Here in a dispatch posted today to the Independent.co.uk websit, Sengupta reports from Libya in a dispatch headlined "Gaddafi cannot hurt his people any longer." The headline picks up on a quote, and Sengupta's direct quotations and observation make the story. His lede:
The blood had been washed off and the faces, eyes shut, were in repose. But the terrible wounds of the last violent moments were left uncovered by the shrouds of white cloth that had been hastily thrown over them. The bodies were on stretchers, Muammar Gaddafi in a temporary military barracks, Mutassim Gaddafi in a container.Sengupta said the revolutionary government of Libya hadn't yet decided how to dispose of the bodies, and "it was as if no one wanted responsibility for disposing of these grisly symbols of the revolution's triumph after such a bitter civil war," but he isn't interested in sorting out the politics of the occasion. (Better to leave that to the talking heads on TV, one would think.) Instead, he he does what journalists do best - he reports what he saw and heard:
These were temporary resting places for the former dictator and his son. After being brought back to Misrata from Sirte, the scene of the killings, the corpses had been moved from place to place – at one point to the home of a former rebel official and then to a meat warehouse. ...
Looking down at the body of Colonel Gaddafi, Firuz al-Maghri, a 55-year-old schoolteacher who had been allowed into the barracks by a friend in the opposition militia, shook his head as he recalled a brother and a cousin who had died in Tripoli's Abu Salim prison, a place of fear and despair. "Twelve hundred prisoners were murdered there," he said. "It is difficult for outsiders to understand, but he was responsible for so many lives lost, families who never found out what happened to those who disappeared. We feared him, I was afraid. But seeing him like this...."And so it goes. It is a news story, and it trails off at the end. But that's what the inverted pyramid is supposed to do.
Captain Rahim Abu-Bakr, an engineer who became a fighter, patted Mr Maghri's shoulder. "It does not matter," he said. "He cannot hurt people any longer. What happened at the end to him and his son was bound to happen. But this was a bad death. I do not like being here."
Colonel Gaddafi appeared to have been shot in the head, the bullet wound clearly visible under his previously curly hair for which he was famous– it now lay lank. Mutassim had injuries to his chest and stomach. But exactly what happened when the final reckoning came at Sirte remains unclear.
At one time or another Sengupta has reported from most of the world's trouble spots, including Afghanistan, Iraq, Kosovo, the former Soviet state of Georgia, Somalia, Sierra Leone, Northern Ireland and New York City in the aftermath of 9/11. Soon thereafter when Queen Elizabeth II named Rudy Giuliani, New York's mayor at the time, an honorary Knight Commander of the British Empire, Sengupta was on hand in London to cover the ceremony. He quoted the queen - "I hope you have less stress in your life now [than on Sept. 11]" - and he got some great quotes from Giuliani:
How did he cope with the adulation he was receiving [in London]?See? It aways gets back to the quotes. Sengupta is one of the best in a very tough business, but he's no better than the best of his quotes.
"It beats being booed, which sometimes happens when you are Mayor of New York."
The award, he said, was for the people of New York. "I'd better say that - I know what they are like. When I walk around back in Brooklyn they'll say, 'Hey, what is this Sir stuff? You some kinda big shot?"'
Giuliani cannot be called Sir Rudolph because he is not British, but he can add KBE to his surname.
He paraphrased General Norman Schwarzkopf on whether the United States should forgive the September 11 attackers: "It is not the responsibility of the US to forgive them; it is up to God. It is the responsibility of the US to make sure that meeting takes place."
15 comments:
- "I hope you have less stress in your life now [than on Sept. 11]" - and he got some great quotes from Giuliani:
How did he cope with the adulation he was receiving [in London]?
"It beats being booed, which sometimes happens when you are Mayor of New York."
I enjoy seeing the quotes from once Mayor Giuliani because when the 9-11-01 ten year anniversary coverage was on nat geo they had a documentray and interview with Giuliani it was a very emotional and hard to watch. I like the quote that says " I hope you have less stress in your life now than on 9-11-01
What do you find in this story that you can use in your own writing?
If you can, say what. Quote it.
If you can't, say why.
A couple good, inspiring, colorful quotes are so important to an excellent news piece. It's important because it gives the story a voice, it gives the event a voice.
This is hard to read I have to admit. I know a person who is going overseas next year and to hear about these soldiers dying hurts. I also agree with Pete. If you cannot come up with a good quote, then don't post it. Sometimes they don't make sense or they don't fit in with the story.
This is hard to read I have to admit. I know a person who is going overseas next year and to hear about these soldiers dying hurts. I also agree with Pete. If you cannot come up with a good quote, then don't post it. Sometimes they don't make sense or they don't fit in with the story.
The way he wrote this is great, and using his quotes in what you can use. You can always use quotes it give more interest to the piece and lets the reader feel as if they are speaking to that person.
Using quotes will give life and truth to any story. it is important to seperate fact from ficition as Kim Sengupta did.
The quotes from Guiliani i liked because they were short and to the point. they were not boring and didnt drag on.
These quotes make the mood of this story.
The blood had been washed off and the faces, eyes shut, were in repose. But the terrible wounds of the last violent moments were left uncovered by the shrouds of white cloth that had been hastily thrown over them. The bodies were on stretchers, Muammar Gaddafi in a temporary military barracks, Mutassim Gaddafi in a container.
This quote helps people understand what was happening in Libya.
i think that the quotes used in this particular article make it more real if that makes any sense. it really gives you a sense of what these people are feeling and thinking
I thinking quoting helps a reader give a better understanding on what is happening in a story. Most people have probably never been to or heard of a place that they read about. So, quoting gives the reader a feeling of what is going on around them in the world.
Sometimes it's hard knowing what to say. So then, why not let others say it for you? When writing about a people, let them speak for themselves. We are conduits more than creators. We report.
Quotes make a story more lifelike and real. They also add emotion and personalization to a story. Often when reading a story it's the quotes that I'll remember along with the gist of it, rather than remembering the writer’s use of words.
A fabulous lede, greate quotes, and a good 'kicker' at the end. This is probably my favorite part of the story, and I don't know why: "OK for sure, he was being beaten, kicked, with rifle butts, boots. He looked confused and afraid, he was saying 'help me, help me', but his voice was really strained, he was croaking. A few of us were around him, we thought we should get him somewhere we could question him about the others. But he was then taken away in a wave of people and then there were shots."
He used the word "croaking"?? It seems utterly appropriate for this story and I love it.
The way he used quotes in this story was great. The quotes allow the reader to connect with the individuals that were subjected to casualties of war. The quotes bring life to the story and paint a picture of what awful things the people of Libya have been through.
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