Opening Doors of Communication with Sources

We’re taught as journalists not to get too close to our sources. The story, after all, is about them, not about us. But I’ve always thought there’s an inherent tension here. When writing a story about someone, particularly for a profile or a feature, you often need to learn about the person’s past and what led them to where they are now. Sometimes, if you’re lucky, you end up shadowing sources for days or weeks to get to know them on a level that brings their personality and life story to the surface.
When you don’t have days or weeks to shadow someone, it helps to find a nugget of information that connects you to a person. Let’s say you’re writing a story about a soon-to-be mom. Maybe, then, it’s a matter of sharing stories about your own kids or about your experiences with children. If you’re writing a crime story and want to interview the family members of someone who has just died, sometimes a simple, but genuine, “I’m so sorry for your loss” can help break communication barrriers. 
Recently, I wanted to find a way to connect with a local artists I was interviewing named Charles William. I knew I would have to ask Charles some tough questions about the time he spent on the streets before he started selling art, so I wanted to find a connecting point. Early on in the interview, Charles mentioned that he’s a Gemini. I seized this moment to tell him that I’m a Gemini, too. We talked for a few minutes about our astrological sign, and his whole demeanor changed. He laughed when we talked about Geminis having dual personalities, and he started to share more his story with me. It was just a small nugget of information that helped open our lines of communication, but it was enough.

Blogging from the Tejano Music Convention

I’ve learned a lot this past weekend about Tejano (Spanish-Texan) music and the musicians who play it. For the past couple of days I’ve attended various events at the national Tejano Music National Convention, which draws Tejanos from around the country. Yesterday I even took a Tejano dance class, which I loved. I think I’m still dizzy from all the spinning.

The Tejano music I danced to had a lot of accordion sounds in it, which is typical of Tejano tunes. Tejano music started off as grassroots music and then rose to stardom status with singers like Selena. In some senses, it has returned to being grassroots music. Many have said that Tejano music “died” with the passing of Selena, but the musicians I talked to this weekend said that’s just not true. They acknowledged that Tejano music is struggling, but said it can be a lucrative business and that in many respects, it’s still “alive and well.” What’s lacking, they said, are Tejano music radio stations.

My colleague, Mario Tarradell, and I have been blogging about some of these issues from the convention for The Dallas Morning News‘ music blog. Click here to read our posts.

More from the Ballet Beat

Throughout the past couple of weeks, I’ve sort of just found my way onto the ballet beat. I wrote one story about the Texas Ballet Theater, then continued to follow the stories that came from it. The latest story I wrote, which ran in today’s paper, is about the theater needing to raise $1 million to $1.5 million in 60 days. If the theater doesn’t raise the money, it will go bankrupt. Click here to read the story:

Threatened by bankruptcy, the Texas Ballet Theater must raise $1 million to $1.5 million within the next 60 days or it will be forced to close.

Suzanne Charriere, president of the board of directors, says the theater currently owes about $800,000 for bills and has been unable to pay the costs needed to stay in business. It is three months overdue on rent, for instance, and owes $150,000 to Bass Performance Hall in Fort Worth where the company regularly performs.

“Everything just kind of snowballed,” Ms. Charriere says. “We’re just living from one payroll to the next and not getting enough money.”

Ms. Charriere cites several reasons for the company’s financial woes. One of the Texas Ballet Theater’s longtime donors who gave $1 million to the company each year, she says, stopped donating two years ago because of personal reasons. The company has also been without a development director after eliminating the position three years ago. To help raise money, the company is organizing a “Save the Ballet” campaign, the details of which are still being discussed.

[READ MORE …]

Not a Mom, but a Proud Daughter

The first day I went on an assignment in Dallas, I was mistaken for a high schooler. Three weeks later, I was mistaken for a mom.

“Hi, welcome! Are you a mom?” a woman with a long blonde pony tail asked me Thursday night.

“Oh no, I’m just here for the ‘Girls’ Night Out,’ pottery event,” I said.

I had signed up for the event a couple of weeks earlier, not knowing that on this particular night a local mom who started a new Web site for mothers was throwing a promotional party for the site. Moms were everywhere — pregnant moms, new moms, moms and their daughters. The irony of being a motherless daughter at an event catered toward mothers and daughters engulfed me. But I tried my best to swim with the tide.

I’m captivated by the idea of motherhood and the ways that mother-daughter relationships shape a woman’s life, so I naturally gravitated toward the maternal figures in the room. As I half-laughed while listening to the Michael Buble CD playing in the background, I overheard conversations that went something like this:

“I’m due next Wednesday. I can’t believe it.”

“Girl, you look good for being due in a week!”

….

“My youngest one keeps throwing tantrums. Is that normal? When is she going to stop?”

“Oh yeah. My daughter threw them a lot when she was your daughter’s age. She’ll outgrow it.”

…

“Mom, which colors do you think I should pick?”

“Ooo, look at this periwinkle blue. It would match your room.”

…

Conversations I look forward to someday having, or that I once had and desperately miss.

