To Tell A Big Story, Tell A Small Story

Posted August 23, 2020

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My mentor in the TV business, Fred Friendly, used to tell me that small stories work the best

People can relate to small stories; stories about people that they can easiy relate to

The trick, he said, is if you want to tell a big story, like racism in America, for example, tell a small story.

A small story about a single person

But that person has to open the door to a much larger issue.

George Floyd is perhaps now the classic example of this.

A small story that represents a much larger issue.

This is one of the main points we try to teach in the bootcamps.  Find a small story, find a character, and then tell a larger story through the eys and experiences of that one person's life and experience.

At last week's bootcamp, Lupe Zapata, an MMJ with Spectrum News 1 in Texas found, shot, edited, produced and reported on such a story.

Take a look.

Highly personal

Highly powerful

And, of cousre, all done on an iPhone.