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Fernanda Santos Profile picture
@ByFernandaS
Feb 13, 2018 • 10 tweets • 7 min read • Read on X
My longform narrative students are listening to @valfernandez, winner of the inaugural American Mosaic Award by @HSFdn — and my good friend, talk about cultivating sources and negotiating tough interviews. I’ll tweet some highlights. Follow along. #longform @Cronkite_ASU
Reporting is about connections. Keep phone numbers of people who seem interesting to you, even if they aren’t interesting for the story you’re working on. They will likely be helpful somewhere down the line. #longform @Cronkite_ASU
As a freelancer, it’s important to have a stable of fresh stories. “Pin your ideas on the wall and follow your gut.” Even if your editors don’t see the story, follow it if you believe in the story. #longform @Cronkite_ASU
Valeria first heard about mental-health issues among Central Americans migrants from a woman she met in waiting room of a lawyer’s office in 2014. Her story came out in 2017. #longform @Cronkite_ASU phoenixnewtimes.com/news/saras-dem…
Keep in touch w/ your sources after the story comes out. They can lead you to other stories. Valeria’s piece about the Central American woman w/ mental health problems came from contacts developed while reporting on this piece:
pri.org/stories/2016-0… #longform @Cronkite_ASU
Unplug your preconceptions and really listen fully to what the story is telling you. Be fair to your sources. "Good journalism leads to good journalism. If you break the trust of your sources, it's going to hurt you." #longform @Cronkite_ASU
This is something I've told my students so many times: Share something about you with the people you're interviewing -- an interview is not an interrogation. "Be who you are and bring who you are to the interview," @valfernandez says. #longform @Cronkite_ASU
On the often difficult first approach with a potential source, @valfernandez likes to use her shortcomings - "I'm that reporter with an Uruguayan accent" - to break the ice. Breaking the ice is key. Again, it helps to share some about yourself. #longform @Cronkite_ASU
This is good advice for freelancers and students: It doesn't matter that you don't have a news organization behind you (just yet). Report with confidence. If you believe in your story, go for it. #longform @Cronkite_ASU
This is the closing message I have for my students. @valfernandez is an immigrant. I'm an immigrant. We've had our challenges - we all have challenges and "shortcomings" (purposely in quotation marks). Don't let that stop you. #longform @Cronkite_ASU

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More from @ByFernandaS

Fernanda Santos Profile picture
Oct 1, 2020
#THREAD I was intrigued by the number of older homeless Americans begging for money at traffic lights in Phoenix. I decided to find out why and that became the central idea for this @NYTMag story: nytimes.com/2020/09/30/mag…
Here is some of what I learned while reporting it:
2/ The more I looked into homelessness among older Americans, the more it seemed like an obvious story few chose to see (or many refused to see?). These could be your parents. They could be you. How did we get here? Some smart researchers have known the answer for a while, but …
3/ … policymakers haven’t truly given the issue the necessary attention and response it demands. @DennisCulhane of @Penn led a study released last year forecasting that the number of homeless people age 65+ would triple by 2030. aisp.upenn.edu/wp-content/upl… This shouldn't be a ...
Read 9 tweets
Fernanda Santos Profile picture
Jun 30, 2020
1/ On June 30, 2013, 19 Granite Mountain Hotshots left their station in Prescott, Ariz., for what was supposed to be a routine wildfire in the nearby town of Yarnell, but never returned. Their deaths impacted my life in ways I’d have never imagined. Image
2/ I covered their deaths for @nytimes, but what fascinated me was the lives they lived and the families they left behind. I devoted much of the next three years to learning about them for my first book, “The Fire Line,” published by @Flatironbooks.
This was only the beginning. Image
3/ I acquired a deep knowledge of wildfires, thanks to the firefighters, fire ecologists and meteorologists who patiently answered my questions and the instructors I had at the Arizona Wildfire and Incident Management Academy, where I trained. Image
Read 5 tweets
Fernanda Santos Profile picture
Jun 24, 2020
1/ How NOT to start an email: "I read your article about Angel Palazuelos and I'd like to see if we can persuade/aid him in transferring to a better school than ASU for his sophomore year."

The writer offered to use her contacts to get him into Harvard.

Here's why she's wrong:
2/ Don't game the system. Admission to college ought to be gained by merit, which ought to be measured beyond the results of standardized tests.
The game is rigged exactly because of the role that money, influence and connections have played in college admissions.
3/ Don't assume you know better. The "right" college isn't necessarily the best known college, or the most prestiged. It's one that has the greatest potential to offer a holistic experience, to foster intellectual, emotional and personal growth. A place that will prop you up.
Read 6 tweets
Fernanda Santos Profile picture
Jun 18, 2020
A historic decision by the Supreme Court on #DACA, but still so much work to be done. For now, though, some 700k young immigrants — who are all more American than I’ll ever be — can sigh in relief. #HomeIsHere
Let’s not forget that there is widespread support for granting legal status to #DACA recipients — 74% over all, and 54% among Republican voters. pewresearch.org/fact-tank/2020…
#DACA recipients still don’t have permanent status. The Supreme Court blocked the end of DACA, but its decision says a president CAN end the program, but must do it properly.

Congress has tried and failed for 20 years to bring about #immigration reform. What is it going to take?
Read 4 tweets
Fernanda Santos Profile picture
May 18, 2020
In my narrative writing class at @Cronkite_ASU, students have the (rare) opportunity of spending the semester working on a single story. Their work this semester is amazing AND I'D LOVE TO SEE THEIR STORIES PUBLISHED. Editors: My DMs are open! Here's a thread on they're about:
1/ @molboha spent 4 months at youth suicide hotline staffed entirely by teens, who are busy w/ school, work and a social life, all while learning how to talk their peers off the ledge.
2/ @molboha told me: "Watching 16-, 17-year-olds work a hotline with such ease and professionalism when they could be at a Friday night football game made me realize what a unique story this was. They care deeply about the work, I'm just lucky they trust me enough to share it."
Read 22 tweets
Fernanda Santos Profile picture
May 5, 2020
1/ Another semester is ending at @Cronkite_ASU, but this one is so, so different. I can't hug my students. I can't take them out for a farewell Arnold Palmer. I can't meet their families at convocation and praise them for raising a great human.
But here is what I CAN do:
2/ I CAN tell them there is opportunity in the challenges we face. One of the most remarkable things I've witnessed is how my students used today's challenges not to complain, or to cower, or to lose hope. They used the challenge to learn and grow.
3/ I CAN tell them that adaptability is one of the most valuable skills in journalism and life. They showed me how quickly and smoothly they can adapt, and how willing and ready they were to help one another through their struggles.
Read 9 tweets

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