what was said in the transcript are the facts in this story called “Flying Cheap.” Link the story into a feature profile, of a member of the flight that died. Show what did the family experienced, because it tugs on the heart strings. In this case, the story is about a flight that crashed, and is referred to as the “water shed” accident. People are talking in this story as if they are around the dinner table. Then go onto talk about any mechanical problems the plane had, or didn’t have. Confirm the findings by talking about pilot error, or what happened in the cabin preceding the crash. Include specific and tight details of the mechanics of the flight. The difference in salaries discovered during the interview conflicts with what the airlines stated their pilots are paid. Investigative questions are confrontational and objective questions. Then move onto the mechanics of the airplane, and anything else that’s interesting like: Code Sharing. This is something the public needs to know about. Code Sharing started in the late 1990’s, and brought in large marginal profits. Go back and forth between the two camps of information, back and forth between the pilots and the industry, to bring the truth of the story to light.
By Megan Reece
Kelly Sweeney
ReplyDeleteFlying Cheap: Commuter Flights
Frontline News brings to attention the thought of flying to everyone who travels around the world and nation.
Colgan was taking on a flight for Continental Airlines for Flight 3407 heading to Buffalo, New York. When purchasing a ticket for the flight in small print it says that Colgan would be flying this Continental flight. After the planes had crashed into a house killing 49 passengers and 1 person on the ground investigation took place.
Investigators found that both the Polite and First Officer had failed multiple tests that Colgan had no seen before hiring them.
Throughout the flight the two seemed to repeatedly say that they were tired and were yawning often. The Captain said “she was not going to give up the flight because she would have to get herself her own hotel room.”
Regional Pilots have said that every day is very long having to be on duty for up to 16 hours a day. They since have been limited to only flying 8 hours a day. Roger Cohen said that salaries are 73 and 34 thousand dollars depending on what your rank is.
Pilots said that safely is not 100 percent based on what they have been through. What matters is if you are there on time and if you have completed your flight.
The industry then says that safety is of course 100 percent the first thing they are concerned about. If the weather and the safety of their passengers are not there, then they will not fly that plane.
So how safe is flying on an airplane?
From: David Lowenthal
ReplyDeleteInvestigative Article post
The Frontline investigative report details the events surrounding the crash of a flight over Buffalo, New York in February of 2009. The accident killed all passengers and crew on the flight, plus a bystander on the ground. As the footage progresses, it becomes more apparent that the there is more to the story than just one accident. We the viewers are introduced to several characters within the story. Some are family members of people on board the flight, others are emergency personnel on the ground, and still more are members of the aviation regulatory apparatus.
Later on in the presentation, the reporter outlines the recent history of the aviation industry following the period of deregulation in the late 1970’s. The industry, according only to Frontline, was subjected to a price-war starting in the 1990’s, forcing prices low and perhaps sacrificing safety as result. The result was the creation of “regional airlines” (subsidiaries of larger companies that critics say have a relaxed approach to passenger safety).
An investigative story probes deeper into issues than does the feature portion of the story. In the Feature, as previewed above ,the objective is more to fill the reader in to the basic facts that are necessary for a comprehensive understanding of the story. The investigative portion finds the answers to important questions that can’t be answered in the feature. An example in the Frontline expose is the reporter sitting down to a slightly fractious interview with an industry representative. Another example of the investigative portion is when the reporter speaks with a former regional pilot who described in detail the low salaries and substandard living conditions of Continental pilots.
What the reporter must accomplish when engaging in an investigation is to contrast the responses and attitudes of the parties involved in a controversy. The Frontline story, for example, contrasts the answers to questions from the pilots and industry leaders. If a reporter is going to be writing an investigative story about, say, the activism methods of teacher’s groups and whether they are being underhanded in stoking anger of students against the rest of the community.
Lauren Hooker
ReplyDeleteTo begin an investigative piece, you must first set the table…draw the readers in. In the film, they used emotional ties to accomplish this. By showing a subject who is sad about their relative perishing in a tragic aircraft crash, it draws your viewers in; many people do or have flown on an aircraft, and the idea of it crashing is terrifying.
It’s also important to create these characters that viewers get attached to; when they see the head of Continental, they pay attention. When they see the lady who’s sister died in the crash, they pay attention.
It’s then crucial to narrow down the topic. The film narrowed it down to specifically Colgan and Continental Air; it mentioned other aircraft companies in passing, but really focused on those two regional companies.
