Recently I took a college-level Debate course. Although I felt light years out of my league, I came out of it thinking, "I wish I had taken this course before becoming a journalist."
This was not debate like the Ken Ham/Bill Nye debate. This was academic debate with flow charts, time limits and strange terms like "prima facie."
As a writer, I had always had the luxury of time -- time to develop a story idea, time to organize what I wanted to say, time to search for just the right word. In academic debate, there is no time, especially for the negative team. Team members research ahead of time and then develop arguments to what is being said while it is being said. When it is your turn, you just get up there and spew out as much of that information as you can in six minutes, sounding like the guy who reads the "small print" info on prescription drug commercials.
So, what does Debate class have to do with journalism? More than you think.
- Research -- Research is the name of the game in academic debate. Each team has to back up its arguments with solid research, citing sources. This is great training for journalists, who have to write articles and sound knowledgeable on subjects they didn't even know existed until the day before yesterday.
- Objectivity -- In one Debate class period, I found myself on the affirmative side of Felon Re-enfranchisement, and five minutes later arguing the negative on the same issue. Being ready to make both cases prepares the aspiring journalist to achieve balance and objectivity in his or her writing.
- Thinking on your feet -- The speed and nature of academic debate makes questions come to mind quickly, which is perfect practice for interviewing. While a journalist will generally have a prepared list of questions for an interview, sometimes the unexpected rabbit trail makes for a better story than sticking to the list. The journalist has to be ready to think on his or her feet to follow those rabbit trails.
