IndependentHandbookofJournalismIndependentJournalismHandbookofDeborahPotterisexecutivedirectorofNewsLab www. newslab. org anonlineresourcecenterforjournalistsinWashington D. C. thatshefoundedin1998. ShehastaughtjournalismasafacultymemberatThePoynterInstituteandatAmericanUniversity andisapastexecutivedirectoroftheRadioandTelevisionNewsDirectorsFoundation. PotterleadsworkshopsforjournalistsinnewsroomsacrosstheUnitedStatesandaroundtheworld. SheisafeaturedcolumnistwritingaboutbroadcastnewsforAmericanJournalismReviewandtheauthorofReady Set Lead AResourceGuideforNewsLeaders. Potterspentmorethan20yearsinTVnews including16asanetworkcorrespondentforCBSNewsandCNN coveringtheWhiteHouse StateDepartment Congress nationalpolitics andenvironmentalissues. ShealsohostedthePBSTVseries InthePrime. ShehasaBAfromtheUniversityofNorthCarolinaatChapelHillandamastersdegreefromAmericanUniversity. byDeborahPotterContents12345678WhatIsNews 4 TypesofnewsWherethenewscomesfromThejournalistsroleObjectivityandfairnessNewsprovidersGettingtheStory 12 FiveWsandanHObservationResearchSourcesInterviewsGroundrulesGettingitrightTellingtheStory 22 FocusWritingLeadsStorystructureEndingsAttributionQuotesandsoundbitesNumbersEditingtheStory 30 NewspaperjobsBroadcastjobsTheeditorsroleCopyeditingCoachingHeadlines captions andteasesGraphicsandvisualsSupervisingBroadcastandOnline 38 BroadcaststoryformsandtermsBroadcastwritingSoundPicturesNewscastsOnlinenewsOnlinestoryformsOnlinewritingSpecializedJournalism 46 BeatreportingskillsGovernmentandpoliticsBusinessandeconomicsHealth science andtheenvironmentPoliceandcourtsSportsQuestionsjournalistsshouldaskaboutpollsEthicsandLaw 54 EthicalprinciplesEthicaldecision-makingEthicscodesCodesofconductCommunitystandardsLegalissuesJournalismResources 61 MembershipgroupsReportingandeditingSpecializedjournalismJournalismtrainingFreedomofexpressionBooksEthicscodes2INTRODUCTIONAfreepresshasoftenbeencalledtheoxygenofdemocracy becauseonecannotsurvivewithouttheother. TheFrenchpoliticalwriterAlexisdeTocquevillenotedasmuchwhenhevisitedtheUnitedStatesalmost200yearsago. Youcanthaverealnewspaperswithoutdemocracy andyoucanthavedemocracywithoutnewspapers hewrote. Sincethen thatsimplestatementhasbeenproventrueinnationsallovertheworld. Democracies establishedoremerging dependontheconsentofaninformedcitizenry andthenewsmediaareaprimarysourceoftheinformationpeopleneedinordertogovernthemselves. Toensurethatjournalistsareabletoprovidethatinformation manycountrieshaveestablishedlegalprotectionsforafreepress. IntheUnitedStates forexample journalismistheonlyprofessionmentionedintheConstitution whichstates Congressshallmakenolaw . . . abridgingthefreedomofspeechorofthepress. AsThomasJefferson thethirdpresidentoftheUnitedStates wrotein1787 Thebasisofourgovernmentbeingtheopinionofthepeople theveryfirstobjectshouldbetokeepthatright andwereitlefttometodecidewhetherweshouldhaveagovernmentwithoutnewspapers ornewspaperswithoutagovernment Ishouldnothesitateamomenttopreferthelatter. Journalistsinafreesocietynotonlyhavecertainlegalprotections theyalsohaveresponsibilities. Insomecountries theseresponsibilitiesarespelledoutandinotherstheyareimplicit. Butinalmosteverycasetheyamounttothesamething tokeepcitizensinformed journalistshavearesponsibilitytoprovideinformationthatisaccurateandreportedfairly andindependently fromoutsideinfluences. Journalismisbothaprofessionandacraft sincejournalistsdrawonspecializedskillsandadheretocommonstandards. Sowhatmakesjournalismdifferentfromotheroccupationslikemedicineorlaw whichcouldbedescribedinsimilarterms Perhapsthegreatestdifferenceisthespecialrolethenewsmediaplayinafreesociety. 3Indemocraticsocietiesaroundtheworld thenewsmediahavecometoserveanadditionalfunctionaswatchdogsontheactivitiesofthepoliticalandjudicialbranchesofgovernment. Theyhavekeptdemocraciesviablebygivingvoicetothevoiceless ensuringthatarulingmajoritycannottrampletherightsofaminority. A19thcenturyAmericanwriterandhumorist FinleyPeterDunne oncesaidthatajournalistsjobis tocomforttheafflictedandafflictthecomfortable. Buttheprimaryroleofjournalisminafreesocietyhasremainedthesameforgenerations. WhenaU. S. -basedgroup theCommitteeofConcernedJournalists surveyedjournalistsaboutthecharacteroftheirprofessionattheveryendofthe20thcentury theycametothiscommonunderstanding Thecentralpurposeofjournalismistoprovidecitizenswithaccurateandreliableinformationtheyneedtofunctioninafreesociety. Thishandbookoffersabriefintroductiontothefundamentalsofjournalismasitispracticedindemocraticsystems ajournalismthatattemptstobaseitselfonfactandnotopinion. Opinionshavetheirplace butinthebest-editednewspaperstheyareconfinedtotheeditorialpagesandop-ed guestwriter columns. ItisthekindofjournalismIpracticedmyselfformorethan20yearsasareporterandeditor andthatInowteachinprofessionalworkshopsintheUnitedStatesandaroundtheworld. Mygoalistoprovideausefulandpracticalguidethatwillhelpalljournalistsdobetterworkforthecommunitiestheyserve. DeborahPotter Thecentralpurposeofjournalismistoprovidecitizenswithaccurateandreliableinformationtheyneedtofunctioninafreesociety . 414WHATISNEWS 5Sowhatmakesastorynewsworthyenoughtobepublishedorbroadcast Therealansweris itdependsonavarietyoffactors. Generallyspeaking newsisinformationthatisofbroadinteresttotheintendedaudience sowhatsbignewsinBuenosAiresmaynotbenewsatallinBaku. Journalistsdecidewhatnewstocoverbasedonmanyofthefollowing newsvalues TimelinessDidsomethinghappenrecentlyordidwejustlearnaboutit Ifso thatcouldmakeitnewsworthy. Themeaningof recently variesdependingonthemedium ofcourse. Foraweeklynewsmagazine anythingthathappenedsincethepreviouseditiontheweekbeforemaybeconsideredtimely. Fora24-hourcablenewschannel thetimeliestnewsmaybe breakingnews orsomethingthatishappeningthisveryminuteandcanbecoveredbyareporterliveatthescene. ImpactAremanypeopleaffectedorjustafew Contaminationinthewatersystemthatservesyourtowns20 000peoplehasimpactbecauseitaffectsyouraudiencedirectly. Areportthat10childrenwerekilledfromdrinkingpollutedwateratasummercampinadistantcityhasimpacttoo becausetheaudienceislikelytohaveastrongemotionalresponsetothestory. Thefactthataworkercutautilitylineisnotbignews unlessithappenstocauseablackoutacrossthecitythatlastsforseveralhours. ProximityDidsomethinghappenclosetohome ordiditinvolvepeoplefromhere AplanecrashinChadwillmakeheadlinesinNDjamena butitsunlikelytobefront-pagenewsinChileunlesstheplanewascarryingChileanpassengers. ControversyArepeopleindisagreementaboutthis Itshumannaturetobeinterestedinstoriesthatinvolveconflict tension orpublicdebate. Peopleliketotakesides andseewhosepositionwillprevail. Conflictdoesntalwaysentailpittingonepersonsviewsagainstanother. Storiesaboutdoctorsbattlingdiseaseorcitizensopposinganunjustlawalsoinvolveconflict. ProminenceIsawell-knownpersoninvolved Ordinaryactivitiesormishapscanbecomenewsiftheyinvolveaprominentpersonlikeaprimeministerorafilmstar. ThatplanecrashinChadwouldmakeheadlinesaroundtheworldifoneofthepassengerswereafamousrockmusician. CurrencyArepeopleheretalkingaboutthis Agovernmentmeetingaboutbussafetymightnotdrawmuchattention unlessithappenstobescheduledsoonafteraterriblebusaccident. Anincidentatafootballmatchmaybeinthenewsforseveraldaysbecauseitsthemaintopicofconversationintown. Theanswertothequestion Whatisnews mayseemobvious. Newsiswhatisnew itswhatshappening. Lookitupinthedictionary andyoullfindnewsdescribedas areportofrecenteventsorpreviouslyunknowninformation. Butmostofthethingsthathappenintheworldeverydaydontfindtheirwayintothenewspaperorontotheairinanewscast. 