DOING RESEARCH: TALK, READ, GO

Veteran journalist Jon Wells talks about how he conducts research for an article

When the winter holidays rolled around a couple of years ago, journalist Jon Wells’ editor asked him to write an article about “happiness.” At first, the assignment sounded easy. Everyone knows about happiness, right? But, “happiness is a massive topic,” says Wells. He needed to think up a good angle on it—one that would interest and engage readers. Wells decided to write an “analysis” or “think” piece, a type of news essay that looks at a subject from many different angles. To do that, he needed to gather as much information as possible about the subject. “My process for any story (is): who can I talk to, what can I read, and where can I go?” says Wells. In other words, he finds experts to interview, reads articles and books about the subject, and thinks about places he could visit that would help him write about happiness. In more than 22 years as a journalist for the Hamilton Spectator, Wells has developed a long list of experts he can interview about many different subjects. One of them, a retired church minister, “gave me a great quote: Happiness is emotion; joy is deeper.” Wells also used a website called ProfNet, which puts journalists in touch with people who are experts in certain subjects. Then he Googled “happiness” as well as the phrase, “happiness is not what it used to be.” Using that phrase helped him get a “mountain of information,” he said. One of the things that came up in that search was that March 20 is the International Day of Happiness. “I ended up using that as my lede (opening paragraph),” says Wells. Right after he got the assignment, Wells started jotting down ideas about it in a folder he has on his computer, labelled “Thoughts.” He made a note of anything he knew about happiness. For instance, how the US Declaration of Independence mentions people’s right to “life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness.” And how happiness can be a state of mind. Wells calls this stage of research, “hunting and gathering.” Wells had read a book called Sapiens: A Brief History of Humankind, and “I remembered it had something about happiness.” Finally, Wells searched articles from his own newspaper, to see what other reporters had written about happiness. He found a Hamilton Spectator article about Jen Harvey, a “happiness coach.” He sent her a message on Facebook, and later interviewed her over the phone. Wells had watched an animated movie called “Inside Out,” which featured a girl’s emotions as the main characters—particularly Joy, who was very happy. From that movie, he used the insight that, “sad and happy are two sides of the same coin, and you can’t have one without the other.” Lastly, he used his own point-of-view and even things that had happened to him that had affected his own happiness, such as a time when his daughter had an operation. Recalling her courage during that time inspired his “heart to swell with joy forever.” After he had done his reading, thinking and research it was time to write the article. It took him about two weeks from start to finish, which is much longer than journalists typically have to write an article. Wells’ editor liked the piece. On Dec. 24, after she had read a draft, she wrote Wells an email: “It’s a lovely story. It is funny and smart (Sapiens!) and sweet (Inside Out). And sad… Very thoughtful read.”

“My process for any story: who can I talk to, what can I read, and where can I go?” says Wells.