Last Saturday, about 20 journalists heard a story about a father who was also a cowboy. American steer roper Colby Goodwin died in November 1999 following a rodeo accident. Doubtless the sad event was reported by various media at the time, but the people who read the story by journalist Bryan Painter in The Oklahoman likely remember it still.
Amy Goodwin leaned toward her husband, Colby, and whispered.
“Colby, Gunner’s here.”
The mother gently removed the 10-day-old Gunner from the cotton blanket. Then she tenderly placed him on the chest of her dying husband.
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Less than 16 hours earlier, Colby placed his son there by himself. The proud father lay in the hotel bed for an hour and a half and watched the infant sleep. Occasionally, he stroked the brown, feather-soft hair.
But on Saturday, life, as it can so quickly do, changed. Goodwin, a qualifier for the 1999 National Finals Steer Roping, had roped his ninth-round steer successfully and was en route to a potentially fast run at the Lazy E Arena. However, the rope got under the right front foot of the horse. When the cowboy took the horse left, the horse rolled over on top of him.
Goodwin spent Saturday night and some of Sunday morning on life support at Mercy Health Center. But the massive head trauma was too much. Amy’s husband and Gunner’s daddy was pronounced dead at 9:07 a.m.
Painter read this portion of his story to illustrate the value of description in feature news writing. He was one of several speakers at a writer’s symposium organized by the Canadian Association of Journalists.
In reporting on this 1999 rodeo event, Painter could have provided the basic facts within a few paragraphs. From a writer’s point of view, that would have been quicker and easier. Instead, he took a story about a death and made it into a story of insight into a life.
Many writers, including some at the Producer, aspire to write such emotionally evocative features, whether that emotion is pathos or elation. Certainly there is plenty of both within the vast topic of agriculture.
That aspiration comes from an understanding that presentation of facts using the right words, phrases and story constructions can help people better understand issues and situations and people.
Not every story lends itself to feature treatment. Though something evocative could doubtless be written about the Canadian Wheat Board pool return outlook, for example, it’s likely readers would prefer that we cut to the chase. (As we do on page 13)
But the challenge to improve writing, and thereby improve the quality of our communication with readers, is ever present.
