Documents needn't mean bland

BusinessWeek journalists Paul Barrett, Jack Ewing and Brian Grow detail handgun maker Glock’s success, legal battles and an assassination attempt in a story based heavily on legal documents and other paper sources. The nut graf, which comes after the company’s history is established, says:

Behind the Glock phenomenon, however, is another story, one rife with intrigue and allegations of wrongdoing. The company's hidden history raises questions about its taxpayer-financed law-and-order franchise. Is this a company that deserves the patronage of America's police?

The Sept. 10 cover story, which spans seven online pages, flows well despite having few direct quotes from interviews.

Today’s Tip: Articles driven by quotations from documents versus those from live interviews don’t have to be boring. Use your storytelling skills to craft stories that keep readers intrigued.

To help you do this, check out tips from the Nieman Conference on Narrative Journalism last year. The big point attendees cited was the need for details, which is what Paul, Jack and Brian give readers in the Glock piece. For instance, in describing the attempted assassination, they say:

…Glock [then 70] was attacked in an underground garage. The hit man, a former professional wrestler and French Legionnaire named Jacques Pecheur, bashed the businessman on the head with a rubber mallet, a technique apparently aimed at making it look like the victim had fallen down and fatally injured himself. Glock, physically fit from daily swimming—often in the frigid lake abutting his home near Klagenfurt, Austria—fought back. When police arrived, they found Glock bleeding from gashes to his skull. Pecheur, 67, was unconscious.

In this podcast interview, Paul tells how he got onto the story and how he got such good information from legal documents on this private, foreign firm.

Storytelling with court documents

James Bandler of Fortune magazine takes readers onto the scene as he tells the story of Dina Wein Reis, a woman accused of bilking several companies out of products totaling more than $20 million.


James says he first became aware of Wein Reis in 2008, but Madoff, AIG and other stories prevented him from writing her story right away. He started reporting this spring, he says.

“I wondered how one woman could have pulled off such a massive and complicated alleged fraud for so long,” he says.

He used court documents from civil litigation, company data obtained by authorities, wiretap transcripts and interviews with several people, excluding Wein Reis, to compile the article.

Today’s Tip: Court documents can help you piece together facts and provide details that bring your stories alive.

James says: “First read the docket sheet, and then the amended complaint. They provide a great guide to key arguments, exhibits and names of involved parties. Get to know the lawyers on both sides. They can help point you to interesting witnesses and documents.

“Transcripts are your friends, as are depositions -- if you can get your hands on them. They're often -- but not always -- entered in the public record.”