6OddityIswhathappenedunusual Asthesayinggoes Ifadogbitesaman thatisnotnews. Butifamanbitesadog itsnews Theextraordinaryandtheunexpectedappealtoournaturalhumancuriosity. Whatmakesnewsalsodependsonthemakeupoftheintendedaudience notjustwheretheylivebutwhotheyare. Differentgroupsofpeoplehavedifferentlifestylesandconcerns whichmaketheminterestedindifferenttypesofnews. Aradionewsprogramtargetedatyoungerlistenersmightincludestoriesaboutmusicorsportsstarsthatwouldnotbefeaturedinabusinessnewspaperaimedatolder wealthierreaders. Aweeklymagazinethatcoversmedicalnewswouldreportonthetestingofanexperimentaldrugbecausethedoctorswhoreadthepublicationpresumablywouldbeinterested. Butunlessthedrugisbelievedtocureawell-knowndisease mostgeneral-interestlocalnewspaperswouldignorethestory. Theexceptionmightbethenewspaperinthecommunitywheretheresearchisbeingconducted. Newsorganizationsseetheirworkasapublicservice sonewsismadeupofinformationthatpeopleneedtoknowinordertogoabouttheirdailylivesandtobeproductivecitizensinademocracy. Butmostnewsorganizationsalsoarebusinessesthathavetomakeaprofittosurvive sothenewsalsoincludesitemsthatwilldrawanaudience storiespeoplemaywanttoknowaboutjustbecausetheyreinteresting. Thosetwocharacteristicsneednotbeinconflict. Someofthebeststoriesonanygivenday infact arebothimportantandinteresting. Butitsfairlycommonfornewsorganizationstodividestoriesintotwobasiccategories hardnewsandsoftnews alsocalledfeatures. TypesofNewsHardnewsisessentiallythenewsoftheday. ItswhatyouseeonthefrontpageofthenewspaperorthetopoftheWebpage andwhatyouhearatthestartofabroadcastnewsreport. Forexample war politics business andcrimearefrequenthardnewstopics. Astrikeannouncedtodaybythecitysbusdriversthatleavesthousandsofcommutersunabletogettoworkishardnews. Itstimely controversial andhasawideimpactclosetohome. Thecommunityneedstheinformationrightaway becauseitaffectspeoplesdailylives. Bycontrast astoryaboutaworld-famousathletewhogrewupinanorphanagewouldfitthedefinitionofsoftnews. Itsahuman-intereststoryinvolvingaprominentpersonanditsanunusualstorythatpeoplelikelywoulddiscusswiththeirfriends. Buttheresnocompellingreasonwhyithastobepublishedorbroadcastonanyparticularday. Bydefinition thatmakesitafeaturestory. Manynewspapersandonline- newssiteshaveseparatefeaturesectionsforstoriesaboutlifestyles homeandfamily thearts andentertainment. Largernewspapersevenmayhaveweeklysectionsforspecifickindsoffeaturesonfood health education andsoforth. 7Topicisnttheonlythingthatseparateshardnewsfromfeatures. Inmostcases hardnewsandsoftnewsarewrittendifferently. Hardnewsstoriesgenerallyarewrittensothattheaudiencegetsthemostimportantinformationasquicklyaspossible. Featurewritersoftenbeginwithananecdoteorexampledesignedprimarilytodrawtheaudiencesinterest sothestorymaytakelongertogettothecentralpoint. Somestoriesblendthesetwoapproaches. Storiesthatarenottime-sensitivebutthatfocusonsignificantissuesareoftencalled newsfeatures. AstoryaboutonecommunitysstruggletodealwithAIDS forexample isanewsfeature. AstoryaboutanewtreatmentoptionforAIDSpatientswouldbehardnews. Newsfeaturesareaneffectivewaytoexploretrendsorcomplexsocialproblemsbytellingindividualhumanstoriesabouthowpeopleexperiencethem. WelldiscussthesedifferentwritingstylesinmoredetailinChapter3 TellingtheStory. WheretheNewsComesFromJournalistsfindnewsinallsortsofplaces butmoststoriesoriginateinoneofthreebasicways naturallyoccurringevents likedisastersandaccidents plannedactivities likemeetingsandnewsconferences reporters enterprise. Unplannedeventsfrequentlybecomemajornewsstories. Aferrysinking aplanecrash atsunami oramudslideisnewsworthynotjustwhenithappensbutoftenfordaysandweeksafterwards. Theextentofthecoveragedependsinpartonproximityandwhowasinvolved. AfatalautomobileaccidentinParismightnotbebignewsonanygivenday. ButanaccidentinParisin1997wasahugenewsstory notjustinFrancebutalsoaroundtheworld becauseoneofthevictimswasBritainsPrincessDiana. Citizenswhowitnessadisasterwilloftencontactanewsorganization. Journalistsalsolearnabouttheseeventsfromfirstresponders police fire orrescueofficials. Insomecountries newsorganizationsareabletomonitoremergencycommunicationsbetweenfirstrespondersandcandispatchjournaliststothescenequicklysotheycanwatchthestoryunfold. Inmanynewsrooms themostobvioussourceofnewsisthedailyscheduleofeventsintown whichincludesgovernmentmeetings businessopenings orcommunityevents. Oftencalleda daybook thislistofactivitiesisnotautomaticallynewsworthybutitprovidesagoodstartingpointforreporterssearchingfornews. Reporterswhoregularlycoverspecifickindsofissuesorinstitutions alsocalled beat reporters saytheyoftengetstoryideasbylookingatagendasforupcomingmeetings. Pressreleasescanbeanothersourceofnews butagain theyarejustastartingpoint. Dozensofpressreleasesarriveinnewsroomseveryday bymail byfax orevenonvideoviasatellite. Governmentofficialsandagenciesgeneratemanyofthem butotherlargeorganizationslikeprivatebusinessesandnon- profitgroupsalsoissuepressreleasestoletthenewsmediaknowwhattheyaredoing. Apressreleasemayresembleanewsstorybutbecauseitisproducedbysomeonewithavestedinterestinthesubjectitisnotlikelytotellthecompletestory. Pressreleasesmaybefactuallycorrect buttheyusuallyincludeonlythosefactsthatreflectpositivelyonthepersonororganizationfeaturedintherelease. Evenifapressreleaselooksnewsworthy aprofessionaljournalistfirstmustverifyitsauthenticity andthenbeginaskingquestionstodeterminetherealstorybeforedecidingifitsworthreporting. Stagedevents suchasdemonstrations alsocanproducenews butjournalistsmustbewaryofbeingmanipulatedbytheorganizerswhowanttotellonlytheirsideofthestory. Politicianshavebecomeadeptatstagingeventsand photoopportunities inordertoattractcoverage evenwhentheyhavenorealnewsvalue. Thatdoesnotmeanjournalistsshouldignoretheseevents butonlythattheyneedtodoadditionalreportingtogetacompletestory. 8Mostreporterssaytheirbeststoriescomefromtheirownenterprise. Sometimesstorysuggestionscomefromstrangers whomayvisit telephone ore-mailthenewsroomwithacomplaintorconcern. Somenewsorganizationsactivelysolicitideasfrompeoplewholiveinthecommunitiestheyserve byprovidingatelephonenumberorane-mailaddresswheresuggestionscanbesubmitted. Journalistsspendalotoftimebuildingrelationshipswithpeoplewhocanprovidethemwithinformation. WelltalkmoreaboutsourcebuildinginChapter2 GettingtheStory. Journalistsfrequentlyfindstoriessimplybylookingaroundandlisteningtowhatpeoplearetalkingabout. Whatyouoverhearatasportseventorinlineatthepostofficecouldturnintoanewsstory. Askthepeopleyoumeetwhenyouarenotcoveringastorywhatisgoingonintheirlivesortheirneighborhoodsandyoumightfindyourselfonthetrailofanewsstorynooneelsehascovered. Anotherwaytofindnewsistoaskwhathashappenedsincethelasttimeastorywasinthepaperorontheair. Follow-upsoftenleadtosurprisingdevelopmentsthatareevenmorenewsworthythantheoriginalreport. Forexample astoryaboutafirethedayafterithappenedmighttellyouhowmanypeoplewerekilledandtheextentofthepropertydamage. Butafollow-upseveralweekslatercoulddiscoverthatafaultyradiosystemmadeitimpossibleforfirefighterstorespondquicklyenoughtosavemorelives. Documents data andpublicrecordscanleadtoterrificstoriesaswell. Reporterscanusethemtolookfortrendsortospotirregularities. Thiskindofworkrequiresmoreeffort buttheresultsarealmostalwaysworththetrouble. Itsconsiderablyeasierwhenthedataaremadeavailableelectronically ofcourse butreportershavebeenknowntoenterdatafrompaperrecordsintocomputerdatabaseprogramsjustsotheycansearchforthemostsignificantinformationinapileofstatistics. Forexample alistofpeoplewhohavereceivedspeedingticketsmightyieldastoryifitcouldbesortedbynameinsteadofdate. ThatshowtelevisionreporterNancyAmonslearnedthatonedriverinhertownhadmanagedtoamassadozentrafficviolationsinthreeyearsandhadevencausedanaccidentthatkilledanotherdriverwithouteverlosinghisdriverslicense. Whensheinvestigated