ABSTRACT
In this chapter, we discuss the vital elements of story development that are special to magazine articles. In essence, as experienced hands have attested, there are two broad areas of research consideration: documents and voice. With documents, we discuss the importance of reviewing all published material pertaining to your assigned subject matter (newspaper and magazine articles, scholarly works, books and online entries, blogs and public comments). How much background information is enough? What is too much? Ultimately, we consider what is crucial to the particular story being produced. And, as we will show, everything depends on the nature of the magazine and the expectations of the audience, as well as the scope of the story. The bottom line is that the research should be as narrowly drawn as the angle, as focused as the target audience, and as extensive as necessary to cover the subject matter thoroughly. We will show how important it is to begin the research process even before drafting the query and certainly before the first interview is scheduled. Voice is where the interview material is considered first. Here, we will show contributors the importance of obtaining both expert opinion for factual context, and personal stories for illustration. Not only does voice help to humanize the subject matter, according to industry observers, but it also helps to show what all the background information actually means—through interpretation and by way of example. That is why, as we will discuss, magazine interviews must be immersive and can Learning Objectives
The two types of focused research needed to write strong stories.
How to determine the amount of background needed to conduct interviews.
How to approach the interview process with different types of interview subjects.
How to determine the proper weight to give to background research for particular magazine audiences.
How to begin thinking about the presentation of research and interviews in dynamic magazine stories.
