3 Inspiring Books to Help You Become a Better Storyteller

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May 23, 2012

1. “Inside the Story: A Masterclass in Digital Storytelling by the People Who Do It Best” edited by Adam Westbrook || If you want this book you’ll have to get it soon: It’s available as a download until midnight London time on May 24 (that’s tomorrow). All proceeds from the book go to Kiva. “Inside the Story” is divided into 25 one-page chapters, each written by a well-known digital storytelling practitioner. Brian Storm of MediaStorm — which has produced stories for many NGOs and nonprofits — writes this about the importance of having time to tell a story well: “…we spend as much time as necessary in post production to pull the best possible story from the coverage. Essentially, we don’t publish until we don’t know how to make a story any stronger.”

2. “Bird by Bird: Some Instructions on Writing and Life” by Anne Lamott || Lamott is such a treat to read. She’s funny in a warm and endearing way, like someone you’d want to be friends with. “Bird by Bird” is about writing and becoming a better writer. It’s also about Lamott’s son, Sam, and life and faith and jealousy and relationships. She really makes me laugh. Here’s a great passage from the book:

I think that if you have the kind of mind that retains important and creative thoughts–that is, if your mind still works–you’re very lucky and you should not be surprised if the rest of us do not want to be around you. I actually have one writer friend–whom I think I will probably be getting rid of soon–who said to me recently that if you don’t remember it when you get home, it probably wasn’t that important.

3. “A Million Miles in a Thousand Years: What I Learned While Editing My Life” by Donald Miller || What happens when two film producers decided to create a movie out of your memoir? You realize your everyday life doesn’t have much of a story arc — and you take action. At least, that’s what Miller does: he falls in love, bikes across the U.S. and starts a nonprofit. This book made me want to go out and do something. Miller writes:

If the point of life is the same as the point of a story, the point of life is character transformation. If I got any comfort as I set out on my first story, it was that in nearly every story, the protagonist is transformed. He’s a jerk at the beginning and nice at the end, or a coward at the beginning and brave at the end. If the character doesn’t change, the story hasn’t happened yet. And if story is derived from real life, if story is just condensed version of life then life itself may be designed to change us so that we evolve from one kind of person to another.

What books do you recommend for becoming a better storyteller?

What Do You Think of the Picture in This G-8 Ad?

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May 21, 2012

This past Friday, Save the Children ran a half-page advertisement on page A5 of The Washington Post. Judging by its words, the ad’s purpose was to grab the attention of G-8 leaders meeting in Camp David last week. I’m not sure that happened but I’m sure it grabbed other peoples’ attention.

The left half of the ad is a picture of what appears to be Caucasian people, well-dressed and enjoying a fancy meal, four glasses of wine held aloft as if everyone’s toasting. No one’s full face is in the picture, just the smiling mouth of one of the diners. The right half of the ad is a picture of a young boy, likely African, looking a little dirty, apparently malnourished and with his ribcage showing. He’s gazing directly at the camera, no expression on his face. Text runs across the two pictures: “WITH” in big white letters across the fancy diners and “OUT” in big red letters across the boy. The contrast between the pictures is stark.

The text below the pictures reads: “G-8 Leaders: What’s on your menu this weekend? While you enjoy your first-class meals, more than 170 million kids are suffering from chronic malnutrition, in part because they don’t eat the right variety of food. Producing more food in the world is good. But making sure kids eat the right food is even better. Change starts now. Take action at SaveTheChildren.org/Child-Survival.” (The link leads to a page titled “Hidden Crisis: Malnutrition,” which features the picture of the young boy and urges people to sign a petition. It appears that the ad targets the G-8 and the petition targets the general public.) Below this text there’s a photo credit in tiny print. The Save the Children logo is in the bottom right corner of the advertisement.

I admire Save the Children and I think the organization does great work. However, I’m not posting the ad here because I think the photograph of the boy is sensational and lacking in dignity. In addition, the audience doesn’t know anything about this boy, not his name or when the picture was taken, what his life is like or where he lives. The picture reminds me of those Sally Struthers ads from the ’80s, the ones featuring poor and hungry kids with flies in their eyes. This is the type of picture we talk about avoiding in the CORE Group Humanitarian Photography Group I help lead.

What do you think of the picture in the ad? What are the ethics of using these types of photographs to garner support and awareness about humanitarian issues? Are these pictures effective in building support and awareness? Should organizations use these types of photographs in their communications materials? If so, when?

If you want to see the ad, you can view it on the U.S. Global Leadership Council Twitpic page.

Thoughts Before Traveling to Asia: How Can I Tell a Different Story?

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April 15, 2012

Children in Bhairab, Bangladesh, run toward me when they see me and my camera. February 2009. Photo by Laura Elizabeth Pohl

Later today I’ll head to Bangladesh and Nepal, where I’ll be reporting on maternal and infant nutrition programs with my friend Molly, my frequent storytelling partner at Bread for the World. I’m excited and grateful. I also feel pressure — mostly from myself — to return with breathtakingly honest, engaging and beautiful documentary pictures and video.