Laying out the facts is also imperative to an investigative piece. The film made sure to lay out facts about crashes, wages and evidence from the Harving crash.
When you’re investigating a touchy piece, such as airplane companies, you must investigate both sides of the issue. Objectivity is crucial as a journalist. Banter is great; get both sides of the issue, because both source’s information and opinions are different. They’re going to contradict each other, and you want them to respond to each other. This is when you can’t afford to be a pushover journalist, you have to ask hardball questions backed up by facts. Being confrontational and objective is crucial.
Feature stories are more vague; if this was a feature story, it would have been something like ‘regional aircrafts are unsafe’ or something broad.
Ebenezer Makinde
ReplyDeleteHow an Investigative Story Differs from A Feature Story
An investigative story differs from a feature in the steps that it takes after the major news is told to the public. An investigative story begins the same as a feature story, as it first begins by familiarizing people of the situation. This is where the breaking news is told so the public can know and understand the event that happened, but not necessarily the details. The feature story asks those being interviewed easy questions, with nothing objectional in which all facts are given for the story. For example, in a plane crash situation, questions may be asked about to the victims families and about there loved ones who had passed, giving those reading the feature story an idea of the ones who had died. These questions would be easy and would not require an objectional answer and would mostly give facts. On the other hand there is the investigative story which differs from the feature story in two ways. The investigative story asks the hard questions and makes the person being interviewed give objectional answers. This is used to get deeper into the story as to WHY things happened more than what actually happened. For example, we learn from the plane crash through extensive research that the pilot flying the plane actually failed 5 flying tests prior to that crash.
“Flying Cheap”
Setting it up like a feature, familiarize people of situation, engage in strict recounting of the facts
Operated by Colgan Air even though those on plane believed they were flying Continental.
Pilot error was cause of flight crash.
Colgan failed to do background check on pilots.
Pilot had failed 5 tests prior to crash.
There were growing concerns over the regional aircraft even before the accident.
Investigation comes in when reporter doesn’t just ask questions, but asks questions that are confrontational. The reporter must come armed with facts in order to dig deeper.
Feature: easy questions, facts
Investigative: hard questions, objective answers
Larisa Gavrilyuk
ReplyDeleteMarch 14, 2011 – (Monday 6-9pm class)
Investigative story vs. feature story
The first thing you do when writing an investigative story is set up the introduction just like a feature. Basically you “set up the dinner table”. What are you talking about? What is your topic? Overall highlight the story and its main points.
Next you have to lay down the facts. This is the body of the story. Get into the story. In this particular story the investigators focus on the black box of the air plane. The transcript of the air plane. Collect data. What is the cause of the crash? This is where you go out and find the facts of the company. This is the feature part of the story. You are collecting data. And gathering information that will lead you to the investigative part of the story.
Interview who is involved. Interviewing the boss and the employees. Identify the key characters. Who is important and what is important. This is where the investigation really begins. You are not just asking questions you are also confronting them. Playing devil’s advocate. Why are they thinking what are they thinking. You want them to respond to you. Balance the facts with the interview. Asking the objective not subjective questions. Dig deep to find out everyone’s perspective.
When investigating the story interview the both sides. The pilot vs. the industry. Present both of the sides to the story to the reader. Then the reader will decide about the story.
Scott Thornton
ReplyDeleteWhen talking about the difference between an investigative story and a feature story it seems like it would be very clear of what the difference would be. In a feature story you are in a way reporting the facts from one side of the story. In an investigative story you do whatever you need to do to find the information. You have to probe both sides and in a way you become the judge. You decide based on your research and investigation what may or may not be true.
You want to make sure that you are doing interviews with those who may be causing the problem and those that are affected by what was done. You want to find why things were done and why it affects people in such a way.
Feature story you are doing interviews and research but there may only be one side to the story and you are just presenting facts. You don’t need to be a judge in anyway.
With the story on Frontline we just saw, you can see how the reporter interviews the people that were affected by what happened by the airlines and also included interviews and proceedings with the airlines themselves that caused the problem.
Making sure you study everything that you need to study is important in an investigative story. You want to report the truth and make sure you are open to both sides of the story. You become the judge of the information you find and present.
John Lloyd
ReplyDeleteAn investigative story is much different than a feature story because in a feature story one would most likely take an opinionated side on the topic one is discussing. An investigative story goes back and forth from the facts of both sides and collects an informative story from that information. As an investigative reporter one would most likely have an opinion, but not write about it in their column. A featured story would need a featured subject and opinion on top of the investigative story.