cityofficialsadmittedtheyhadfailedtodotheirjob. TheJournalist sRoleNewtechnologieshavemadeitpossibleforanyonewithacomputertodisseminateinformationaswidelyasthelargestnewsorganizations. Butawell-designedInternetsite nomatterhowwellitswrittenorhowoftenitsupdated isnotnecessarilyareliablesourceofnews. Thetruthisthatinacomplexworldwhereinformationisnolongerascarcecommodity theroleofthejournalisthasbecomemoreimportantthanever. Unlikeapropagandistoragossip thejournalistsortsthroughtheinformationavailableanddetermineshowmuchofitisvaluableandreliablebeforepassingitontothepublic. Newsstories whetherhardnewsorfeatures mustbeaccurate. Journalistsnotonlycollecttheinformationtheyneedtotellthestory theyhavetoverifytheinformationbeforetheycanuseit. Journalistsrelyonfirst-handobservationwheneverpossibleandconsult9multiplesourcestomakesuretheinformationtheyreceiveisreliable. And exceptonrareoccasions theyidentifythesourcesoftheirinformationsotheaudiencecanevaluateitscredibility. Butjournalismismorethanjustthedistributionoffact-basedinformation. Propagandaalsomaybebasedonfacts butthosefactsarepresentedinsuchawayastoinfluencepeoplesopinions. Aswevealreadynoted publicrelationsprofessionalsusefacts aswell butmaytellonlyonesideofastory. Journalists ontheotherhand strivetobefairandcomplete. Theystrivetotellanaccurateandauthenticstory onethatreflectsreality nottheirownperceptionofitoranyoneelses. Anotherdistinctionbetweenjournalismandotherformsofinformationisthatjournalistsstriveforindependencefromthepeopletheycover. Apublicrelationsprofessionalwhoisemployedbytheorganizationheorsheiswritingaboutisunlikelytoincludeinformationthatmightmaketheorganizationlookbad. Ajournalist ontheotherhand willattempttoprovideacompletepicture evenifitisnotentirelypositive. Journalistsarenotmeretransmissionbeltsfortheirownviewpointsorforinformationprovidedbyothers. Theydooriginalreporting theydonotconfusefactwithopinionorrumor andtheymakesoundeditorialdecisions. Aprincipalresponsibilityofjournalism saysBillKeller executiveeditorofTheNewYorkTimes is applyingjudgmenttoinformation. Unlikeotherpurveyorsofinformation journalistsowetheirprimaryallegiancetothepublic. AsCanadasMontrealGazettestatesinitscodeofethics Anewspapersgreatestassetisitsintegrity. Respectforthatintegrityispainfullywonandeasilylost. Tomaintainthatintegrity journalistsworkhardtoavoidconflictsofinterest realorperceived. WelltalkmoreaboutthatinChapter7 EthicsandLaw. ObjectivityandFairnessTheconceptofobjectivityinjournalismdevelopedalmostacenturyago asareactiontothesensational opinion- drivenreportingthatwascommoninmostnewspapersoftheday. Theterm objectivity wasoriginallyusedtodescribeajournalisticapproachormethod journalistswouldseektopresentthenewsinanobjectiveway withoutreflectinganypersonalorcorporatebias. Overtime objectivitywasrequiredfromthejournaliststhemselves. TheexecutiveeditoroftheAmericannewspaperTheWashingtonPost LeonardDownie tooktheconceptsoseriouslythatherefusedtoregistertovote. Butmanyjournaliststodayconcedethattotalobjectivityisimpossible. In1996 theU. S. SocietyofProfessionalJournalistsdroppedtheword objectivity fromitscodeofethics. Journalistsarehumanbeings afterall. Theycareabouttheirworkandtheydohaveopinions. Claimingthattheyarecompletelyobjectivesuggeststhattheyhavenovalues. Instead journalistshavelargelyagreedthattheymustbeawareoftheirownopinionssotheycankeepthemincheck. Theaudienceshouldnotbeabletotellfromthestorywhatthejournalistsopinionis. Byusinganobjective scientificmethodforverifyinginformation journalistscanreportstoriesthatdonotreflecttheirownpersonalviews. Thestoryitself inotherwords shouldbeimpartialandfair. Inacomplexworldwhereinformationisnolongerascarcecommodity theroleofthejournalisthasbecomemoreimportantthanever . 10Journalistsalsostrivetobefairintheirreportingbynottellingone-sidedstories. Theylookforcontrastingviewsandreportonthemwithoutfavoringonesideoranother. Inadditiontoverifyingassertionsoffact theywillseekoutdifferingopinionsincaseswherethefactsareindispute. Fairnessisnotthesamethingasbalance however. Balancesuggeststhatthereareonlytwosidestoanystory whichisrarelythecase andthateachsideshouldbegivenequalweight. Journalistswhoseekthatkindofartificialbalanceintheirstoriesactuallymayproducecoveragethatisfundamentallyinaccurate. Forexample thevastmajorityofindependenteconomistsmayagreeontheconsequencesofaparticularspendingpolicywhileasmallhandfulhasadifferentopinion whichhasbeenprovenwrongbypastexperience. Astorygivingequaltimeorspacetotheviewsofbothgroupswouldbemisleading. Thechallengeforjournalistsistoreportallsignificantviewpointsinawaythatisfairtothoseinvolvedandthatalsopresentsacompleteandhonestpicturetotheaudience. Fairnessmeans amongotherthings listeningtodifferentviewpoints andincorporatingthemintothejournalism saysreporterandbloggerDanGillmor. Itdoesnotmeanparrotingliesordistortionstoachievethatlazyequivalencethatleadssomejournaliststogetopposingquoteswhenthefactsoverwhelminglysupportoneside. NewsProvidersJournaliststheworldoversharecertaincharacteristics. Theyarecuriousandpersistent. Theywanttoknowwhythingshappenandtheydonttakenoforananswer. Theyarenotintimidatedbythepowerfulandtheycaredeeplyabouttheworktheydo. KevinMarsh aneditorattheBritishBroadcastingCompanys BBC Radio4 saysagoodjournalisthas theabilitytograspthebigtruths withthehumilitytoletthemgoagainwhenthefactsdontfit. Ajournalistsjobischallengingandcomplicated. AsPhilipGraham latechairmanoftheboardoftheWashingtonPostCompany oncesaid Ajournalisthasthe inescapablyimpossibletaskofprovidingeveryweekafirstroughdraftofahistorythatwillneverbecompletedaboutaworldwecanneverunderstand. Journaliststodayhavemoreoutletsfortheirworkthanatanyothertimeinhistory fromsmallcommunitynewspaperstoworldwidetelevisionnewschannelsandonline-newssites. Eachofthemediaoutletshasdifferentstrengthsandweaknesses. Inmostcountries dailynewspapersgenerallyhavethelargeststaffsandoffermoredepthonawiderrangeoftopicsthanthebroadcastmedia. Withtheadditionofonlinesites manynewspapershavebeguntoovercomethelimitationsoftheirtraditionalonce-a-daypublicationschedule. Buttheylargelyreachonlyaliterate affluentaudience peoplewhocanreadandwhohaveenoughmoneytobuythenewspaperorhaveaccesstoacomputertoreaditonline. Radio oneofthemostwidelyusedsourcesofnewsintheworld hastheadvantageofspeedandeasyavailability. Radiojournalistscangetthenewsontheairquicklyandanyonewithabattery-poweredradiocanhearthenewsalmostanywhereatanytime. Radioreporterstellstorieswithsoundaswellaswords solistenersfeeltheyhaveexperiencedsomeofwhattheeventwasreallylike. Radionewsisontheairmanytimesaday soitisfrequentlyupdated. Butmostradiostationsprovideonlyalimitedamountoftimeforeachnewscast whichtendstobeashortsummaryofonlythebiggeststories withoutthedepthorbreadththatanewspapercanoffer. Withbothsoundandpictures televisionnewscastscanshowviewerswhatishappening notjusttellthemaboutit. Oneoftelevisionsstrengthsisitsabilitytoconveyemotionandshareexperienceswithviewers. Technologicaladvances smallercameras digitalediting andmobileuplinks havemadeitpossiblefortelevisiontobealmostasfastasradioingettingastoryontheair. Butthemediumsdependence11onpicturescanbeadrawback Televisionnewssometimesavoidstellingcomplicatedstoriesbecausetheyarenotvisuallycompelling. Recently thedistinctionbetweenthetraditionalcategoriesofprintandbroadcastnewshasblurred. IntheUnitedStatesandothercountries manynewsorganizationsnowproducenewsinavarietyofmedia includingtheInternet. SincetheInternetisinfinitelyexpandable