Final Copy by Jan Brogan

Author:Jan Brogan
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: ePublishing Works!
Published: 2011-10-15T00:00:00+00:00

I’d chosen this anecdote because I liked Kit’s quote. I also thought that since it could be read two ways, it was neutral.

Now, however, I was struck by the sheer power words can wield. Subtle choices make a stronger impression than the facts themselves, particularly at the outset of a piece when the reader is searching for clues about the character.

Truth was, a profile, with its attempt to “reveal” the subject with the small details of his wardrobe and verbal inflections, was the most subjective piece of journalism there was. Two reporters could use identical facts about a person and come up with completely opposite portraits. Show a subject spending too much time at the mirror or speaking sharply to a subordinate and Mother Theresa could be made to look like a murdering sociopath.

It struck me now that “snapping” at a question was strongly pejorative. I reworded the sentence.

I also deleted the reference to Ray Ban sunglasses, which made Kit appear as a temperamental movie star. Tension itself implied guilt, so I personalized my description of his nervousness.

Kit Korbanics stands at the corner of Beacon and Berkeley Streets pointing to the spot on the curb where he says the cab dropped him off fifteen minutes before his business partner fell to his death from the balcony at the Harbor Inn Hotel and Convention Center.

“Right here,” he says as he consults his watch. “Five to one, that’s pretty close.”

A tall, strikingly athletic man, Korbanics wears relaxed clothing, running shorts, and a Gore-Tex jacket, to this interview. We have known each other since college: I can see there is tension in his face as he awaits the Grand Jury decision.

He apologizes to me for snapping at a question.

“It’s just that there’s a Grand Jury deciding my fate at the moment and this cab thing has me frustrated,” he explains. “I usually ask for a receipt to keep track of my expenses. Why the hell did I have to forget this time?”

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