Good reporting on individual communities

February 25, 2024 12:29 PM

For a section on journalism, I would like to have my 12th grade English students read compelling, well-written portraits of communities. Ideally, they would combine on-the-ground reporting and factual background. They could be neighborhoods, religious communities, communities of interest, what have you.

The inspiration is Peter Santanello's YouTube channel, in which he visits communities and does on-the-ground interviews. I'm going to ask the students to use his interviews as a sort of primary source and add their own research to build full-length portraits of communities. So, for example, Chicago's South Side, or rural Appalachia, or The Villages in Florida, and so on.

I would just like students to read good reporting to get a feel for how quoting works, and how to incorporate factual information.

Thanks.

posted by argybarg to Writing & Language (12 answers total)

This is a nice recent series from the nonprofit newsroom here in Oakland, CA: Is downtown Oakland working? In particular, I like this one as an example of combining city records and interviews to answer a question that locals were asking: Who lives in downtown Oakland’s shiny new apartment towers?
posted by dreamyshade at 1:13 PM on February 25

John Harris in the Guardian has done some good portraits of places. Wisbech, Kirkcaldy, Hoyerswerda. These are all more than ten years old, if that matters, though there may be some more recent ones buried in his journalism.
posted by paduasoy at 3:51 PM on February 25

Eli Saslow does amazing portraits of people and places. You can find many of his articles here and here.
posted by Mr.Know-it-some at 4:06 PM on February 25 [1 favorite]

The Guardian has run a few pieces on cohousing recently:

‘Everybody looks after each other!’ Fifty years of the commune that began with a Guardian ad

‘We just held hands and jumped!’ How one of Britain’s happiest, healthiest communes was built

‘We have brothers, sons, lovers – but they can’t live here!’ The happy home shared by 26 women
posted by goo at 4:41 PM on February 25 [1 favorite]

I would just keep in mind that Santanello’s videos, many of which I have enjoyed, are not exactly journalism. He does ask leading questions in a number of them and also makes a lot of choices around who to interview, which contribute to a libertarian focus. It’s pretty subtle for a youth crowd so you may want to make sure you ask them to delve into that in their extension research. See discussion here and here. Remember that journalism is not just recording what people say.

I would recommend Diana Marcum’s Pulitzer Prize-winning series

Inside Ukraine’s Wartime Salons

The Last Lighthouse Keeper in America
posted by warriorqueen at 5:03 PM on February 25 [2 favorites]

Response by poster: Oh, Santanello gets up my nose for sure. I've been a journalist; I can handle that part and in fact it's part of the curriculum. But we live in an isolated community and any rigorous engagement (on our part, not necessarily on Santanello's) with another world is a good exercise.

Thanks for the recommendations so far.
posted by argybarg at 5:21 PM on February 25 [1 favorite]

It's not journalism, but if you're looking for some video to counter the libertarian-bent videos you mentioned (I'm taking posters at their words, as I've never watched the videos mentioned), you may want to take a look at CBC's Still Standing series (assuming you can view it where you live). The host is a comedian but a very sympathetic one who tours small and tiny and remote towns in Canada, interviews the locals, delves into their histories and looks at what's being done to build their futures.
posted by sardonyx at 7:11 PM on February 25

There's a book, A Libertarian walks into a Bear, about Grafton, NH that may be of interest. Here's a review
posted by MadMadam at 2:01 AM on February 26

Worcester Sucks and I love It is fantastic (though it sometimes leans quite editorial, there's definitely a range) and also linked with the new Rewind Video store, which hosts "open newsroom" events and does other work that might be of interest.
posted by dizziest at 7:51 AM on February 26

Canopy Atlanta does really interesting journalism in neighborhoods around metro Atlanta that aren't well-served by the main daily news sources. Each issue is about a specific community and they train (and pay!) residents to identify and report stories of interest to their community. The South DeKalb issue has a particularly fascinating article from a reporter who tried, and failed, to get on-the-record local perspectives about the Cop City training center development (previously on the blue).

Sonam Vashi, one of the co-founders, writes 285 South, a newsletter that focuses on immigrant and refugee communities around Atlanta.
posted by fifthpocket at 11:47 AM on February 26

I don't think this is quite what you want, but George Orwell's essays are kind of like that. On the ground, real experience, and sometimes background/context/history.

I think this might not work because a lot of it is subjective and more like journal entries. But a lot could work because he talks about different communities, is a very good writer, and has the POV of an outsider sometimes.
posted by Snowishberlin at 7:55 AM on February 27

I'm not sure if this is exactly what you're looking for, but this article on Hutterite women playing hockey is an excellent portrait of a particular team that's part of a particular Hutterite community.
posted by epj at 2:57 PM on February 27