onlinenewsisnotnecessarilysubjecttothesamerestrictionsofspaceandtimeimposedontheprintandbroadcastmedia. Newssitescanprovidemoreinformationandkeepitavailableforalongertime. Andtheycanmakeitpossibleforuserstosearchforthenewsthatmostintereststhem. Online-newssitesaffiliatedwithnewspapers radio andtelevisionstationsmaylookverysimilar. Theyillustratetheirstorieswithphotographs andmanyofferstreamingvideoofstoriesorcompletenewscasts. Theyalsomaysupplya podcast version publishingtheirfilestotheInternetsothattheirsubscriberscandownloadthefilesontoacomputerorportablemediaplayerforlaterconsumption. Onsomesites youcanreadthetextofastoryorlistenasthewriterreadsittoyou. NewsorganizationsareevenpostingtheirownWeblogs commonlyknownbytheshort- handterm blogs lettingjournalistswriteonlinediariesaboutthestoriestheyrecoveringorthedecisionsbeingmadeinthenewsroom. Inthisevolvingworldofnews manyjournalistsfindtheyneedadditionalskillstodothejobthatisexpectedofthem. ReportersmaybeexpectedtoshootphotographsforuseontheInternet inadditiontointerviewingsourcesandwritingstoriesforthenewspaper. EditorsmaybeaskedtopoststoriesontheInternet inadditiontocheckingreporters copyandwritingheadlines. Photographersmayneedtoshootvideoaswellasstillpictures andtheyalsomayhavetoprovidetexttogoalongwiththeirpictures. Manynewsorganizationsareprovidingtrainingforjournalistswhoaretakingonnewrolesinthenewsroom. Andsomejournalismeducatorsarenowimplementingwhattheycalla convergencecurriculum tohelpstudentslearnthemultipleskillstheymayneedinthefuture. Butforallthesenewdemands theheartofgoodjournalismremainsthesame. AsBillKovachandTomRosenstielwriteintheirbook TheElementsofJournalism WhatNewspeopleShouldKnowandthePublicShouldExpect therearesomeclearprinciplesthatjournalistsinademocraticsocietyagreeonandthatcitizenshavearighttoexpect Journalismsfirstobligationistothetruth. Itsfirstloyaltyistocitizens. Itsessenceisadisciplineofverification. Itspractitionersmustmaintainanindependencefromthosetheycover. Journalismmustserveasanindependentmonitorofpower. Itmustprovideaforumforpubliccriticismandcompromise. Itmuststrivetomakethesignificantinterestingandrelevant. Itmustkeepthenewscomprehensiveandproportional. Itspractitionersmustbeallowedtoexercisetheirpersonalconscience. Thesevaluesdistinguishjournalismfromallotherformsofcommunication. Abidingbythemisnoteasy. Journalistsfacepressuretocompromiseonthesestandardsalmosteveryday. Butkeepingtheminmindisthebestwaytoensurethatjournalismcanserveitsprimaryfunction supplyingcitizenswiththeinformationtheyneedtomakedecisionsabouttheirlives. 122GETTINGTHESTORY13butwhogaveNalderthenameandlocationofhispredecessor. Whenthereporterreachedtheretireddirectorbyphone heconfirmedtheshortageofliferafts. Farfrombeingsatisfiedthathehaduncoveredagoodstory Nalderwasjustgettingstarted. Togetthefullstory Nalderneededdocumentsshowingthenumberofliferaftsoneveryferry thecapacityofeachraft andthemaximumnumberofpassengerseachferrycouldcarry. Hehadtoanalyzethedatatodeterminetheseriousnessoftheshortage. Healsowantedtoridetheferriesandtalktopassengersandcrew. Onlythenwashereadytowritehisfront-pagestory whichrevealedthatferriesinhisstatehadonlyenoughliferaftstoevacuateonepassengeroutofseven. Reportingisapainstakingprocessthatinvolvescollectingfactsandcheckingthemcarefullyforaccuracy. Journalistssometimeswitnessstoriesfirst-hand butmoretypicallytheylearnthedetailsfromotherswhohaveexperiencedsomethingdirectlyorwhoareexpertsinthetopic. Thatinformationisreinforcedorcorroboratedbyadditionalsources andcheckedagainstdocumentaryevidenceinpublicrecords reports orarchives. TheinformationajournalistcollectsshouldanswerquestionsthatarecommonlyknownasthefiveWsandanH who what where when why andhow. Dependingonthecomplexityofthestory areportermightaskthosequestionsinseveraldifferentways. WHO Whoisinvolvedinthisstory Whoisaffectedbyit Whoisthebestpersontotellthestory Whoismissingfromthisstory Whohasmoreinformationaboutthis Whoisinconflictinthisstory Dotheyhaveanythingincommon WhoelseshouldItalktoaboutthis WHAT Whathappened Whatisthepointofthisstory WhatamIreallytryingtosay Whatdoesthereader viewer orlistenerneedtoknowtounderstandthisstory Whatsurprisedme WhatisthemostimportantsinglefactIlearned Whatisthehistoryhere Whathappensnext Whatcanpeopledoaboutit WHERE Wheredidthishappen WhereelseshouldIgotogetthefullstory Whereisthisstorygoingnext Howwillitend WHEN Whendidthishappen Whendidtheturningpointsoccurinthisstory WhenshouldIreportthisstory Thetipcameinane -mailfromaformergovernmentofficialwhosuggestedlookingintothesupplyofliferaftsonferriesinWashingtonstate. ReporterEricNalder thenwiththeSeattleTimes decidedtocheckitout. Hisfirstphonecallwastotheferrysystemssafetydirector whowasnewonthejob 14WHY Whyisthishappening Isitanisolatedcaseorpartofatrend Whyarepeoplebehavingthewaytheyare Whataretheirmotives Whydoesthisstorymatter Whyshouldanyonewatch read orlistentoit WhyamIsureIhavethisstoryright HOW Howdidthishappen Howwillthingsbedifferentbecauseofwhathappened Howwillthisstoryhelpthereader listener orviewer Thecommunity HowdidIgetthisinformation Istheattributionclear Howwouldsomeonedescribethisstorytoafriend Manyreportersusementalchecklistslikethisonetomakesuretheyhavecoveredalloftheimportantelementsofastory. ObservationOn-the-sceneobservationisoneofthefundamentalsofgoodreporting. Journalistswanttowitnesseventsforthemselveswheneverpossiblesotheycandescribethemaccuratelytotheaudience. Goodreportersusealloftheirsensesonthescene. Theylook listen smell taste andfeelthestorysotheaudiencecan too. Todothiswell journalistsneedanaccuraterecordoftheirobservations. Aprintreportercandohisorherjobwithanotebookandapencilorpen butmanyalsocarryaudiorecordersandcameras especiallyiftheyareexpectedtofilestoriesforanonlineeditionaswell. Forradio journalistsneedtocapturesound andfortelevision bothsoundandvideo. Usingarecorderisonewayofmakingsurethatanyquotationsyoumightuseareaccurate. Butelectronicshavebeenknowntofail soitsimportantforalljournaliststobeskillednote- takers. Herearesometipsonnote-takingfromexperiencedreporters Writedownfacts details thoughts andideas. Makeclearwhichiswhich andwheretheycamefrom. Drawdiagramsofrooms scenes oritemsinrelationshiptoeachother. Alwaysgetcorrectlyspellednames titles andcontactinformation. Askforbirthdateandyear tomakesureyouhavethepersonsageright. Spelloutinterviewgroundrulesinthenotebook. Dontcrowdthenotebook. Leavespaceforannotatingnotes. Leavetheinsidecoversblanktowritedownquestionstoasklater. Annotatethenotesassoonaspossible. Manyreportersusetheirownshorthandforcommonwordssotheycantakenotesmorequickly. Thentheyannotatetheirnotes spellingoutabbreviationstoavoidanyconfusionlater. Theyalsowillmarkthemostimportantinformationtheyhavelearned goodquotestheymayuseinthestory anythingtheyneedtofollowuponorcheckforaccuracy andquestionsthatstillneedtobeanswered. Itsoundsobvious butreportersmustbesuretheyhavethetoolstheyneedbeforeheadingouttocoverastory notebook pen tapeordigitalrecorder andfreshbatteries. TheresnothingmoreembarrassingthanGoodreportersusealloftheirsensesonthescene . 