Knowing Your Story

I started work today as a photojournalist for The Cape Times in South Africa. Within the first two hours of being in the office, I already had a job—to make a photograph at a pre-primary school whose lease for the building runs out at the end of the school year. But as an intern from the United States, what do I know about what makes the best photograph for a story in South Africa?

In Cape Town, even though stories about American government and politics frequently make the news, the American primaries do not occupy front page real estate (of course). Instead, the big stories are about refugee camps and the recent exodus into South Africa.

To get the full, nuanced story, reporters need to stay in one place for a long time. News sources are bowing to the demands of the instant information age. Readers expect to be able to see a story posted within moments of an event happening. But how do reporters unfamiliar with an area adequately report a story within minutes of arriving? It takes a special understanding of a place to get the story.

Sitting in the newsroom and hearing photographers talk about their recent assignments, this all became clear. It is hard to know if you have the full story even if you live in the place you're reporting on. It's even more difficult to come in as a stranger and get the whole story.

It is impossible to adequately cover all the news in the world, so how do editors decide what takes precedence in the newspaper. More importantly, how do wire services decide what to cover?

—Anna, Five Wire Editor
Cape Town, South Africa