Live class - March 5 2027 from 6-7:30 pm ET and March 6 and march 7 2027 from 12-1:30 PM ET
Living in the Story: Embedded Journalism
The best narrative nonfiction connects us to the people at its core. For documentarians, this requires not only storytelling but also story immersion — an artistic and journalistic practice, in which we allow ourselves to go deep inside a story, and maybe even get a little lost. In this class, you’ll walk through the process of working within the communities you're reporting on, while utilizing an ethical framework, vulnerability and accuracy.
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About this class
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Friday March 5 from 6:00 - 7:30 PM ET, Saturday March 6 from 12:00 - 1:30 PM ET and Sunday March 7 from 12:00 - 1:30 PM ET
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$200 Member Tickets / $300 for Non-Members / Special rate for Resonate Ticket Holders $150
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Live Instruction
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Payment Plans Available
While so much of our work is defined by quick deadlines and tight turns, there are some stories that demand a different approach. This course teaches you how to tell ambitious stories in places that may feel intimidating — especially when your potential sources are reticent to talk, and you need to build trust from the ground up. We will walk through the process of how to work within those communities, while doing your best to avoid being exploitative, extractive, and sensational. You’ll learn how to create a reporting plan when there are many unknowns, how to show sources you’re trustworthy so that they are able to share vulnerable parts of their life with you, and how to utilize embedding as a way to get the story that others can’t.
Who is this for?
This course is for journalists who have some experience, and want to learn how to tell more complicated stories in difficult places and spaces. (Examples could include deeply religious groups, communities with outsider political beliefs, sources who have had bad experiences with media, etc)
Key Takeaways
- How to create a reporting plan under challenging circumstances
- How to create space for vulnerability while reporting
- How to gather tape when things are tense
- How to embed with an ethical framework
- How to develop a strong source list
Meet the instructor
Sarah Ventre
Sarah Ventre is an award-winning audio journalist best known for Unfinished: Short Creek, a podcast about a fundamentalist Mormon community on the Utah-Arizona border. As part of her reporting, Sarah embedded in Short Creek and lived in former FLDS prophet Rulon Jeffs’ house. She was most recently NPR’s Senior Producer of Religion and Spirituality, and before that spent several months as a stringer reporting from Jerusalem and the West Bank.
Sarah also worked on the Peabody-winning series When We All Get to Heaven, the Peabody-nominated second season of This Land, and has reported, produced, and/or edited for NPR, PBS, Critical Frequency, Pushkin Industries, Gimlet, Vox, Crooked Media, Campside Media, and others. She was a fellow at Union Docs, and is one of the founders of Girls Rock! Phoenix — a nonprofit dedicated to empowering girls, trans, and gender nonconforming youth through music. She was once told by an artist with synesthesia that her voice is mauve.
Sarah also worked on the Peabody-winning series When We All Get to Heaven, the Peabody-nominated second season of This Land, and has reported, produced, and/or edited for NPR, PBS, Critical Frequency, Pushkin Industries, Gimlet, Vox, Crooked Media, Campside Media, and others. She was a fellow at Union Docs, and is one of the founders of Girls Rock! Phoenix — a nonprofit dedicated to empowering girls, trans, and gender nonconforming youth through music. She was once told by an artist with synesthesia that her voice is mauve.