A featured story helps people understand who and what were affected by this subject/topic. Listing off credentials of employees, victims of families, and the ones that are being accused of the crime. A featured story contains all the characters and all the subjects needed to write your article.
The clip we saw in class was both a featured and investigative story all in one. It was on the airline industry and how all it is caring about is profits. The reason it was an investigative story was the fact that it had opinions from both sides of the spectrum. This is the main objective of an investigative story and is needed to tell the story perfectly. As a featured story, the clip brought us the victims and the who’s who of the industry and the story. It features all the topics and all the people related to the topic of the airline industry. Featuring all these people helped make the story investigative as well as a featured story.
Lindsey Hileman
ReplyDeleteThis investigative story sets the scene with feature-like personal stories of friends and family members of crash victims and then begins to uncover facts about the crash. They focus on potential factors leading to the crash such as pilot fatigue, minimal training, log work days and low wages. Then they zoom out to the origins of those factors. This story defines the differences between these smaller regional airlines and the major airlines to narrow down the investigation. After covering the main facts, industry officials are asked tough questions about all these factors. They also use public information to support facts given. One example is the use of records of one of the pilots involved in the crash that shows he failed his flight exams several times. The information found during this investigation may not have even been discovered by the airline that employed that pilot. There is also the use of tapes from congressional hearings where the airline industry is held accountable.
The investigator gets opinions from both sides of the issue, which is one of the main differences between an investigative story and feature story. The correspondent investigating this story never blatantly takes sides but creates a dialogue with his subject about the accusations of the other side. This story goes very in depth to the history and practices of the regional airlines without dragging the major airlines through the mud, although the investigator does explore their connections and involvements with the regional airlines.
Sam Alderman
ReplyDeleteThe difference between an investigative story and a feature story are two major things: the investigative reporter asks questions to elicit a response from the people they interview, and the investigative story delves deeper into facts and evidence to support the confrontational questioning. A reporter for a feature story asks easy “puffball” questions, and lays out easy facts with first-hand accounts from people who were involved in the story. Reporters for investigative stories come armed with a strong knowledge of facts and evidence surrounding the story, such as in this case with the airlines. They also ask confrontational questions with an objective in mind—that is, to get a certain viewpoint or response out of the subject they are questioning. For example, the reporter in the interview with the representative from Continental Airlines asked tough questions about the safety of the passengers and the intense workdays and wages of pilots. The goal was to elicit a response that would expose the true meaning behind what the representative really believed. Once a true understanding of what the representative believed was accounted for, the response was then followed up with information from the pilots themselves to verify (or not) if what the representative said was accurate.
Investigative reporting deals heavily with facts and evidence. The more in-depth the facts are, then the more of a complete report the story will have. Extensive use of primary first-person accounts and knowledgeable sources are important when creating an investigative story. By using both sides of the story, a thorough knowledge of the situation—such as the one with the airline companies—can be investigated.
The Difference between Investigative and Feature Stories
ReplyDeleteSydney Gill
The investigative clip that we watched about commercial flights took an event and investigated deeper into the story. They started with a specific event which was the crash of a “Continental” plan that was actually operated by Colgan Air. As the clip started to come out with more information it began to focus on getting further into what not only happened in the specific event of the crash, but about these regional flights. This is about the same as feature in the beginning because it takes a topic and lays out the information on the topic being written about.
The investigative pieces ask the individuals that they are highlighting objective questions. They are trying to find out the hidden information that is not looked for in a feature story. A feature story is more of asking questions and leaving the answers at that. Investigative stories take the questions and confront the individual so that they are on the defense and so more information is given than would be in a feature story.
In the clip that we watched the reporter asked objective questions to get more information out of those he was interviewing. This allowed the story to be more objective and have different sides. From the clip it is easy to see that investigative stories show both sides of a story and really focus on being objective and confrontational while feature stories focus on one side of a story.
