Top Tips from Trib Reporters
Professional reporters learn quickly
that developing sources is the key to mastering coverage
of a beat (or focus of reporting, like government, schools,
health and welfare, science, etc.). Members of The
Salt Lake Tribune staff offer the following experience-based
tips for meeting the people you will cover and developing
them in a professional manner.:
1. NEVER throw away a phone number.
Once you've talked to someone for one story, add their
number to your list, even if you don't think you'll need
to talk with them again. Add a description of who they
are and what you talked to them about, if you're likely
to forget. These kinds of numbers can come in handy in
the future, if not for you, then for another reporter
at the paper.
2. If you can, hang out where people
on your beat hang out, even when you're not pursuing a
particular story. You need to hear what they're talking
about, what their current hot issues are. If you're around
them, you'll eventually hear this kind of stuff.
3. Get to know your source by getting
together for a Coke and bagel or just a few sit-downs,
but always make it clear that it is a source-reporter
relationship, that you are not going to be their best
friend and write just what they want.
4. Always understand that when a source
gives you information, it is for a reason beneficial to
the source. Sources always want to use you. If you know
that going in, you will be better off. Do not become bitter
in response to this realization. Reality is reality —
it does not require an emotional response.
5. Develop counter-sources, those who
have competing interests. Never divulge the identity of
one source to another, but do play them off each other.
If you hear something from one source, mention what you
heard to the other. That usually generates an emotional
response from the second source and leads to a great deal
of information. It also gives you a balanced perspective
on how to develop your story.
6. Never burn a source. If you promise
a source anonymity, stick to that promise, no matter what
kind of pressure you get to divulge the name. Sometimes
you will have to kill a story because you have no attributed
sources on which to base it. But it's better to do that
than burn a source. You will eventually develop a reputation
as a reporter who can be trusted by sources and nothing
is more valuable in obtaining information than that.
7. When interviewing a new source,
start with an open-ended question and just let the person
talk until he/she stops. Don't interrupt. This allows
the person to say what he/she wants, which may answer
questions you would never have thought to ask. It also
shows that you are interested in what they have to say.
8. Never underestimate the cold call.
If you have a source you haven't talked to recently, give
him or her a buzz and see what they have been up to. You
will be amazed at what stories you find by these simple
conversations.
9. Be nice to the people you interview,
whether they are professionals or just hapless people
stuck in a bad situation. Journalists sometimes have a
bad reputation — and sometimes deservedly so. There's
no reason for us to be more callous/heartless than is
necessary. It's always a good idea to keep in mind how
it feels to be interviewed. Both our readers and our subjects
will trust us more if we treat them well.
10. At the end of every interview, ask:
"Is there anything else you think I should know?"
Sometimes there's something your questions didn't bring
up or that they feel passionately about, and you get some
of your most honest answers with this kind of open question.
11. Bend over backwards to be fair
and honest in your dealings with sources. Always let them
have their full say, if they want to comment.
12. Sources will attempt to manipulate
you. Make sure you check what they say with independent
sources.
13. Sources will slant the truth —
to say the least. Sometimes they will tell lies that will
take your breath away when you find out the truth (those
are the hardest to catch).
14. Keep a poker face. Letting a source
know your reaction to information by your facial expression
can hamper your attempts to get more information.
15. Make it clear to all your sources
that nothing would DELIGHT you more than going to jail
for protecting a source's identity. You have to be trusted
to never, ever give 'em up. Even to your top editors.
Be prepared to go to jail.
16. Keep your distance. Be friendly
to your sources, but don't ever act in a way that would
lead them to feel blindsided by a negative story. Your
line of questioning should make it clear what kind of
story is coming.
17. To get a good, fair and balanced
story, at some point you will have "burn" a
source (at least it will seem that way to the source).
That's why you can't allow yourself to be in the position
of being accused of betraying someone.
18. If you never anger any sources,
you will never write anything great.
19. Never promise a source to "hold"
or delay publishing a story, no matter what they promise.
You'll always, always, get screwed.
20. In covering beats, get out of the
office. Once a week buy somebody on your beat a cup of
coffee (or Postum or a soft drink). Just talk about their
jobs, what they do, etc. Don't worry about a story coming
out of it.
21. Being a reporter requires good
social skills, and you can start practicing them right
away. Just walk up to someone you don't know, offer your
hand, and say, "Hello, I'm _____________." Start
the conversation, then listen with full attention.
22. When you meet a potential source,
Introduce yourself, present a business card, (business
cards for student journalists are a great idea!). Explain
what you are doing, i.e., just beginning new beat, looking
for some information about...
23. Make sure you know to whom you
are speaking, what title or position the person has.
24. Get it right.: Who, what, when,
where are facts. Why and how come are matters of conjecture.
25. Spell names correctly. If you appear
to be sloppy with something so simple, it ruins your credibility
as a reporter.
26. Listen to everyone, no matter who
he/she is. Some of the best sources for tips are people
you initially wanted to write off as nuts.
27. Your mom was right: You do catch
more flies with honey than with vinegar. |
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