Make It Memorable

Bob Dotson, Special Correspondent for the NBC Today show, has more than forty years of experience in the field of broadcast journalism. His long running “American Story” segment is one of the most honored series in network television history, winning more than 100 awards, including eight Emmys. In addition, Dotson has received more than seventy awards, including six Edward R. Murrow Awards for “Best Network News Writing”, the top journalism awards from both DuPont-Columbia and the Robert F. Kennedy Foundation, numerous National Headliner Awards and “the highest honor in the field of photojournalism,” the Sprague Memorial Citation from the National Press Photographers Association. He is also recipient of the William Allen White Foundation’s 2015 National Citation for long-standing journalistic excellence in service to the profession and community.

Chapter 1: How to Become a Storyteller
Reporting vs. Storytelling
The Rule of Threes and Filling the Silence
The Question That is Not a Question
Script #1: Lives Lost
The Most Important Thing You Should Do Before an Interview
The Best Thing You Can Do After an Interview
How to Quickly Write a Good Opening Line
Chapter 2: The Game of What If?
Hey. You. See. So.
Script #2: Pops Dream
Surprises
Script #3: Farm to Fame
Humor
Structuring a Visual Story
Planning Notes for YouTube Star Segment
What Went on the Cutting Room Floor
Script #4: YouTube Star
Chapter 3: Getting Started
Look for Different Ways to Tell Your Story
Script #5: Found Art
Find a Strong Central Character
Script #6: Park Avenue Peeler
Find Interesting Stories and People to Interview, Even When Time and Money are Tight
Script #7: Living Ghost Town
Chapter 4: I’m Sorry This Story Is So Long. I Didn’t Have Time to Write a Short One.
Pictures Come First
Write the Middle of Your Story Next
Ask Yourself, “What Does This Mean?”
Don’t Throw Away Thoughts
Script #8: Cave Rescue
Highlight a Story’s Natural Drama
Working Fast
Script #9: Ruby Bridges
Scene Setting
Foreshadowing
Conflict
Character Growth
Resolution
Put Stories into Context
Chapter 5: The Building Blocks of a Story
Words
Video
Silence
Natural Sound
Sound Bites
Reporter On-Camera Stand-Up
Graphics
Script #10: Pearl Harbor’s Untold Story
Editing Stories
Chapter 6: A Survival Kit for Professional Storytellers in the Social Media Age
The “So What” Test
“One Thing is Certain . . .”
You Are Not the Story
It’s Video Folks, Not the Movies
Be Conversational
Gobbledygook and Clichés
Active Voice
Write in Threes
How to End a Story
Car Wars
A Final Thought
Appendix: Reporter’s Checklist
Glossary of Script Cues
Acknowledgments
Index
About the Author