Difference between Investigative and Feature Story
ReplyDeleteBy: Nadine Russell
An investigative and a feature story have many differences. A feature story is about one side of a story, discussing the views and ethics of one side of the story. The investigative story is much different. It is more objective than a feature story, involving both sides of an issue. It also focuses on remaining objective, and the key players of the story are interviewed on both sides of the issue. For an investigative story a reporter is supposed to ask hard headed, confrontational questions. With an investigative story, you are supposed to set up the reader like it is a feature story, maybe introducing one side of the story with key players or even victims of an accident. Once the reader is familiarized with the story, the investigation is set up and the sides of the story are beginning to be presented, either by one side of the story or another side of the story. After the sides of the story have been presented the key facts of the story are reiterated. The goal of the reporter in investigative story telling is to be like a judge of a trial, to be objective not subjective. They are to remain in the middle of the story and report on both sides of the issue. Then it is up to the reader to determine what side they are on as opposed to what side the reporter tells them they are on. The investigative story is unlike the feature story in that way, the reporter is not allowed to take a side in the investigative story and they are allowed to take a side in a feature story.
Sara Cray
ReplyDeleteAs opposed to a feature story, an investigative story digs deep into a subject to expose the underground issues which are not present on the surface. A feature story tells the facts of a story but it isn’t necessarily “breaking news,” it’s simply there to inform the public, mostly based on the fact that it’s entertaining and intriguing. Investigative stories start out by highlighting the key people involved with the issue and giving insight into their backgrounds which are relevant to the story. These facts are here to set the scene.
Next listed in an investigative story are the facts and numbers which are important to the story. These are present to get the readers intrigued and have them start to build questions about how these are relevant to the investigation. Included within the facts are the interview details. During the interview process it’s the reporter’s job to interject and ask questions which are confrontational. This is where the investigative issues come from. The whole idea of the investigation story is to try to find conflict so as to get the readers to ask questions. It’s also very important, though, for the reporter to be prepared with facts in order to provide for a rebuttal.
It’s also extremely important for the reporter to find a person on each side of the issue in order to present all the facts relevant. Objective questions should be asked and this is when the readers make their opinions based on all the details that are presented. The reporter acts as a so-called judge in the end and this is how the reader determines what they think is right or wrong based on the outcome of the story.
KristineD /Mon- 3/14/11
ReplyDeleteReporting and News Writing
Investigative Exercise
The investigative story as illustrated in the clip we watched in class begins by setting the stage. They highlight backgrounds of victims, show interviews with victims’ family members, and give statistics on death toll. They start by familiarizing people with the situation.
It begins with easier broader questions and scope then becomes more focused as they move along in the investigative process. They use facts about the conations of commuting lack of sleep and low pay that have been retrieved from the black box.
Armed with those facts the reporter begins to take a tighter focus on the dangers involved with regional carriers. They objectively describe the chain of events. Then begin to suggest underlying causes.
The reporter in piece casts a wide net by interviewing leadership from regional commuter airline companies. He talks to pilots who are living the life flying the small commuters. He uses a bantering technique to lay out the picture on both sides of the tale. It’s like the reporter is the mediator in a debate where the debaters are not in the same room together.
He keeps his nose clean by sticking to quotes from the other side but framing questions that are hard hitting and confrontational in order to get more pieces of the picture revealed. He plays devil’s advocate for the other side in order to get the reasoning on both sides out on the table.
Jessica Adamson
ReplyDeleteBoth investigative and feature stories have the same foundations. Each begins with a presentation of background material. The writer is attempting to familiarize the reader with the particular topic that the story is about. “Characters” are introduced, basic facts are presented, and the topic is brought forth. From there, the investigative story gets more complicated. With investigative stories, there is usually a controversy or problem the journalist is attempting to “get to the bottom of”. Investigative stories are often written with the goal of exposing a scandal or public wrong. Journalists begin to ask the tough, confrontational questions. They interrogate their subjects to get the truth and the answers they are looking for. Their goal is to make their subjects squirm but to be objective. The writers find both sides of the topic in order to get the fullest account of the issue. Investigative stories have a very narrow scope. Their subjects must be small in scale in order to get the whole picture. Within the specifics, they must find as broad of a base of people as possible to contribute to their piece. They must find every important story to make their investigation more complete. When collecting records, getting interviews, and gathering evidence the journalist must be sure to keep within the boundaries of the law. If they do not do so, they risk ruining their reputation, credibility, and facing a lengthy jail sentence. One resource available to investigative journalists is the internet. Besides the wealth of information found on the web, “dirt” can be found on social media sites.
