I have long thought that journalists are too timid about telling stories in the first person. I noted a year ago that one of the best stories of my career was not published because it was a first-person account.
Columnists get away with writing in the first person, and I’m glad my colleague Jeff Edelstein of the Trentonian had the courage and honesty to tell the story of falling asleep at the wheel with his son in the car.
I hope other journalists with powerful personal stories to tell don’t let our reticence about first-person journalism keep them from telling the stories. And when they tell them, I hope our editors have the good sense to publish them. What are some other outstanding examples of first-person journalism? I’d be happy to share some links here.
I don’t have a reluctance to share personal stories, but I have had editors who hated the idea. Here’s a piece I did for Patch and it’s no coincidence that it was one of the last articles I did for them:
http://applevalley-rosemount.patch.com/articles/a-personal-reminder-that-april-is-autism-awareness-month
I’m a big fan of stories that tell a story by combining some reporting with a more personal approach to the subject.
This is one of the pieces I’m most proud of writing:
http://www.examiner.com/article/ten-years-later-a-burnsville-woman-wrestles-with-the-consequences-of-choice
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Why are the people in the background of the Edelstein picture blurred? Who made the decision to do that?
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I hadn’t noticed that, Mark. I don’t know. It’s Jeff’s Facebook profile photo.
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I think the attraction of the blog is that it’s not only OK to write in the first person; your readers kind of expect it. Still, for a graduate of the Old School, it always feels self-indulgent. Wonderfully so.
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