Current events offer fertile ground for fiction. Indeed, many great screen stories have been “ripped from the headlines” – or at least inspired by one. Our series of guides to working with different source material moves on to look at news reports.
News reports: the basics
A common fiction writing exercise is to go through a newspaper and pick out a report which could make a compelling short story or script. By their nature, reports are concise and cover the five “Ws” – what, where, why, when, whom.
These “facts” also give you the basic components of any story. Indeed, early in the process of developing a script, we’re encouraged to ask ourselves:
- What is it about?
- Who is it about?
- Where does it take place?
- When does it take place?
- Why is it important?
An analysis piece on our site even draws parallels between the work of a screenwriter and a journalist. We also cover journalistic research in our series.
While we’re discussing news reports, there is often overlap here with other source material, typically non-fiction books and first-person accounts. It is the newsworthy event itself which provides the impetus for the drama, with the news report simply one presentation of that story.
In addition, some current events span weeks, even years, with reporters continuing to follow the story as new developments emerge.
The challenges of working with news reports
It’s important to be alert when relying on reports as source material. We put “facts” in inverted commas, as, today, there is a lot of stuff published which bears little relation to the truth. It’s no big revelation that many media outlets are saturated in bias, which is usually politically motivated.
If you want to develop commercial projects, it’s important to be aware of the implications as they can affect how the industry views your script. Coming down on the “wrong side” of a hot-button issue can lead to rejection, even if the script is strong.
Hollywood has its own biases and – generally – wants to keep in step with the cultural zeitgeist. Even historical films are developed in ways which are sympathetic to modern trends – not always to great acclaim.
In addition, while the topical nature of news can provide a compelling hook, remember that you’re writing on spec. This means that the process of getting your script sold and produced can take years.
While Netflix, for example, can move quickly to commission a pilot or film based upon topical news, we have to ensure our spec scripts don’t get stale too quickly.
How to work with news reports as source material
What all this means for writers is that even though you might get your initial idea from a news report, you’ll need to spend time fleshing out and – if necessary – fictionalizing the story. Try to get a wider view of a topic in order to create a balance plot, even if you ultimately choose to adopt a particular POV.
One great use of news reports is as a secondary source for original drama. For example, newsworthy water disputes which took place in southern California at the start of the 20th century provided the starting point for the development of Chinatown (1974).
Another great use of reports is as a valuable research tool for historical drama. News reports can help you to follow a story over a long period, adding color and authenticity, as well as immediacy.
Looking back at events through a contemporary lens often leads to 20/20 hindsight. However, when you can follow the story as it unfolded, you get a whole new perspective.
For example, in mid-June 1972, people woke up one morning to news reports of a break in at the Watergate hotel in Washington, D.C. They has no idea back then what this would lead to. Similarly, looking back on this episode now through a modern POV when it seems quite tame can reduce its impact.
Rights issues
As you might expect, the rights to specific news reports belong to the publisher, as does any material stemming from those reports. However, news reports alone are unlikely to be your only source material.
There might be wider reporting or the report might inspire a fictional story. If you have more than one source for your story then rights issues are less likely to emerge. This is especially true with current events. Even if a story was broken by a particular outlet, if it’s newsworthy, it’s probably going to be picked up by others.
For example, war correspondent Morley Safer’s reporting from Vietnam during the U.S. conflict – particularly his 1965 report for CBS’ 60 Minutes, “The Burning of Cam Ne” – opened the door to wider reporting on the atrocities taking place against civilians.
As always, do your own investigations into the rights ownership of any material you want to fictionalize and, if necessary, consult an IP lawyer.
Films inspired by or based on news reports
We end with some fact-based films which were drawn from news reporting:
- All the President’s Men (1976): Based on Carl Bernstein and Bob Woodward’s reporting on the Watergate scandal for the Washington Post.
- The China Syndrome (1979): Inspired by real nuclear plant safety concerns, released shortly before the Three Mile Island disaster.
- The Killing Fields (1984): Based on New York Times journalist Sydney Schanberg’s reporting on the Cambodian genocide.
- The Insider (1999): Inspired by 60 Minutes and the Wall Street Journal reports exposing Big Tobacco’s manipulation of nicotine levels.
- Zodiac (2007): Based on newspaper articles and books covering the Zodiac Killer case, particularly the reporting by the San Francisco Chronicle.
- Spotlight (2015): Inspired by the Boston Globe’s Pulitzer Prize-winning investigation into child abuse by Catholic priests.
- The Post (2017): Based on the Washington Post’s reporting on the Pentagon Papers and the battle over government secrecy.
- Richard Jewell (2019): Inspired by news coverage of the 1996 Atlanta Olympics bombing and how security guard Richard Jewell was falsely accused.
- Official Secrets (2019): Based on The Observer’s reporting about British intelligence whistleblower Katharine Gun, who exposed an illegal NSA spying operation.
- She Said (2022): Based on the New York Times reporting by Jodi Kantor and Megan Twohey, which uncovered the sexual misconduct of Harvey Weinstein.