Week 9 investigate (lab)
ReplyDeleteAaron Nelson
Flying cheap
An investigative story differs from a feature story in that an investigative story asks tough questions, and investigates the surrounding causes of an event. You will have your story such as airline safety and the sub story will be the carriers of the planes. You move from a broad story to a more focused and detailed story, or sub story. The broad story sets the table and informs the reader based on facts and interviews. In this case the black box and workers training gave a great insight to see if the crash was human or mechanical. The sub story for flying cheap would be the pilots themselves there pay, training and background experience. A feature story will normally ask a lot of questions instead of asking and investigating them. A huge part of this story is the deaths of 43 people and the pain and sorrow of the families of the deceased. This leads to more questions from the families about the airlines and why did this plane crash. The questions should start from a source such as an association and a subject. In this case it would be the pilot’s president and the pilots. The main focus of an investigative story looks very in-depth ask questions and tries to create dialogue from one source to another. When the reporter is asking the questions from one person to another it creates a great dialogue and real answers can be received.
Shea McClellin
ReplyDeleteTue/Thur
There are many differences between an investigative story and a feature story. Investigative story begins the same a feature story; it sets the background of the story and helps the viewer understand what is happening and what is important in the story. An investigative story sets the table and informs a person why it is important to them. Also an investigative story explains in detail what happened and what could have been fixed. An investigative story also recounts the facts. In an investigative story you have to study and make sure everything you write is correct or you will have no credibility. You need to report the truth and not be bias toward any side, because you need to get both sides of the story so the reader understands why it is important. A feature story main this is to just get the important facts, not every facts that is needed like an investigative story that why an feature story is bias toward one subject and doesn’t care about what is important or not. Ned to find someone is for and against the subject that is pertaining. An investigative story goes deep into the facts and unlike a feature story which does not. The reporter in an investigative story has to get the attitudes of both sides and get the differences of them and put them into the story.
The story features people who are knowledgeable about airlines and planes. It laid down the facts so people understand what is happening. It is both an investigative story and a feature story.
Nichole Stallings
ReplyDelete“Flying Cheap”
How this investigative story differs from a simple feature story?
Feature stories lay out the basic facts to readers. In this particular story, the facts are that an airplane plane crashed into a house. There were no survivors. The supposed “cause” of the crash was due to ice in the air which causes turbulence in the plane which leads to its crash.
The investigative story behind this event revealed that there was a lot of corruption within this seemingly normal airplane. The particular flight that crashed had a lot of unknown details that were not included in a feature story. The investigative story takes a feature story and puts it into a higher level. They find out the facts that are closer to home instead of being distance in their review.
The investigation showed that this plane crash would have been avoided at all costs. One pilot was not qualified to fly the plane. He failed five performance tests and did not follow proper procedures to fix the so-called turbulence on the plane. What was found to have really happened is that the plane was not flying fast enough to stay in the air. Instead of pushing down on the wheel to increase speed, the pilot pulled back, this slowed the plane even more.
Through a series of questions and answering, the investigator found out information that NEVER would have been revealed in a feature story. Information such as the fact that the other pilot had spent the previous night commuting on another flight, so she was too tired to fly the next day. The feature story made the accident seem as though it truly was “an accident.” However, the investigative story showed that this could have been prevented at all costs. This knowledge could change the opinion of many flyers.
Regan S.
ReplyDeleteThe Frontline investigative report covered the events surrounding the crash in of a flight in February, 2009 over Buffalo, New York. The accident killed all passengers and crew on the flight, plus a bystander on the ground. As the footage progresses, it becomes more apparent that the there is more to the story than just one accident. As the audience, we are introduced to several characters within the story, including family members that provoked an emotional response. Others interviewed include emergency personnel on the ground and members of the aviation regulatory apparatus.
Later on in the video, the reporter outlines the recent history of the aviation industry following the period of deregulation in the late 1970’s. The industry, according only to Frontline, was subjected to a price-war starting in the 1990’s, forcing lower prices and perhaps sacrificing safety as result. The result was the creation of “regional airlines,” which are subsidiaries of larger companies that critics say have a relaxed approach to passenger safety.
The way you could tell that this was an investigative piece and not a feature story is that it goes much, much more in detail. A feature story would consist of mainly profile, analysis, and addition of important facts, without the depth and detail. This investigative story had a main story (plane crash) and it had a sub story (regional airlines). It mentioned specific numbers (everyone killed) and was full of background information. The investigator created a dialogue between the people he interviewed and their two opposing views.