15arrivingonthesceneonlytodiscoverthereisnofilmortapeinthecamera orthattheonlypeninyourpocketisoutofink. Todaysjournalistsoftencarryadditionaltools amobiletelephoneandalaptopcomputer. Afewothersimpleitemscanbeuseful aswell. Puttingarubberbandaroundyournotebooktomarkthenextblankpagemakesiteasytofindquickly. Aplasticbagwillprotectyournotebookwhenitrains sothepagesstaydryandtheinkdoesntrun. Asmallpairofbinocularswillhelpyouseewhatsgoingonevenifyoucantgetveryclose. Acalculatorwillhelpyouconvertinformationlikethenumberoftonsoffuelcarriedbyanaircraftintotermsmorefamiliartotheaudience inthiscase litersorgallons. ResearchJournaliststendtocollectmuchmoreinformationthantheycanputintoastory butthatinformationalwayshelpsthembetterunderstandtheeventorissuetheyarecovering. Sometimes backgroundinformationisessentialtogiveastorydeepermeaning. InEricNaldersstoryaboutliferafts forexample heincludedthefactthatthewatertheferriescrossiscoldenoughinJanuarytokillsomeonewithinhalfanhour. Thatinformationputstheshortageofliferaftsincontextbyexplainingmoreclearlywhyitmatters. Itsexactlythekindofinformationreporterslookforwhentheydoresearchonastory eitherbeforetheyleavethenewsroomoralongthewayasquestionscomeup. Journalistshavemoreresearchtoolsavailabletodaythaneverbefore thankstocomputersandtheInternet. Manyofthemarejusthigh-techversionsofthebasictoolsofthetrade directories almanacs encyclopedias andmaps. OthersaredatabasesandreportsthatwouldhavebeenmuchhardertofindinthedaysbeforetheInternet requiringapersonalvisittoalibraryorgovernmentbuilding. StillothersareresourcesthatfewwouldhaveimaginedtwodecadesagowhentheInternetwasyoung searchengines blogs chatrooms ande-maillists. Alloftheseresourcesareusefultojournalistscollectingbackgroundonastory. Butoneofthemostbasicresearchtoolshasnotchangedinacentury thenewsorganizationsownlibraryofpreviouslypublishedorbroadcaststories. Whetherthese clips arekeptonpaperinfilingdrawersorincomputerfiles theyareausefulstartingplaceforallkindsofstories. Manyjournalistsalsokeeptheirown clipfiles ofstoriestheyhavesavedaboutspecifictopics. Imaginethattheformerpresidentofaneighboringcountryhasdied. Areporterassignedtowritethestorywouldwanttoknowsomebasicfacts age causeofdeath andwhereandwhenhedied. Butthejournalistwouldalsowantinformationabouthistimeinoffice andhowthecountryhaschangedsincehewaspresident. Afirststepwouldbetoconsultpreviousnewsreports eitherinthenewsroomsarchiveoronline. Thosereportsmightmentionsomeonewhowasclosetotheformerpresident whomthereportercouldaskforaninterview. Thereporterwouldwanttohavesomebackgroundonthatpersonbeforeconductingtheinterview andmightlearnthattheformerpresidentsfriendkeptallofhisletters whichcouldrevealsomesurprisingnewinformation. 16Doinganinterviewwithouthavingdoneanybackgroundresearchislikedrivingtoanunfamiliarplacewithoutconsultingamap. Youmightgetwhereyouintendtogo butitsjustaslikelythatyouwillmissaturnalongtheway. SourcesReportersusebothprimaryandsecondarysourceswhenreportingnewsstories. Aprimarysourcecouldbeaninterviewwithapersonwhohasdirectexperienceofaneventortopic oranoriginaldocumentrelatedtothattopic. Thejournalistaseyewitnessalsoisconsideredaprimarysource. Asecondarysourcemightbeawrittenreportbasedontheoriginaldocument. Inthecaseofafire forexample thepersonwhosehouseburneddownwouldbeaprimarysource. Sowouldafirefighterwhohadbeeninvolvedinputtingoutthefire. Butthepressreleaseissuedbythefiredepartmentthenextdaywouldbeasecondarysource. Oneruleofthumbreportersfollowwhenresearchingastoryisthatnosinglesourcecanprovidealloftheinformationtheymightneed. Inthecaseoftheformerpresident eachsourcethereporterconsultedledtoanothersource. Sometimes sourcescontradicteachother. Toclearupdiscrepancies reportersmayhavetoseewheretheweightoftheevidenceliesorseekoutoriginalsources suchasdocuments todeterminewhichversionistrue. Secondarysourcesaremostusefulasawayofconfirminginformationacquiredfromprimarysources. Whateversourcesyouusetoresearchthebackgroundofastory itscriticaltoconsiderthevalidityorcredibilityofthesource. Thesedays anyonecandesignaprofessional-lookingWebsite orarrangetosendane-mailthatlooksauthenticbutisreallyahoax. Justbecauseyoucanfinditonlinedoesnotmeanthatitstrue. Journalistsneedtoverifythesourceofallinformationtodeterminewhetheritscredibleenoughtouseinanewsstory. Decidingwhatsourcestouseforastoryisalargepartofajournalistsjob. Herearesomeusefulquestionsforevaluatingwhetheryouhavechosentherightsourceorthebestsourceforyourstory. Howdoesthissourceknowwhatheorsheknows Isthispersoninapositiontoknowthesethings eitherpersonalorprofessional HowcanIconfirmthisinformationthroughothersourcesorthroughdocuments Howrepresentativeismysourcespointofview Isthisjustonepersonwhocomplainsloudlyaboutthelandlord becausetheyhaveapersonalproblem Oristhisthemostarticulatevoicespeakingforanentiregroupoftenantswhohaveserious legitimateproblems Hasthissourcebeenreliableandcredibleinthepast AmIonlyusingthissourcebecauseitstheeasywaytogoorbecauseIknowIllgetsomethingIcanuse Whatisthesourcesmotiveforprovidinginformation Isthispersontryingtomakehimselflookgood ortomakehisbosslookbad Whyisheorshetalkingtomeinthefirstplace Goodreporters work theirsourcesregularly contactingthemtoaskifanythinginterestingishappening . 17Onceyoudiscoverahelpfulsourceofinformationforonestory itsagoodideatostayintouchwiththatpersonoverthelongterm. Getasmuchcontactinformationaspossibleforeverysource notjustanofficeaddressandtelephonenumber butmobileandhometelephonesande-mailaddressesaswell. Goodreporters work theirsourcesregularly contactingthemtoaskifanythinginterestingishappening. Makeiteasyforsourcestogetintouchwithyou aswell bygivingyourbusinesscardtoeveryoneyoumeetonastory. Anyonewithaccesstoinformation includingsecretariesandclerks canbeausefulsourceforajournalist. Theycanprovidecopiesofdocuments andtheyoftenknowwhoisthemostknowledgeablepersononagiventopic. Areporterwhotreatsthemwithrespectmayfindhisorherrequestforaninterviewwiththesecretaryssupervisoracceptedmorequickly. InterviewsAmericanreporterKristinGilgersays Skillfulinterviewingisthebasisforallgoodreportingandwriting. Aninterviewisdefinedasinformation opinion orexperiencesharedbyasourceinconversationwithareporter. Whatmakesaninterviewalittledifferentfromanordinaryconversationisthatthereporterdeterminesthedirectionofthequestioning. Settingupaninterviewisnotalwayseasy. Peoplemaynotwanttotalkwithajournalist especiallyifthestoryiscontroversial. Whendealingwithpublicofficials startfromthepremisethatthepublichasarighttoknowwhattheofficialsaredoing. Experiencedreportershavefoundtheycanpersuadeeventhemostreluctantofficialstoagreetoaninterviewbyanticipatingtheexcusesandroadblockstheymayuse. Theydonthavetime. Thereportercanoffertomeetatthemostconvenienttimeorplaceforthepersontheywanttospeakwith. Limitingtheamountoftimerequestedalsomayhelp. Theyareafraidbecausetheythinkthestorywillmakethemlookbad. Treatingpeoplewithrespectandtellingthempreciselywhyyouwanttotalkwiththemwillhelpsourcesbelessanxious. Theydontknowwhattosay. Reportersneedtobeclearaboutwhythestoryneedsaparticularpersonspointofview. Theyarehardtoreach. Reportersoftenhavetogothroughasecretaryorpublicrelationsofficertocontactthepersontheywanttointerview. Iftheysuspectthattheirrequestisnotbeingforwarded somereporterswillwritealettertothesource orcallduringlunchorafterbusinesshoursinanefforttogetthrough. Onceyouhavesecuredtheinterviewandresearchedthepersonandthetopic thereisstillmorepreparationtodo. Mostreportersdevelopalistofquestionsortopics whichtheytakewiththembutdonotreadfromduringtheinterview. Instead theyrefertothelistonlyneartheendtomakesuretheyhaventforgottensomethingimportant. Thelistalsoincludesotherinformation documents orphotographstheywanttoobtainfromthatsource. Questionsarethebackboneofaninterview. Theyaretherudder keepingtheshipgoingintherightdirection. Goodquestionscanrewardyouwithunexpectedanswers richinformation andsurprises. Poorquestionscanleaveyouwonderingwhyyoubotheredtotalktothatpersonanyway. Questionsthataretoospecificcanleadyoudownthewrongtrail. Skillfulinterviewingisthebasisforallgoodreportingandwriting . 