Turn ‘noun journalism’ into true storytelling, author says

Journalist and author Tom Zoellner is the first to acknowledge his new book "Train" is what he calls "noun" journalism.

The single-word title of the book selected as The Salt Lake Tribune's April Utah Lit online book club title leaves no doubt about the book's topic.

But it says nothing about the story, and turning noun journalism into powerful storytelling is the challenge for all journalists, Zoellner said, speaking Saturday at the Society of Professional Journalists Region 9 Conference in Salt Lake City.

When editors, as they often do, say "We should do a story about 'X,' " Zoellner advises journalists to step back and "be aware of the big 'A.' What is it that I'm really writing ABOUT?"

It's important to devote the time, to carve out the space to find the story, he said, even when a seemingly important topic doesn't have an obvious story attached to it.

"The longer you stare at a topic, the more apparent the road in will be," Zoellner told journalists from Utah, Colorado, New Mexico and Wyoming gathered at the Brigham Young University Salt Lake Center for the conference.

For "Train," Zoellner, a former Tribune reporter, traveled literally around the world by rail to recount the rich history of the train and its enormous impact on all aspects of global economics, government and society. Interspersed are fascinating stories of countless characters Zoellner encountered along the way.

The book is the first nonfiction work for Utah Lit. Jennifer Napier-Pearce will lead a discussion April 25 at 12:15 p.m. on Trib Talk at sltrib.com.

Clearly, every work of journalism isn't as ambitious as Zoellner's new book, but his guidelines still apply.

Curiosity is a skill valuable to a journalist like none other.

Regardless of what you cover as a reporter, "if you scrutinize your beat, you're going to find things that are really, really incredible," he said.

Get out of the newsroom. Explore. Ask questions that may seem obvious but that no one else has asked.

"If you're a journalist spending time in the newsroom, there's something wrong," Zoellner said.

Make people care. Tell them why they should.

"Noun journalism can be done intelligently," he said. "You want people to put down the newspaper feeling like they've learned something important."