Painting pottery never felt so therapeutic. Brush stroke after brush stroke, I thought about my mom and how she probably would have looked in the paper and found out about the mother-daughter themed “Girls’ Night Out.” Mom always looked in the paper for yard sales and free events. Circle after circle, she’d mark them with her big yellow highlighter and plan our weekend of fun, day by day.

I wondered what she would have painted at the pottery place, what she would have thought of the periwinkle, lilac and sea-foam green color scheme I had chosen. One of the moms near me wondered what I was painting. She peered over my shoulder, told me she liked my floral design, and said it seemed as though I must paint a lot. Far from it. Comforted by her compliment, I finished painting and left.

When I came home, there was a package on my bed from someone who I look to as a maternal figure. Inside was a necklace with the message “We all shine differently” etched into it, and a handwritten note reminding me that I am “loved and missed.” It couldn’t have been a better time to receive such a special present. For me, the gift was reminder enough that no matter how much we lose in life, there’s much to be gained.

I’m not a high schooler or a mom. But I am a proud daughter, and always will be.

Texas Ballet Can’t Make It to China

The Texas Ballet Theater raised $21,200 after my article ran last Saturday, but the extra money wasn’t enough. On Wednesday, the dance company announced that it was forced to cancel its trip to China after falling $50,000 short of the money it needed to go on the trip. You can read my follow-up story here:

The Texas Ballet Theater on Wednesday canceled its trip to the China Shanghai International Arts Festival after falling more than $50,000 short in its effort to raise last-minute funding.

For two years, the company had planned to attend the arts festival, where it was scheduled to perform a full-length production of Cleopatra on Oct. 29-30. The company ran into difficulties in the last several months, however, after Texas Ballet Theater officials say they learned from Chinese arts festival leaders that certain costs could not be covered as planned.

These costs included the shipping of scenery within China, flooring material the dancers needed to perform and the cost of sending a conductor to China to make a recording for Cleopatra. Dance company officials said they believe the Olympics were to blame for the financial problems.

[READ MORE …]

Round-up of Weekend Road Trip

My roommate, Jessica, and I at the Alamo.
Me and my roommate, Jessica, at the Alamo.

I took a road trip with friends last weekend to San Antonio and Austin, where I experienced the Alamo, nightlife on Sixth Street, and the equivalent of a giant Mexican McDonald’s.

During our first night in San Antonio we went to Chachuo’s and Chalucci’s, a huge Mexican restaurant that’s open 24 hours a day. The restaurant even has a karaoke bar. If I hadn’t been so tired when we arrived at the restaurant at 12:30 a.m., I would have gotten behind the mic.

The next day we went to the Riverwalk and the Alamo. The Alamo is a lot smaller than I thought it would be, and it’s right in the middle of downtown. I expected it to be set back somewhere away from the hustle and bustle of city life.

Before heading an hour north to Austin, we went to a barbecue restaurant called The Salt Lick. You have to drive on long, winding roads to get to the restaurant, which is in a little middle-of-nowhere town called Driftwood. I never expected to find such a huge restaurant hidden there among the hills.

I’m not a big fan of barbecue, so I mostly ate the pickles and warm bread that came with the main meal, along with some blueberry cobbler and vanilla ice cream for dessert. I enjoyed the atmosphere more than the food. You can bring your own coolers to the restaurant, and you can sit outside and listen to music or sit inside where you’re less likely to keel over from a heat stroke.

We headed to Austin after satisfying our barbecue cravings and then went out on Sixth Street, where young club-goers and bar hoppers come out to play. We gravitated toward the bars with live music and rooftop access. I loved walking along the street, which reminded me of Bourbon Street, but with fewer people. While in Austin, we also visited the University of Texas’ campus and toured the Capitol. I’d recommend both.

I went to Forth Worth last Friday for a story but still haven’t gotten to experience the downtown life there yet. I hear it’s more authentic than Dallas in terms of its Texas identity: think cowboys, the rodeo, etc.

Next on my list of cities to visit: Houston.

Waking up for a Morning Run

Waking up is hard to do. It’s even harder when you’re not a morning person and you know you have to go for a run right after the alarm rings.

7:56 a.m. Four more minutes.

8 a.m. Snooze.

8:09 a.m. I pull back the curtain, hoping it’s raining outside so I’ll have an excuse not to run.

No such luck.

I’ve been a runner for years, mostly in the Northeast, and have grown accustomed to running outside in the early evening. Since moving to Dallas last month, though, I’ve found it’s too hot to run outside. I’m not willing to drop the money for a gym membership just yet, so I decided to try running in the morning. Doing so means changing how I live my day-to-day life. No more running after work. No more staying up until 2 or 3 a.m. No more sleeping in.

After four days of failed attempts to get up early and run, I crawled out of bed recently at 8:10 a.m., put in my contacts, quickly got dressed before I could change my mind, and stepped outside into the morning light.