18Thefirstquestioninaninterviewisimportantbecauseitsetsthetoneforwhatfollows. Alotofjournalistsliketobeginwithan ice-breaker questionthatletsthesourcerelax. Itssomethingtheyrecomfortableanswering. Itmay infact havenothingtodowiththereasonyouarethere. Butoftenithelpstoestablishyourcredentialswiththesource andthatcanestablishasenseoftrustandopenness. Mostofthetime thebestquestionsareopen-endedquestionsthatcannotbeansweredwithasimpleyesorno. Theyarealsonon- judgmental inthattheydonotestablishthereporterspointofview. Itsthedifferencebetween Whatdoyouthinkaboutthat and Whatcouldyouhavebeenthinking Whileitsimportanttoaskgoodquestions itsalsoimportanttobequietandlettheintervieweetalk. Goodjournalistsaregoodlisteners andoftenlearnthemostsignificantinformationbybeingsilent. Whatyouhearalsocanleadtoadditionalquestionsthatmaynothaveoccurredtoyou. RobertSiegel whoworksforNationalPublicRadioinWashington D. C. tellsthestoryofaninterviewhedidwithaTurkishdiplomatafterPopeJohnPaulIIwasshotandwoundedbyaTurkinRome. Hisfirstquestion Doyouknowanydetailsaboutthisman MehmetAliAgca wherehelivedinItaly whathedidthere whatkindofvisatheItaliansgavehim Theanswerswereallno. Afterseveralmoretries Siegelpaused abouttogiveup. Andthediplomatfilledthesilencewiththis . . . exceptthatheisthemostfamousconvictedmurdererinTurkey whoescapedfromprisonafterassassinatingtheeditorofoneofourmajornewspapers. Siegelsayshealmostlostagoodstorybyaskingquestionsthatweretoonarrow. Heacknowledgesthatabetterwaytoopentheinterviewmighthavebeen Tellmeaboutthisman. Reporterscandointerviewsinperson bytelephone oronlineviae-mailorinstantmessaging. Eachapproachhasadvantagesanddisadvantages. Interviewinginpersongivesthereporteramorecompletesenseoftheindividual. Whatkindsofphotosareonthewall Isthedeskmessyorneat Whatbooksareinthebookcase Meetinginpersonalsogivesthereportertheabilitytojudgethesourcescredibilitybasedonhisdemeanor. Doeshelooknervousorcomfortable Isshewillingtolookthereporterintheeye Christopher Chip Scanlan directorofwritingworkshopsforThePoynterInstitute ajournalismschoolintheUnitedStates tellsthestoryofinterviewingawomanwholostherhusbandtocancer. Shegavehimatourofherhome andinthebedroomshesaid Youknow everynightIputjustalittleof myhusbands cologneonthepillow soIcanbelieveheisstillwithme. Itsadetailthatthereadercansmellandfeel whichScanlanneverwouldhavelearnedoverthephoneoronline. Telephoneinterviewstakelesstime andsomereportersfinditeasiertotakegoodnoteswhentheydonthavetoworryaboutmaintainingeyecontactwiththesource. Theycaneventypetheirnotesintothecomputer. E-mailinterviewsareusefulforreachingpeople19indistantplaces butthereportercantlistentowhatsbeingsaidandfollowupin realtime. InstantmessagingviatheInternetismoreakintoatelephoneinterview. Butbothonlinemethodsraisethequestionofwhetherthepersontheyappeartobefromactuallysenttheanswers. Becauseoftheseconcerns TheVirginian- PilotnewspaperinNorfolk Virginia hasinstitutedthisnewsroompolicyforonlinereporting Inquotingfromelectroniccommunications wewillmakecertainthecommunicationisgenuine asitiseasytofakeInternetreturnaddressesorlogonassomeoneelse. TheInternetisnotcontrolledlikeawireservice suchasReutersortheAssociatedPress hoaxescancomefromanywhere. Reportersusinge-mailorotheronlineformsofcommunicationshouldfollowthesameprofessionalstandardsastheywouldinanyotherform. Theymustidentifythemselvesasjournalistsandtellwhatinformationtheyareseekingandwhy. Theyneedtoapplythesamefact-checkingandthinkingskillstheywouldtoanyothersourceofinformation. Nomatterwhichwaytheyconductaninterview reportersusuallyhavesomequestionstheysavefortheend. First theymaysummarizetheconversationtobesuretheyveheardaccuratelywhatwasbeingsaid. Thentheywillaskifthereisanythingelsethepersonbeinginterviewedwantstoadd. Theyalsoaskforthebestwaytogetbackintouchwiththeperson especiallyafterhours andtheythankthepersonforhisorhertime. Andmanyjournalistshaveonelastquestiontheyaskatallinterviews WhoelseshouldItalktoaboutthis GroundRulesMostinterviewsareconducted ontherecord whichmeansthereportercanuseanythingthatissaidandattributeitdirectlytothepersonwhoisspeaking. Itisimportanttomakesurethesourceknowsthis especiallywhenthereporterisdealingwithordinarypeoplewhoarenotaccustomedtobeingquotedinthenewspaperorontheair. Iftheinformationisnottobeontherecord boththereporterandthesourcemustagreeinadvancetotheconditionsunderwhichtheinformationcanbeused. Aninterview onbackground or notforattribution generallymeanstheinformationcanbeusedinastoryandthesourceswordscanbequoteddirectly althoughheorshecannotbenamed. However thesourcecanbeidentifiedinageneralway forexample as aforeignministryofficial or acompanyengineer aslongasthesourceandthejournalistbothagreeonthedescriptiontobeused. Manynewsorganizationshavewrittenpoliciesregardingtheuseofanonymoussources. TheNewYorkTimesnewspaper forexample says Theuseofunidentifiedsourcesisreservedforsituationsinwhichthenewspapercouldnototherwiseprintinformationitconsidersreliableandnewsworthy. Whenweusesuchsources weacceptanobligationnotonlytoconvinceareaderoftheirreliabilitybutalsotoconveywhatwecanlearnoftheirmotivation. Reportersshouldnotbetooquicktoagreetotalkonbackgroundbecausesourcessometimestrytouseitasacoverforapersonalorpartisanattack knowingitcannotbetracedbacktothem. Andusinganunnamedsourcemakesitmoredifficultfortheaudiencetoevaluatethecredibilityoftheinformation. Questionsarethebackboneofaninterview . 20Therearetimeswhenreportershavetogetinformationonbackgroundbecauseitstheonlywayasourcewillagreetotalk. Asourcewhofearsforhersafetyifotherslearnthatshehasspokentoareportermayagreetoprovideinformationonlyonbackground. Herearesomeguidelinesfordecidingwhethertoacceptandusebackgroundinformation Thestoryisofoverwhelmingpublicconcern. Thereisnootherwaytogettheinformationontherecord. Thesourceisinapositiontoknowthetruth. Youarewillingtoexplain inyourstory whythesourcecouldnotbenamed. Insomecapitals governmentofficialswilltalktoreportersonbackgroundaswellas deepbackground whichmeanstheinformationcanbeusedbutnotinadirectquote andthesourcecannotbeidentified. Areportercouldwriteonlythatofficialsareknowntobelievesomethingoranother. Informationthatisoffered offtherecord cannotbeusedatall somostreporterswillfightthisarrangementunlessthesourceissoimportanttothestorythattheyhavenootherchoice. Off-the-recordinformationcannotevenberepeatedtoanothersource butitcantipreportersofftoastorythatisworthpursuing. Whateverthearrangement itsuptothereportertomakesurebothsidesunderstandandagreetothegroundrulesbeforetheinterview. Sometimessourcestrytochangetherulesinthemiddle bytellingthereportersomethingimportantandthenadding Butyoucantusethat ofcourse. Thatswhyitsagoodideatospellthingsoutatthebeginning andnottoagreetowithholdinformationunlessaseparatedealisreachedbeforeproceedingwiththeinterview. Journalistsalsoshouldbeclearabouthowfartheywillgotoprotecttheidentityofasource. Insomejurisdictions journalistsmayriskgoingtojailiftheyrefusetorevealinformationaboutaconfidentialsourceinacourtoflaw. Ifajournalistisnotwillingtoriskfacingtimeinprisontoprotectasource heorsheshouldsayso. Somereportersarequiteskilledatgettingoff-the-recordinformationbackontherecord. EricNalderisoneofthem. Whenanoff-the- recordinterviewisover hereadsbackaquotethatisquiteinnocuousandasks Whycantyousaythatontherecord Whenthesourceagrees hegoesonthroughhisnotes readingbackquotesandgettingthemapprovedforuse. Hesaysheoncegotanentireinterviewchangedfromofftherecordtoon. Inpart thatsbecausethesourcenowtrustedhimtobeaccuratebecausehehadheardthequotesreadback. Credibilityisajournalist smostimportantasset andaccuracyisthebestwaytoprotectit . 