Since my last big reporting trip about six months ago, I’ve started this blog, helped start a humanitarian photography group and attended a narrative storytelling conference. All three experiences have made me think hard about how I can tell a different kind of NGO story. What questions should I ask that I perhaps haven’t asked before? Is there a portrait series somewhere in this issue, something like I shot in Haiti a couple years ago? For a different perspective, should I lend my iPhone to the people I’m filming and see if they’re willing to photograph their own lives for a few hours? Should Molly and I do the same with our audio equipment? Should I use Instagram for photo updates?

I’ve got a whole list of ideas and questions like this. We’ll see what’s possible and what isn’t.

And just a last side note: Collaborating with Molly makes my stories much better than they would be on my own. Every storyteller needs a Molly in their life.

Editing Factoid: Enrique’s Journey by Sonia Nazario

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April 10, 2012

In the vast migration that is changing the U.S., a Honduran boy rides a freight train through Mexico. Each year thousands of Central Americans stow away for 1,500 miles on the tops and sides of trains. Some are parents desperate to escape poverty. Many are children in search of a parent who left them behind long ago. Only the brave and the lucky reach their goal. Photo by Don Barletti/Los Angeles Times

“Enrique’s Journey” by Los Angeles Times reporter Sonia Nazario tells the story of Enrique, a Honduran boy who travels by rail and foot across Central America and into the United States. His goal is to reunite with the mother who left him behind years ago so she could earn money to support her family.

Nazario spent 18 months reporting the story and six months writing the first draft, according to essays she wrote in “Telling True Stories.” The hard work paid off: Nazario won the Pulitzer for feature writing in 2003. Don Bartletti, the photographer, won a Pulitzer for feature photography that year.

Holy Smokes! People Really Want to Talk about NGO Photography.

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April 3, 2012

Marvin Garcia Salas and his son Jesus, 4, eat breakfast in their home near Comitan, Chiapas, Mexico. Marvin immigrated twice to the United States without papers because he could better take care of his wife and children with a job in the United States. After returning to Mexico due to health issues, he and Victoria, his wife, bought land with the help of a nonprofit called AGROS. He and Victoria now grow the crops that feed their family. Photo by Laura Elizabeth Pohl/Bread for the World

Eighty people.

That’s how many people RSVPed for a conference call I helped co-lead earlier today about shooting, using and talking about photographs in international development. Ann Hendrix-Jenkins of CORE Group, another co-leader and the main organizer, said this was the most interest she’d ever seen for one of these conference calls (she’s done lots of these for CORE Group). I think about 50-60 people actually participated, which absolutely heartened me. We need to be having more of these discussions.

The real meat of the meeting was going over the results of a humanitarian photography survey that Ann and I created and sent out a couple months ago. This was not a scientific survey with random sampling and such but the results were still interesting. My friend Jim Stipe, photo editor at Catholic Relief Services and the third co-leader on the call, summarized the findings for everyone:

  • Most survey respondents said their organization shows positive images that uphold the dignity of the people being photographed.
  • About 55% of respondents said they get trained on photo ethics.
  • Most organizations don’t have a written photography policy.
  • About 43% of respondents said they get the consent of the people they’re photographing.
  • More than half of respondents said their organization doesn’t employ a full-time photo editor.
  • The person who makes the last decision on photos is often a communications or marketing person or – in one case – the CEO.
  • Photographs used at NGOs and humanitarian organizations mostly come from staff who don’t have a photography background.

None of these results really surprised me. I’ve attended a handful of international development conferences in the past year-and-a-half and not once has photography been on the official agenda. People seem to understand that photography is important. But not important enough for a serious discussion in a serious forum. This despite the fact that photographs are being used every minute in brochures, reports, websites, blogs and Facebook and Pinterest pages by NGOs to promote their work. If these organizations are anything like the one where I work, then their appetite for visuals is insatiable. And yet many organizations don’t offer enough resources for photography training or education. Why?

There was a whole Twitter conversation going on during our call, which Linda Raftree Storified under the headline “On the ethics of photos in aid and development work.” Check it out if you have a minute.

By the way, it’s worth noting how this humanitarian photography group came about. Last summer I was part of a lively LinkedIn discussion about images from the famine in East Africa, like this New York Times front page photo. Ann was part of the LinkedIn discussion, too. Afterward she asked me to speak about humanitarian photography at CORE Group’s fall meeting. From there we talked about creating a humanitarian photography group. I got Jim to join us and now here we are. I’m hoping this group will help bring about positive change and awesome collaborations.

 

Storytelling: “Alex Presents: Commando” by Mama Hope

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April 1, 2012

I recently saw this very cool video on journalist Jina Moore’s blog and had to share. The video showcases nine-year-old Alex from Tanzania retelling and reenacting the plot for Arnold Schwarzenegger’s film “Commando“. Alex is funny and adorable and just like millions of other people across the world who love movies, which is exactly the point.

This video is part of Mama Hope‘s campaign called “Stop the Pity. Unlock the Potential.” I hadn’t heard of Mama Hope before this video but I’m going learn more and keep watching this campaign.