Katie
ReplyDeleteTu/Th
Investigative/ editorial
To start with in an investigative story you must draw the audience in. You have to set the table and lay the facts in front of them. There is always a story like with the flight story which was about safety and then a sub story about the regional airline system. You also interview people from both sides of the story and create a dialogue like with the airline story they interviewed a pilot who said he barely made ins meat and then he interviewed an airline executive. Therefore you get both sides of the story. The goal of an investigative story is to ask the hard hitting questions. In the investigative story I noticed they also had “characters” if you will. They introduced them and told you how they fit with the story and then the characters went on to tell you their view point. In investigative stories there is often a goal or secret that the reporter is trying to uncover. Investigative stories also include facts and statistics such as with the airline story; they included how much pilots made and the statics of how much it cost airlines to operate versus regional companies to operate. In a feature story it’s one sided. You only tell the reader what you want them to know you don’t give them both sides to make up their own judgment. There are also no characters like in investigative. Editorials are also usually shorter in length. Length wise there’s a difference too. Editorials are short and to the point.
Jarrod Driskell
ReplyDeleteT/TH
The Frontline investigative story described the events that led to a devastating plane crash over Buffalo, New York in February of 2009. The plane crash killed all the passengers and crew on board Flight 3407, including an innocent bystander on the ground. As the investigative story continues, we can see that this was not any ordinary plane crash and that there are other outside stimuli that contributed to the plane crash. At this time, we are introduced to several characters involved in the incident, such as family of passengers on board and emergency personnel on the ground. At this time, Frontline reveals some information about the history of the airline and its pilots. It turns out that the airline pilot involved in the crash had failed five tests prior to this flight. The flight was operated by Colgan Air when those on board thought they were flying on Continental Airlines.
To begin an investigative story, you should draw in the reader with ALL the facts from both sides of the issue. You need to get all the information you can by conducting interviews with people from opposite sides of the issue. You also need to find out why things happened the way they did and in what ways it affects people.
In a feature story, you tend to favor one side of the story over the other. Be sure to include quotes from key people involved in the event or even victims of a crime. It is important to be objective when writing a feature story. Present the facts to the reader without giving your opinion. Ask interview questions that lie on both sides of the story to get the interviewees response and views.
Jacy Skeen
ReplyDeleteTu/Th
Investigative story vs. feature story
The two different types of stories really start out the same. A common term for it is “setting up the dinner table”; tell the reader what the topic is, and what you will be talking about. Basically getting the main points out up front.
The next step is where the two start to differ. The investigative story starts to ask questions that some people or organization is wanting to keep secret; trying to expose something that the general public was unaware of or would better help piece the story together. In this case about the “Flying Cheap” video from PBS online, the investigators focused on the black box of the plane, the transcript of the plane. They looked at what caused the crash. In an investigation story you have to interview both sides, the pilot and the industry to find out what they are thinking about and why they are thinking that. Play devils advocate, but get them to respond to you. When writing up the story, you provide the reader with both sides and then let the reader decide.
With feature stories, you still go out and collect information from people, but it is more about opinion, not facts. The example in the book is writing about Valentine’s day, and going out and interviewing couples in the public. Also one big difference is that for feature stories, the inverted pyramid style of writing is not always the best, and usually shied away from, but for the investigative story it is used.
Amy Sperline
ReplyDeleteFrontline brought to surface the investigation into the tragic and suspicious events that occurred the night in February 2009 when a continental flight crashed in Buffalo, New York. The crash killed all on board, as well as bystanders on the ground near by. The way Frontline portrays the story it becomes evident that there is much more to the story then a freak plane crash. As the story progresses, the viewers are introduced to family members of the victims aboard the flight, pilots of regional carriers and detectives investigating the crash. This opens up more doors into the industry including the price war between airlines causing controversy and a possible reason why safety procedures were sacrificed. Frontline’s investigation goes much deeper then featuring the crash in 2009 or the investigation behind it, it goes all the way into history and background that could be possible reasonings behind the crash.
A feature story differs from an investigative story because it is more used to fill a reader in on the story, give them the basic facts and knowledge of the story. So in this case it would be the crash and maybe touch upon the investigation behind it. Where as an investigative story goes much deeper in detail, asking and answering questions and giving history or reasoning to issues. Frontline does a good job of this by going much deeper into the crash, the investigation and the people involved in the whole mess. They use interviews from regional airline pilots and victim’s family members, giving insight on the many sides of the story. They remain neutral and show both sides and possible reasons why with out casting blame one way or another. Feature stories are generally lighter issues and don’t bring up the controversy or drama within a story like investigative stories do.
