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The audio journalist who embedded in a fundamentalist community

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A couple of years ago, audio journalist (not to mention story structure wizard and a dear friend) Sarah Ventre was reporting on an FLDS town on the Utah / Arizona border. Divided between fundamentalist, polygamous Mormons and ex-believers who want democracy, the community had to face its past when the prophet Warren Jeffs went to prison for sex crimes.

Not content with short reporting trips, Sarah decided to embed in the community, living in the former prophet’s house for three months. She produced and hosted the resulting podcast, Stitcher’s Unfinished: Short Creek, a hugely ambitious and nuanced story about the battle between freedom of religion and freedom from religion. Sarah told me what happened during the embed, how she built trust in the community, and why there is beauty in stories that don’t have a neat ending.

Why did you choose to embed in the community for Short Creek?

The one thing that everyone told me over and over throughout my reporting in Short Creek (whether they were still part of the church or not) was that the media didn’t get the story right. Journalists would often swoop in for a few days, interview people (in some cases about the most traumatic parts of their life), and then leave. To me the most obvious way to address that was to show up, and spend as much time there as possible. My degree is in anthropology, so I was familiar with the concept of ethnography. It seemed like the best way to try to get a more complete picture of a really complicated place.

What did you feel most daunted by going in?

I knew that this would be the most concentrated, intense reporting I had ever done, and I was nervous about getting all the tape I wanted to get, and about making sure I was able to do the work as thoughtfully and sensitively as possible. I also knew there were people I wanted to connect with and talk to who were very weary of talking to journalists.

What did it require of you?

I felt like I had to be "on" all the time, or at least as much as possible. When people are sharing so much of themselves with you — their life, their community, their family, their faith — it’s our responsibility to be present and vulnerable with them. I wanted to be my best for each interview, each council meeting, each trip to the park to get water. I needed to be in the right headspace as much as possible so that I could properly take in the information being shared with me and care for it.

What was the day to day like?

Most days involved a combination of research, interviews, and showing up. I tried to go to every city council meeting, utility board meeting, and community event that happened while I was in town. And there were people who wanted to meet multiple times off the record before they were comfortable recording, so I spent a lot of time just getting to know people and letting them get to know me. I went to church most Sundays (to The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints' local ward), and once to a small fundamentalist church effort led by someone in town. I wanted, as much as I could, to be present in the community for the time I was there.

How receptive were people in the community to you living there?

Some people were more receptive than others. There were definitely people who were skeptical or even annoyed that I was there, but most of the people I interacted with were very open to it. There are a lot of folks in Short Creek who were excited to see that someone was taking an interest in the community beyond just talking about Warren Jeffs and what happened in the past, and I think those people were happy to know I was staying for a time. 

How did you build trust?

In my opinion, trust building (in journalism and in life) takes time. A huge part of the way I built relationships with people was by allowing them to unfold over time, so the embed definitely helped with that. I also tried to be an open book. I was asking my sources to be extremely vulnerable with me, and it only seemed fair that I was just as vulnerable with them. I let them ask me questions about my own life and family and faith, and I was as honest as possible.

Tell me about a moment that was really challenging.

There were days when people shared really traumatic stories with me, and days when an interview that I thought would last no more than an hour actually went three or four hours. Those moments were tough because they can be so beautiful, but also emotionally exhausting. You know when you have a really long day reporting, and you want to just come home, order takeout, pet your cat, and turn off your brain? I wasn’t able to do that in this case, so recharging was hard.

There were also some interviews that left me with more questions than answers. I think it’s impossible to do a story like this and not think about the impact your work has on the people you’re working with. Which also means questioning your own motivations and role. Some days I felt really lost.

What are you most proud of from the embed?

That I did it! I think it’s a tough thing to do and something we so rarely get the opportunity to do. I’m proud that I made connections with lots of people, and that I had the opportunity to tell a story using ethnojournalism. I’m also incredibly grateful that people shared so much with me and welcomed me into their homes, their backyards, their council meetings, their houses of worship, and their community. I feel so privileged to have had the experience. 

Looking back now, what did embedding bring to the show?

I believe it gave me a more complex, nuanced picture of the community and the people who make it. It helped me have a better sense of what day to day life is like in town, and how interconnected everyone's lives are. It forced me to ask lots of questions and to begin to learn that there is so much beauty in stories and experiences that don’t have a tidy ending. 

Did it help you tell a more nuanced story? 

Absolutely. The more you get to know people, the more you see how multidimensional they are. That is what I think allows you to bring texture and nuance to a story.

Were you able to have more empathy for the people you were reporting on? 

Definitely. It’s almost impossible not to have some feelings or ideas about a story when you first start reporting. But it’s amazing when those ideas and expectations are shattered. I found that I empathized with people who I initially thought I didn’t have anything in common with, and I found commonalities in unexpected places. 

Did embedding hinder you in any way? 

I think it’s really hard to be that involved in a story and in a community and continue to draw healthy boundaries as a journalist. Since this was a less traditional approach to journalism, I felt like I didn’t have a good handbook for how to handle those situations where my involvement was a bit blurred. I wound up telling myself over and over that I was a journalist, but that I was a human first. 

Would you embed again for another story?

I would love to embed for another story. It was an incredibly challenging experience, but it was also incredibly formative, and I believe it made our story much richer. It was difficult, but a privilege that I would be honored to be able to do again. 

Any advice for other producers / reporters embedding in a community for a story?

Show up. As much as you can, as often as you can, and as best as you can. Allow your sources to be vulnerable and get lost and feel unsure, and allow the same of yourself.

Follow Sarah Ventre on Twitter.

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