7 Infographics About International Development Issues

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March 21, 2012

In the past couple years I’ve been enjoying the explosion of infographics, those colorful graphs that help us all digest data in an easy-to-understand format. Here are seven international development infographics I think take complex issues and turn them into interesting stories. I’ve also included my thoughts on what I think is good and not so good about each graphic. What else do you think works or doesn’t work with these graphics? Let me know in the comments section.

1. Gapminder World by Gapminder/Hans Rosling

Good: Fascinating interactive data from Hans Rosling, professor of international health at Karolinska Institute in Sweden, and perhaps the best-known data visualizer in the world. With Gapminder World you can explore everything from world life expectancy rates across two centuries to the spread and containment of the HIV epidemic over 27 years.

Not so good: The amount of explorable data can be overwhelming. Luckily, a user’s guide helps you understand how to exploit Gapminder World to its fullest capacity.


2. Grenade or Aid? by Good and Column Five

Good: Visually stunning, uses strong graphic elements to represent military and foreign aid spending. Ever run into an American who thinks foreign aid is 25% of the U.S. federal budget? This is the infographic to show them.

Not so good: The measurements aren’t comparable between the military and foreign aid graphs. The military graph shows each country’s military spending as a percentage of total world spending on the military. The foreign aid graph shows foreign aid expenditure as a percentage of each country’s GDP.


3. Leap Into Action This Leap Year by the United Nations Foundation

Good: If you’ve ever wondered exactly what the United Nations achieves, then this is the graphic for you.

Not so good: Doesn’t provide original sources for its statistics. Also, this is one of those long, vertical infographics where you have to scroll down the page to see the whole thing.


4. Teach a Wo(Man) to Farm: The Agricultural Multiplier Effect by Good, ONE and Living Proof

Good: Elegantly shows the connections among agriculture, economics, nutrition, health and poverty.

Not so good: The title is misleading. At first glance I thought this infographic would be about women in agriculture, in which case it’s important to mention that women, on average, make up “43% of the agricultural labour force in developing countries,” according the Food and Agriculture Organization.


5. Learning Out of Poverty by USAID

Good: Solid information.

Not so good: All the people are brown and appear to be living in Africa or Latin America. This makes it seem that only a certain demographic of people needs or benefits from education, which isn’t the case, of course. How about including some Asians and Caucasians? Also, this is another of those long, vertical graphics.


6. Visualizing the World’s Food Consumption from Food Service Warehouse

Good: Solid information.

Not so good: The map of the world isn’t being used to its fullest potential in this graphic. Incorporating the data into the map would improve this visualization. Also, I wish this graphic covered all the countries in the world.


7. The Changing Face of AIDS by Good and Column Five

Good: Strong mix of data about the prevalence of HIV/AIDS around the world and perceptions about the illness in the United States.

Not so good: It would be nice to see data about HIV/AIDS perceptions around the world, not just in the United States.

 

Two Interesting Stories That Came Out of the Kony Video

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March 19, 2012

I’ve been pondering what to write about the Invisible Children/Joseph Kony campaign without repeating what’s already been said about things like simplified storytelling. I also don’t want to get into writing about Invisible Children co-founder Jason Russell’s recent troubles, though I do feel compassion for him. Instead, I’d like to highlight two interesting stories that came out of the Kony video and gave voice to the real situation in Northern Uganda, something that I think the Kony video didn’t do well enough. Do you have other perspectives you can share?

1. Al-Jazeera’s story on Ugandans’ reaction to the Kony video

The African Youth Initiative Network, an NGO that helps war victims in Uganda, screened Invisible Children’s film last week. The reaction was not positive. As Malcolm Webb wrote on Al-Jazeera’s blog:

“People I spoke to anticipated seeing a video that showed the world the terrible atrocities that they had suffered during the conflict, and the ongoing struggles they still face trying to rebuild their lives after two lost decades.

The audience was at first puzzled to see the narrative lead by an American man – Jason Russell – and his young son.

Towards the end of the film, the mood turned more to anger at what many people saw as a foreign, inaccurate account that belittled and commercialised their suffering, as the film promotes Kony bracelets and other fundraising merchandise, with the aim of making Kony infamous.”

2. Guernica Magazine’s “Northern Uganda, Visible”

This photography gallery from Guernica Magazine aims to show what was not shown in the Kony video – people living real lives in Northern Uganda. American photographer Glenna Gordon curated and edited the pictures and included the written thoughts of each photographer. I only wish more African photographers had been included besides Edward Echwalu.

Editing Factoid: “Jungleland” Solo by Clarence Clemons and Bruce Springsteen

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March 12, 2012

Editing is hard work, so we’re taking cues on the topic from the NGO world and beyond.

Sixteen hours of work for a three-minute saxophone solo (starts at 04:19 in the video below).


Chimamanda Adichie on Storytelling

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March 8, 2012

In honor of International Women’s Day, here’s Nigerian novelist Chimamanda Adichie giving a TED talk in 2009 about the danger of a single story. She says: “The single story creates stereotypes, and the problem with stereotypes is not that they are untrue, but that they are incomplete. They make one story become the only story.”