My dear Time editor told me that part of what I should be doing during this internship is looking for story ideas that he – or hopefully, I – can pitch to the bigwigs in New York. I’ve been seeking inspiration in tiny publications and larger ones; from Al’s Morning Meeting on Poynter to Facebook notes left by friends. But I learned from Glenn Proctor at the RTD that the biggest help I can give to a publication in finding stories is to be myself.
“You’re a young, black, female,” Proctor said gruffly during our first meeting, right at the start of my internship. “Work with that. Use that. We don’t have that here. Show us how to get it.”
When I heard that, it made real sense to me: use who I am to develop unique story ideas. If I’m unique, the topics and subjects I could come up with would, in turn, be unique. But how exactly do I tap into me? How do I transform what I’m doing and who I am into something that a large audience would want to read?
I’m still figuring that out. But my editor here at Time told me that good magazine stories and featurettes can come from exploring what I’m doing, what my friends are doing, who we’re doing (just kidding). Taking that to heart, this is the best thing I can come up with (for now, anyway):
• Getting married young – or marrying young in the military. Maybe it’s the fact that I went to school in Mississippi, but I have probably 10 friends and friends of friends who are engaged or already married. I also have friends who entered the armed forces around 18 and got married before they could legally take a sip of alcohol. I’ve done a little research, and it appears people aren’t really marrying young anymore – they’re getting married older than over. So what’s up with my friends? Sure, part of it is because they’ve had babies and marriage is the next step, but for so many others it must be about…love? Or is it the social custom and stability of marriage that is so attractive? And why are there so few young, black people making this commitment to each other? With the exception of those in the military, the only engaged-married couples I know happen to be white.
I’ve thought about this topic and talked it over with my friends many, many times over the course of the last few months. Maybe other people out there are curious too?
Posted by journofile 