- http://todayhealth.today.com/_news/2012/06/14/12191609-bringing-andrea-back-from-brain-injury-a-fathers-story?lite
- http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/21134540/vp/47808181#47808181
- http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/21134540/vp/47803731#47803731
Provide names of other journalists involved.
Bill Briggs, Jim Seida
List date(s) this work was published or aired.
14-Jun-12
Provide a brief synopsis of the story or stories, including any significant findings.
The night TODAY.com writer Bill Brigg’s 20-year-old daughter was severely brain injured in a car accident, he made a vow to her — to would bring her through it, all the way. His piece, “Bringing Andrea back from brain injury: A father’s story,” poignantly and beautifully recounts how he is essentially raising his daughter twice as she relearns how to talk and walk and rediscovers who she is. His honest account masterfully weaves memories of her birth and her difficult teen years with the realities of today as they face an uncertain future. Senior multimedia producer Jim Seida spent nine days with the Briggs family over several months to create two moving web documentary-style videos that published with the text story. His videos show the impact of the accident and its aftermath as well as what daily life is like now for Andrea and her parents as they care for her and let the subjects tell their own story, including Andrea. He earned the family’s trust to be present during intimate moments such as her therapy sessions, her father struggling to transfer her to her wheelchair and Andrea taking early, tentative steps with the assistance of technology. But more than that, he captured a love story full of heartbreak and hope.
Explain types of documents, data or Internet resources used. Were FOI or public records act requests required? How did this affect the work?
The primary author, Bill Briggs, lived this story so he didn’t rely on any documents, other than the blog entries he was writing in the months after his daughter’s accident.
Explain types of human sources used.
The story centered on Andrea Briggs, who sustained a traumatic brain injury. She shared her story for both the text piece and accompanying video. The video by Jim Seida also featured interviews with Dr. Alan Weintraub, medical director of the brain injury program at Craig Hospital in Englewood, Colo.; Julie Waldie, physical therapist; Heather Both, speech pathologist; Michelle Graf, occupational therapist and Lorrie Burke Briggs, Andrea Briggs’ mother.
Results:
The package resonated and engaged TODAY.com’s users, inspiring hundreds of comments on the story and Facebook.
Follow-up (if any). Have you run a correction or clarification on the report or has anyone come forward to challenge its accuracy? If so, please explain.
No.
Advice to other journalists planning a similar story or project.
Be willing to be honest and to share the hard truths with readers. Photojournalist Jim Seida add this: The most valuable asset I had for this story was time. I was lucky enough to be able to visit Andrea and her family on three different occasions for three days each visit. This gave me time to get to know Andrea’s family, have them get used to my presence, and it gave me a better understanding of the rhythm of life in the household and the pace of Andrea’s recovery. Advice? Hmmm…well, I’d say that anytime you’re working on a story where you ask someone to let you into their lives the way Andrea and her family let me into theirs, it’s imperative that you put your humanity in front of your journalism. In other words, be cool, be kind, be empathetic. Be yourself.