James Snyder
ReplyDeleteInvestigative vs. Editorial
In the beginning of an investigative story, you want to draw the audience into the story. You can begin with laying out the facts and presenting the reasons as to why the events are important to your audience. There must be some significance to the individual to grab their attention. The video that we watched in class demonstrated clearly that all stories have a sub story. The main story in the video was the actual plane crash, but the sub story dealt with the greater regional airlines in the US. The key to constructing a good story is creating a dialogue in your piece, as well as being able to ask questions that cut to the heart of the matter. Get information from both sides of the issue and then play the two sides off each other making a sort of conversation between your sources. In the video, a number of professionals were interviewed and their opinions represented a vast array of sides to the issue. Unlike an editorial, investigative stories focus purely on the facts without giving a personal opinion. You give the audience all of the information that you want them to have, and you can leave out those facts that are irrelevant to your point. Finally, an investigative story tends to be longer than your average editorial.
Shantel Darrah
ReplyDeleteInvestigative vs. Feature Stories.
Investigative stories are more in depth than feature stories. Investigative stories look beyond the surface and never take anything at face value. Investigative stories also get the reader involved emotionally by using details that are important to people. Feature stories however, just cover the surface of a topic to give the reader the gist of what is going on. Feature stories just lay out the basic facts for the reader.
An investigative story asks tough questions about an event, for example with the Flying Cheap documentary, the investigation went into whether the crash was pilot or mechanical error. It also looked into the wages of the pilots, the background and experience of each pilot, as well as how far they travel before they pilot a flight.
A feature story and an investigative story both start the same, but the feature story would stick to the story of the plane crash while the investigative story looks beyond the plane crash and into the business behind it. The investigation connected the dots and noticed that all the most recent plane crashes have been with regional airlines and then started looking into those regional airlines for some answers.
A lot more goes into an investigative story. As a writer you need to make sure your facts are credible and tight. You also need to make sure you don’t have a bias when you give the facts otherwise they can lose their importance to the reader who doesn’t have the same bias. An investigative story needs both sides of the story to give an accurate account for everything.
Whitney Holm
ReplyDeleteThe difference between and investigative story and a feature story are that a feature story is more to the point. It establishes the: who, what, when, where, why in a basic manner. Investigative stories have more detail. An investigative story helps the reader question what is going on. Investigative stories involve gathering more information about the topic at hand. With this information, they can then set up how the story will be told. Investigative stories allow the viewer to wonder about hidden motive and form their own opinions. The investigative story was used in the film “Flying Cheap.” The filmmakers set up questions that were directed to the public in order to show them what was really going on behind the scenes.
“Flying Cheap” is an investigative story that asks the public how a tragedy like this one could have happened. The people who set up this story have lead the viewers to believe that this is an accident that could have been prevented. There were several interviews throughout the movie. These interviews help connect the audience to the people whom the tragedy affected. Because it could have been prevented it is important to investigate it. “Flying Cheap” talks about how certain parts of this tragedy were covered up. The cover up is geared toward making airlines more affordable to the public. Since the airlines were trying to beat their competition with lesser fares, they spent less time on safety then they should have. Stories like this are set up to get the public be aware that not all things are perfect on the outside and to question everything.
Marijane Weitensteiner
ReplyDeleteT/Th 1:40pm Class
An investigative story is different than a feature/ordinary story is that a reporter has to be true to all of the sources and not express your personal views. You also need to be true to all of the facts that you have, this includes interviews, reports and other information. Most of this information has to be gathered either from the internet, library, phone calls or by footwork. You also need to make sure that you not only give credit those that you have gotten the information from but back up the interviews with hard evidence. Also in an investigative reporting is to look beyond the story that is in the forefront and focus on what is the story behind the story. This is exceptionally illustrated in the Frontline episode "Flying Cheap" in which the first story is the crash of Continental Flight 3407 and the investigative story is what was behind the flight's catostrophic crash. The show illustrates that the crash could have been prevented and whom the tragedy has effected. The interviews and the reports/other information that the reporter was able to attain enforces the thoughts and how the airline enterprise have covered up the corners that they cut in order to make themselves cheaper in order to gain more customers without any thought to the safety of their passengers. Such reports are done to make the public aware of what is going on behind the scenes, that not every is as it first seems, not to judge a book by its cover no matter what the subject, and that you need to question everything especially when it comes for their safety.
Hi
ReplyDeleteI like this post:
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