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Making News Personal Case Study Here are four different first paragraphs for a story about a social issue: a refugee case in Canada complicated by the practice of female circumcision in Nigeria. Each represents a different approach to covering the story, using a different format. The first is a news story about an announcement: Immigration Canada announced Wednesday that a Nigerian refugee who has spent seven years in Montreal will be granted refugee status. Luzy Nasharo, 38, won her appeal to stay with her 7-year-old Canadian-born daughter, Hester, said Nancy Castillo, spokesman for Citizenship and Immigration Canada. Although Nasharo has no memory of a village elder circumcising her in her native Nigeria, she feared the same fate befalling her daughter if she were deported and returned with Hester, who is the subject of a court order allowing her to remain in Canada. This feature approach on the hard news gives the reader more of the flavor of the refugee’s story and struggle: Just a day after a Nigerian refugee and 20 members of the Montreal Coalition Against Poverty stormed two immigration offices, the appeal to halt her deportation was granted. “Thank you for the opportunity to contribute to this wonderful country,” said a teary Luzy Nasharo, 38, after hearing she had won her appeal to stay with her Canadian-born 7-year-old daughter. This version takes a profile approach, from the perspective of an interview with the refugee and her daughter, the main characters in the story: All day long at her Catholic school, 7-year-old Hester Nasharo prayed silently with one thought on her mind. “I said, ‘God please let us stay in the country’ and it did work,” the girl said Wednesday. International Center for Journalists
Case Study After school, Hester’s mother, Luzy Nasharo, who was to have been deported to Nigeria, told her daughter the good news. “I told her they want us to stay in Canada,” Nasharo said. “She said, ‘God, thank you so much, my wish came true.’” Nasharo, 38, and her Canadian-born daughter had been dreading having to abandon their lives here. The single mother is a failed refugee claimant. She said she feared returning home with Hester because female genital mutilation is routinely performed on girls in her native Edo state. This version tells the story by exploring the issue at the heart of the refugee’s appeal. In this story, the refugee personifies the issue. The decision about her case is not the main thrust of the story. In some African cultures, female circumcision is seen as a way to curb sexual promiscuity. In the face of long-held tradition and custom, new laws on the books have had little success in doing away with the practice. The practice in Nigeria and current laws have become part of a very public immigration case, as a Nigerian woman seeking to remain in Canada appealed that her return would jeopardize her 7-year-old daughter. Luzy Nasharo, 38, argued that as a single mother, she would have no choice but to live with her elderly and traditional father if she returned to Nigeria. She said her father and community elders would demand that the little girl undergo the procedure, particularly since Hester was born out of wedlock. A 2003 report by the World Health Organization estimated that about 60 percent of Nigeria’s female population has endured female genital mutilation. The report says that according to local experts, the “actual prevalence may be as high as 100 percent in some ethnic enclaves in the south,” which includes Edo State, which is Nasharo’s home. 36
Page 1 and 2: Making News Personal Covering Human
Page 3 and 4: Contents 1 Preface 4 Introduction 6
Page 5 and 6: Preface Why are our schools turning
Page 7 and 8: Introduction Introduction Don’t P
Page 9 and 10: Getting Started Getting Started Whe
Page 11 and 12: Getting Started some of the key iss
Page 13 and 14: On the Beat On the beat A social is
Page 15 and 16: Cultivating Sources Cultivating Sou
Page 17 and 18: Cultivating Sources • Maintain th
Page 19 and 20: Exercise Exercise You are pursuing
Page 21 and 22: Developing Story Ideas Developing S
Page 23 and 24: Story Ideas: Going Beneath the Surf
Page 25 and 26: Story Ideas: Going Beneath the Surf
Page 27 and 28: Avoiding Stereotypes Avoiding Stere
Page 29 and 30: Avoiding Stereotypes Part of recogn
Page 31 and 32: Case Study: Roma War in Szentpal Th
Page 33 and 34: Conducting Interviews Conducting In
Page 35 and 36: Conducting Interviews most, so it i
Page 37 and 38: Asking the Questions Asking the Que
Page 39: Choosing a Format for the Story app
Page 43 and 44: Finding Documents • Consulting wi
Page 45 and 46: Finding Documents Online UNESCO Ins
Page 47 and 48: Using Statistics which level it dec
Page 49 and 50: Moving Beyond Words Moving Beyond W
Page 51 and 52: Moving Beyond Words static and bori
Page 53 and 54: Following Up Following Up Once you
Page 55 and 56: Conclusion Conclusion Social issues

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