Surprisingly, I felt strong when running and didn’t have to slow down, stretch, or “tie my shoelaces,” a.k.a. look for an excuse to stop running. Aside from barking dogs and the occasional car radio, the streets echoed a tale of silence. I turned my focus to the rhythm of my running and the beat of my feet. After about three miles, I made it home. Maybe waking up early and running isn’t so hard to do. We’ll just have to wait and see if I still feel the same way tomorrow.

Check out a related blog post I wrote for The Dallas Morning News’ fitness blog.

How do you motivate yourself to get up early and run?

Star-Struck in Dallas, Just Not By the Right Kind of Stars

Stars on the ceiling of Mi Tierra Cafe in San Antonio
Stars on the ceiling of Mi Tierra Cafe in San Antonio

I keep seeing stars. They’re everywhere in Dallas — on flags, ceilings, floors, doorknobs and door hinges.

But good luck finding one in the sky.

Now, I’m sure Dallas does have stars, but I didn’t see any tonight. While sitting on the stairs outside the house I’m staying in, I looked up and saw a black canvas painted across a starless city sky. I wanted to see a sky of glow-in-the-dark treasures, wanted to look up and gaze at them from my stoop. But blackness alone stared back at me.

Amidst all the glitz and glamour of cities, where movie stars come out to play, the most beautiful stars of all seep into secrecy. The city lights disguise them, and all you’re left with are the lights from an airplane, a skyscraper or a blinding billboard.

I suppose the lone, imitation stars I see in Dallas will have to do for now. In the meantime, I’ll keep gazing and hoping for a real star.

When a Story Takes A Different Path

When I started my internship at The Dallas Morning News, I compiled a story idea list. At the top of the list was a story about the Texas Ballet Theater’s invitation to perform at the China Shanghai International Arts Festival on Oct. 23. Originally, I had planned to write a story about the trip itself, but then soon found out that the dance company’s trip might be jeopardized. The story ended up having more of a news peg to it, the focus being that the company needs to raise $75,000 by next Wednesday or it can’t go to China.

The story served as a reminder that, despite how much pre-reporting you do, stories have legs and will often run in different, unexpected directions. Good thing I had my running shoes on.

Click here to read the story:

Texas Ballet Theater has spent two years preparing for its trip to the China Shanghai International Arts Festival, where the troupe’s dancers are scheduled to perform a full-length production of Cleopatra on Oct. 29 and Oct. 30.

But the trip is in jeopardy. According to the dance company, leaders of the Chinese arts festival have told them throughout the past few months that certain costs cannot be covered at this point.

Now the troupe is scrambling to raise a minimum of $75,000 for the trip, and it has only until Wednesday to do so.

[READ MORE …]

Day Trip to the Latino Cultural Center

I’ve always been fascinated by the Hispanic culture. It all started when at age 14 I got a job working at Market Basket, a grocery store in Framingham, Mass., that attracts predominantly Spanish-speaking customers and employees. My fascination grew in college when I majored in Spanish and then went on to study in Sevilla for seven weeks the summer before my junior year.

So when my editor asked where I wanted to go for a day trip as part of an “On the Town” feature for The Dallas Morning News, I told her I’d been wanting to check out the Latino Cultural Center here in Dallas. Now that I’ve been once, I want to go back again to admire the artwork, watch Spanish films that the center regularly shows, and practice speaking Spanish. You can find out more about my adventures at the center and at Monica’s Aca y Alla restaurant in this light feature I wrote for today’s paper:

Some places I visit beckon me to come back. The Latino Cultural Center is one of them. After visiting the center for the first time last week, I can’t help but want to return to the oasis of Hispanic culture, where art lives on the walls, on the ceilings and in the shadows.

The center, which was designed by architect Ricardo Legorreta and is approaching its fifth anniversary, features a tower, fountain, portico and plaza. Orange and purple hues dominate the building’s exterior. Inside, the people who work there seem just as personable as the building is colorful. The center’s office assistant, Nellie Ortez, sat by the entrance and greeted visitors with a smile and a cheerful hello. Even before finding out we were reporters, she handed my colleague and me packets about the center and offered to take us on a personal tour of the building.

Ms. Ortez showed us the various pieces of art in the center, including a fiberglass eagle crafted by Luis Jiménez. Behind the eagle, shadows fall. Every shadow has a story, Ms. Ortez says, pointing out that the architect intended for each of the center’s shadows to form a different shape depending on the time of day.

Just beyond the eagle lies a trove of artwork in the fifth annual “Hecho en Dallas/Made in Dallas” exhibit, which runs through Aug. 30.

[READ MORE …]

Writing reviews has been a good lesson in learning how to experiment with different types of writing. Normally, I like writing news stories about people, not about restaurants or shops. I found in writing this piece, though, that there are lots of ways to work people into reviews. I knew, for instance, that I couldn’t portray an accurate picture of the Latino Cultural Center without including a few lines about the center’s office assistant, Nellie Ortez. She told the story behind the place and therefore became part of the place’s story.

I’ve been working on a few other stories this week, so stay tuned for more links and for tips I learned during the reporting process.