21Oneothergroundrulethatisimportantforjournaliststounderstandistheuseofan embargo oninformationprovidedbyasource. Thatmeanstheinformationisprovidedontheconditionthatitisnottobeuseduntilaspecifictime. Agovernmentagencyannouncinganewpolicymayprovideawrittensummaryseveralhoursinadvanceorevenadayahead. Thatgivesreporterstimetodigesttheinformationbeforethepressconferencemakingthepolicyofficial. Reporterswhoacceptinformationunderanembargoareboundtohonoritunlessthenewsbecomespublicbeforethespecifiedtime. GettingItRightCredibilityisajournalistsmostimportantasset andaccuracyisthebestwaytoprotectit. Toensureaccuracy reportersmustcheckanddouble-checkalloftheinformationtheycollectforanewsstory. Reporterswillmakemistakes buttheyshouldberare. WhenanAmericannewspaper PortlandsOregonian studieditsownerrors editorsconcludedtheyhappenedmainlybecauseofthreecauses Workingfrommemory Makingassumptions Dealingwithsecond-handsources. WelltalkmoreaboutgettingitrightinChapter4 EditingtheStory. Butreportersarethenewsorganizationsfirstlineofdefenseagainsterrors. Reporterswhotakeexcellentnotesandconsultthemoften andwhosearchforprimarysourceswheneverpossible arebetterabletoabidebythelateAmericanpublisherJosephPulitzersthreerulesofjournalism Accuracy accuracy andaccuracy. 223TELLINGTHESTORY23Itishardertounderstandstoriesthatareoverstuffedwithinformation. Areporterwhotriestoexplaineverythingmaysucceedonlyinconfusingtheaudience. Besides newspapershaveonlysomuchspace radioandtelevisionnewsprogramsonlysomuchairtime andreaders listeners andviewersonlysomuchsparetimeandattentiontodevotetocatchinguponthenews. Goodjournalisminvolvesselection notcompression. Reportersmustusetheirnewsjudgmenttodecidewhatismostimportanttoincludeinastoryandinwhatordertoputit. Formanyreporters themostdifficultpartoftellingastoryisdecidingwhattoleaveout. Onewaytomakethosedecisionsistochooseacentralpointorathemeforthestory alsocalledafocus. FocusThefocusofastoryisbasicallytheanswertothequestion Whatisthisstoryreallyabout Todeterminethefocus PoynterInstitutewritinginstructorChipScanlansuggestsaskingfiveadditionalquestions Whatsthenews Whatsthestory Whatstheimage HowcanItellitinsixwords Sowhat Imaginethatyourecoveringafast-movingwildfire. Youvebeenouttalkingtopeopleandobservingthedamageallday. Now youneedtofocusyourstorybeforeyoubeginwriting. HereshowyoumightuseScanlansquestionstofindyourfocus Whatsthenews Afiredestroyedtwohousesinthemountainseastofthecity butnoonewasinjuredandthecitybusinessdistrictwasspared. Whatsthestory Twofamiliesarehomelessbutgratefultobealive. Whatstheimage Familymembershugeachothernearthesmokingruinsoftheirhouse. HowcanItellitinsixwordsorless Firedestroyshomesbutnotspirits. Sowhat Propertydamagefromadangerousfirewaslimited. Thereporterwritingthisstorynowknowsthathisleadwillbeaboutthefamilieswholosttheirhomes thathelluseaquotehighupinthestoryfromafamilymemberexpressinggratitudethateveryonesurvived andthathellalsoincludegeneralinformationaboutpropertydamage. Thereporterknowsthathecanleaveoutsomeoftheinformationhecollectedaboutthenumberoffirecompaniesthatrespondedinthebusinessdistrict buthestillmightincludeaquotefromthefirechief. Theresultsofthisfocusexercisearenotmeanttosuggestthateverystoryhasonlyoneacceptablefocus. Onthecontrary reportersfordifferentnewsorganizationsmaytakethesamebasicfactsandwritetheirstoriesquitedifferentlybecausetheyhavedecidedonaAllnewsstoriesaremadeupoffacts observations quotations anddetails. Reportersalmostalwayshavemorethantheycanuse andbecausetheyveworkedhardtocollectallofthatinformation theirnaturalimpulseistouseasmuchofitaspossibleintheirstories. Butcramminginallthefactsthatwillfitrarelyresultsinawell-toldstorythatwillengagetheaudience. 24differentfocus. Inthecaseofthewildfirestory areportercouldusethesamefivequestionstocomeupwithadifferentfocus. Whatsthenews Businessesinourcityescapeddamagefromawildfirethatdestroyedtwohousesinthemountainseastofdowntown. Whatsthestory Businessownersgratefulthefiresparedthemthistime. Whatstheimage Abusinessownershakeshandswithafirefighteroutsidehisstore. HowcanItellitinsixwords Firecantstopbusiness. Sowhat Economicimpactofadangerousfirewaslimited. Thisversionofthestorywouldleadwiththereliefofbusinessowners anduseaquotehighupfromonebusinessmanwhosestorewasspared. Bothstorieswouldincludethesamebasicinformation thattwohousesweredestroyedwhilebusinesseswereunaffected buttheiremphasiswouldbedifferent. Knowingwhattoemphasizebeforebeginningtowritehelpsthereporterdecidewhatfactsandquotestoincludeandwhattoleaveout. AsWilliamZinssernotesinhisbookOnWritingWell Clearthinkingbecomesclearwriting onecantexistwithouttheother. Experiencedreportersdontwaituntiltheendoftheday aftertheyvedonealltheirresearch interviews andobservation beforeseekingafocusfortheirstory. Theymayactuallystartthereportingprocesswithafocusinmind whichhelpsthemdecidewheretogoandwhomtointerview. Ofcourse thefocuscanchangeastheycollectmoreinformation anditoftendoes. Themostimportantthingisforthereportertohavedecidedonafocusforthestorybeforesittingdowntowrite. Havingafocusinmindisjustthefirststepinplanningtowriteastory. Thesecondistoorganizethestorysoyouknowwhatinformationgoeswhere. Beginbylistingthebasicfactsofthestoryanddecidewhatshouldbeatthetop attheend andinthemiddle. Selectthebestquotesorsoundbitesfromyourinterviews anddecidewheretheyshouldgointhestory. Makenoteofanydetailsyouwanttobesuretoinclude. Beforetheybegintowrite somereportersfinditusefultocreateanoutlineonpaperthattheyuseasakindofroadmapforthestory. WritingGoodnewswritingisconcise clear andaccurate. Thatsoundssimpleenough butitsactuallyquitechallenging. Aswevealreadymentioned reportershaveatendencytowanttoincludeeverythingtheyhavelearnedintheirstories. Butstoriesthatgettothepointaremorelikelytoappealtobusynewsconsumers andanewsorganizationthatletsstoriesrunonwonthavemuchspaceortimelefttocoverothernews. Generallyspeaking newsstorieshaveshortersentencesandparagraphsthanmostothertypesofwriting. Eachparagraphcontainsonemainidea. Anewparagraphbeginswhenanewidea character orsettingisintroduced. Journalistsusesimple directlanguagethatiseasytounderstand withmorenounsandverbsthanadjectivesandadverbs. Well-writtennewsstoriesarenotvague ambiguous orrepetitious becauseeverywordcounts. AsE. B. Whitenotesinhisclassicbook TheElementsofStyle oneofthebasicrulesofwritingissimplythis Omitneedlesswords. Goodwritersalwaysmakeanefforttochoosethemostappropriatewordtoconveywhattheymean. Asthe19th-centuryAmericanwriterMarkTwainsaid Thedifferencebetweentherightwordandalmosttherightwordisthedifferencebetweenlightningandthelightningbug. Reportersroutinelyconsultdictionariesandreferencebookstomakesurethewordstheychoosereallymeanwhattheythinktheydo. Becausetheywritestoriesforageneralaudience journalistsalsotrytoavoidjargon specializedlanguageortechnicaltermsunfamiliartomostpeople. Ahospitalspokesmanmightdescribeapersonassuffering25from lacerationsandcontusions butareportershouldusesimplerterms cutsandbruises. Ifatechnicaltermmustbeusedforaccuracy itsagoodideatoincludeadefinitionaswell. Forexample theterm fossilfuels inastoryaboutglobalenergyissuesshouldincludeashortlistofwhatthosefuelsare coal oil andnaturalgas. Journalistsalsomuststeerclearofeuphemisms wordsorphrasesthatmayconfuseormisleadtheaudience. Ifthecitycouncilvotestoapprove anewintermentfacility thestoryontheradioorinthenextdaysnewspapershouldtellresidentsthatthecity planstobuildanewcemetery. Onekeyprincipleofnewswritingistoshowtheaudiencewhathappenedratherthanjusttellingthemaboutit. Forexample insteadofsayingthatfamilymembersattendingafuneralweregrief-stricken awell-writtennewsstorywouldshowtheirgriefbydescribinghowtheyhuggedeachotherandsobbed. Insteadofjusttellingthereaderthatapersonistall agoodwriterwouldmentionthathehastostooptoenterthefrontdoor. Accuracyiscriticallyimportantinnewswriting. Anaccuratestorygetsthebasicsright grammar spelling punctuation dates addresses numbers andalltheotherdetailsthatgointoanewsstory. Gettingsomeonesnameoragewrongisthekindoferrorthatcanerodeajournalistscredibility. Anaccuratestoryalsotellsacompletestory