Name: This play is about local news, and it's not exactly a tragedy - Poynter
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This play is about local news, and it's not exactly a tragedy - Poynter

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For 10 days, two playwrights locked themselves into a room to create a play about local journalism. It would have five acts, two actors and tell the story of one local newsroom. “And we came to a beautiful conclusion about how important journalism is and how it matters,” said Janielle Kastner. There was just one thing missing – a big bad moment. Kastner and Brigham Mosley knew that in act four, something would happen. But in those 10 days, they hadn’t quite figured it out. The two finished their first draft in a play they created after embedding at The Dallas Morning News. One month later, that newspaper , about half from the newsroom. “And we had this moment of, well, that’s our big bad; what do we do?’” Kastner said. They realized that for all they’d learned – what local journalism is, how it works, who performs it, why it matters – the story itself was a lot more complex. Two and a half years after they started, more than a year after the layoffs, is ready for the stage. And the two playwrights who thought they’d be telling the story of one local newsroom discovered there’s actually a much bigger story to tell. The playwrights met with several reporters, including city hall reporter Hayat Norimine. She told them about a meeting she’d covered where officials to several offices that provide social services. Then, Norimine wrote about it. A month later, the council . “Several members of the public also urged the council throughout the process to focus on tackling poverty in Dallas and criticized the elected officials for considering cuts to proposed budgets for social service offices,” she wrote. It was an up close look inside one of the quiet moments when decisions are made that impact people in her community, Kastner said, and the difference when a reporter is there to tell people what happened. “I just didn’t realize it was that specific and that minute.” The first half of Kastner and Mosley’s play explores the basics the two learned about news. “It’s like a ‘Sesame Street’ sort of understanding of basic shapes and colors,” Mosley said. It’s a neat, clean journey that leads to how the two felt after embedding at their local paper– informed, empowered, proud. It ends in a moment of lights and sound, Kastner said. “And then that’s when the chorus announces that The Dallas Morning News has laid off 40-something folks.” Act two might feel a lot like reality for many local journalists and people who care about local news – what happens next? Why do these jobs and why does this work matter? Who decides what’s true? Why don’t newsrooms look like the communities they cover? How does this become sustainable? How can people keep caring about everything that happens in their community? When Kastner started the process of writing “Playwrights in the Newsroom,” she thought a lot about the privilege of fiction. She can create scenes that didn’t happen to show what did. She can convey a message without the 20-minute conversation it took to get there. But after the layoffs, as she and Mosley discovered the complications local newsrooms and communities face, that tension “felt more like a responsibility than a privilege,” she said. And the whole process changed how both playwrights understand the news itself. Before starting this project, Mosley got most of his news from BuzzFeed and Weekend Update on “Saturday Night Live.” Kastner realized that when people talk about “the news,” they mean broadcast news. And while she reads national writers on things she cares about, “what local news is doing is different than that.” Their process shows that smart, engaged people don’t know or understand what journalists do, the Morning News’ Huang said. “We assume because we’re immersed in it that citizens know and value what we do, but it’s not true.” Most people don’t know journalists or go into newsrooms. They think it’s this monolithic thing with an agenda, he said. “They don’t realize it’s just real people who are trying to make the best decisions they can every day.” When the two playwrights started spending time at their local newspaper, they asked some of the journalists there the same question – what happens if this fails? The younger journalists figured they’d maybe write a book or move on to something else. But the veteran journalists had the same response. “And the answer was always ‘democracy fails and corruption flourishes,’” Mosley said. It seemed a little extreme the first time they heard it. “We were babies then,” he said. “But the deeper you dig and the more you learn, that’s exactly what it is.” ” runs March 5-15 at the AT&amp;T Performing Arts Center in Dallas. Huang hopes that other local newsrooms will be inspired to invite the community in to help tell their stories. And yes, the playwrights are now also Dallas Morning News subscribers. Kastner subscribed in the first week. She doesn’t read the news every day, but that’s not what she’s paying for, she said. “I’m paying for a woman named Hayat to go sit in a room and make sure that if something happens to affect the actual bodies of people in my community, I will know about it.” Mosley subscribed in the first month. He was on a tight budget at the time, he said, and had to decide between subscribing to his local paper or staying with Weight Watchers. “And I chose The Dallas Morning News.” Kristen Hare covers the transformation of local news for Poynter.org and writes a weekly newsletter on the transformation of local news. Want to be part of the conversation? You can subscribe. Kristen can be reached at khare@poynter.org or on Twitter atSupport high-integrity, independent journalism that serves democracy. Make a gift to Poynter today. The Poynter Institute is a nonpartisan, nonprofit organization, and your gift helps us make good journalism better.Tags: ,The New York Times bought The Athletic for $550 million in January and is looking for a return on its hefty investment.The NYT reporter's book includes an eyebrow-raising quote from Trump about not leaving the White House. 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For 10 days, two playwrights locked themselves into a room to create a play about local journalism. It would have five acts, two actors and tell the story of one local newsroom. “And we came to a beautiful conclusion about how important journalism is and how it matters,” said Janielle Kastner. There was just one thing missing – a big bad moment. Kastner and Brigham Mosley knew that in act four, something would happen. But in those 10 days, they hadn’t quite figured it out. The two finished their first draft in a play they created after embedding at The Dallas Morning News. One month later,...

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I teach critical skills for local news and work/life chemistry @Poynter, write obits for @TB_Times, author of 100 Things Tampa Bay, she/her, khare@poynter.org

Kristen Hare

School for journalism and democracy, with tweets by @itsren, @kristenhare, @TomWJones and @angelanfu. Contact: info@poynter.org / 727-821-9494

This play is about local news, and it's not exactly a tragedy - Poynter

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