notjustonesideoranother. Thatdoesntmeanthatanysinglestoryshouldincludeeverythingthereistosayaboutatopic butitdoesmeanthatreportersmustnotleaveoutkeyinformationthatcoulddistortthestorysmeaning. Forexample writingthatanewtestmakesiteasiertodetectoralcancersuggeststhattheoldtestwasunreliable. Ifthenewtestismerelyfaster thereportershouldsayso. WelltalkatgreaterlengthaboutaccuracyinChapter4 EditingtheStory. LeadsThebeginningofanewsstoryisknownasthelead. Itismeanttocaptureattentionandtodrawthereader listener orviewerintothestory. Therearetwobasictypesofleads hardandsoft. Ahardleadsummarizestheessentialfactsofthestory thefiveWsandanHdiscussedinChapter2 whileasoftleadmaysetthesceneorintroduceacharacter. Anotherwaytolookatthedifferencebetweenthesetypesofleadsistoconsiderahardleadastheanswertothequestion Whatsthenews andasoftleadastheanswertothequestion Whatsthestory Eithertypeofleadcanbeusedforahard- newsstory. Forexample astoryabouttheelectionofanewprimeministercouldbewrittenoneofseveraldifferentways. Ahardleadmightreadlikethis FormerrebelleaderJoshuaSmithwaselectedprimeministertonight winningmorethan80percentofthevoteinthecountrysfirstdemocraticelectionsince1993. Asoftleadwouldtakeadifferentapproach GrowingupinYoungtown JoshuaSmithwasalittleboywithbigdreams. Alwayssmallforhisage hesaysthebiggerboysatschoolbulliedhim. Whenhetoldhisgrammarschoolteacherhedbeprimeministersomeday shelaughed. Nooneislaughingnow. Smithwonyesterdayselectionwithmorethan80percentofthevote becomingthecountrysfirstdemocraticallyelectedleadersince1993. Asyoucansee ahardleadtendstobeshorterthanasoftlead oftenonlyonesentencelong. Whilesoftleadscanbelonger everysentenceintheleadsupportsthemainpointofthestory. Andbothleadsincludethemostnewsworthyelementsofthestory. Goodnewswritingisconcise clear andaccurate . 26Choosingtherightkindofleaddependsonmanyfactors includingtheimportanceandtimingofthestoryandthetypeofnewsorganization publication orbroadcastinvolved. Wireservices online-newssites andradionewscaststhatthriveonimmediacygenerallyusehardleads. Aweeklynewsprogramormagazineismorelikelytouseasoftlead ontheassumptionthatmostoftheaudiencealreadywouldknowthecentralfactsofthestory. Themostcommontypeofsoftleadistheanecdotallead similartotheexampleusedintheprimeministerstory. Ananecdoteis bydefinition abrieftale whenusedasaleaditillustratesorforeshadowsthelargerstory. Astoryaboutasocialtrendmightbeginwithseveralrelatedanecdotesorexamples. Onrareoccasions aquotationoraquestionmaybethebestwaytobeginastory. Alloftheseleadsalsocanbedescribedas delayed leads becausethereaderhastowaitforseveralsentencestofindoutwhatthestoryisreallyabout. StoryStructureAllstorieshaveastructureinthesamewaythatpeoplehaveaspine or atleast theyshould Withoutastructure storieswouldbeajumbleoffactswithnothingtoholdthemtogether. Structureisessentialforstoriestobeunderstandableandmeaningful butnotallstoriesshouldbestructuredinthesameway. Goodwriterschoosethemostsuitableshapeforthestorytheyaretelling. InvertedPyramidManynewsstoriesbeginwiththemostnewsworthyinformation followingatraditionalstorystructuredevelopedmorethan100yearsago. The invertedpyramid formputsthemostimportantinformationatthetop followedbyotherinformationindescendingorderofimportance. Thisshapeisusefulwhenreportingimportantorbreakingnews whentimelinessisoftheessence. Ifyouarethefirsttoreportasignificantdevelopment youllwanttotelltheaudiencewhathashappenedrightatthetopofyourstory. Areportonamassivestorm forexample likelywouldbeginwiththedeathtollandthelocationoftheheaviestdamage. Writerswhoresistusingthisstructurewhenitiscalledformaybeaccusedof buryingthelead makingitmoredifficultfortheaudiencetodeterminethestorysimportance. Intheinverted-pyramidstructure informationfollowingtheleadexpandsordevelopsthepointthatismadeinthelead. Inthecaseofthestormreport thewritermightdescribethesceneoftheworstdevastation andthenincludeaquotefromasurvivororanemergencyworker. Supportingparagraphswouldelaborateonthetopic fillingindetailsandprovidingbackgroundonthestorm. Inalongerstory areportermightincludesecondaryinformationthatisrelatedtotheprimarythemebutnotdirectly. Thestormstory forexample couldincludeinformationaboutinternationalreliefefforts andtheneedsofsurvivors bothimmediateandlongterm. Onereasonforthepopularityofthisstructureisthateditorscancutfromthebottomtosavespaceandtimewithoutworryingaboutcuttingvitalinformation. HourglassAmodifiedformoftheinvertedpyramidisknownasthe hourglass structure. Itbegins inasimilarfashion withthemostimportantinformation butafterafewparagraphsittakesaturnandbecomesanarrative usuallytoldinchronologicalorder. Stickingwiththeexampleofthestoryaboutthemassivestorm areportercouldstartwithahardlead provideafewparagraphsofsupport andthentellthestoryofthestormaswitnessedbyonesurvivor. Thiskindofstoryformrequiresacleartransitionbetweentheopeningsectionandthenarrative. Areportermightwritesomethinglike FarmerIqbalKhanwasinhisbarnwhenthewindkickedup . . . tobeginthebottomhalfofanhourglassstory. Somestoriesarewritteninapurely27chronologicalform butthisstructureismostoftenusedforfeatures. DiamondStillanotherstoryformisthe diamond structure. Areporterusingthisstructurewouldbeginwithananecdote introducingacharacterwhoseexperienceillustrateswhatthestoryisallabout. Thissmallstorywouldthenbroadenouttoshowitswidersignificance. Towardtheend thereporterwouldreturntotheindividualcharactersstoryasawayofconcludingthenarrative. Reportersusingthisstructureoftenuseadeviceknownasa nut paragraph ornutgraph toexplainwhythestorymatters theword nut signifyingthehardcenterofthestory. JackHart managingeditorofPortlandsOregoniannewspaper saysnutgraphs canansweranyquestionsraisedinleads explainwhystoriesaresignificant andplacestoriesinmeaningfulcontexts. Thenutgraphneedstobeearlyenoughinthestorytomakecleartothereaderwhyheorsheshouldbothertokeepreading. Thediamondformisfrequentlyusedintelevisionnewsandnewspaperreports. Forexample areportermightbeginastoryaboutanewAIDStreatmentbyintroducingapatientwhoneedsthetreatment thendescribetheexperimentaldrugandhowitworks andconcludebynotingthatdoctorsgivethepatientwemetearlieronlyalimitedtimetoliveifthenewtreatmentisnoteffective. Whateverformyouchoose themiddleofthestoryshouldkeeptheaudienceengagedandinterested. Goodwriting amagazineeditoroncesaid makesthereaderwanttofindoutwhathappensnext. EndingsUnlessyouareusingthetraditionalinvertedpyramidstyleandyouexpectthebottomofyourstorytobetrimmedbyaneditor itsagoodideatohaveanendinginmindwhenyoubeginwriting muchasitishelpfultohaveadestinationinmindwhenyousetoutonajourney. Thisisparticularlyimportantinbroadcastnewsbecauseofthewayitspresented. Unlikeprintoronlinenews broadcastnewsislinear theaudiencecantchoosetheorderinwhichtheyllreceivetheinformation andresearchhasfoundthatviewersandlistenerstendtorememberbestwhattheyhearlast. Forthatreason manybroadcaststoriesconcludewithasummaryending reinforcingthestorysmainpoint. Endingsoftenechobeginnings inthattheyreturntoanimportantplaceoraperson. Inachronologicalnarrative theendingiswhathappenslast. Ifastoryhasraisedaproblem theendingmightofferasolution. Endingsfrequentlylooktowardthefuture towhatmighthappennext. Andoccasionallyastorymayendwithastrongquoteorasoundbite. Thisisrarelyjustified however andshouldbeusedonlywhenthequoteissopowerfulthatwritinganythingmorewouldbealetdownfortheaudience. AttributionAkeydifferencebetweenanewsstoryandaneditorialoropinioncolumnistheuseofattribution. Attributionsimplyanswersthequestion Whosays Itidentifiesthesourceoftheinformationreported particularlyanycontroversialstatementsorquestionableinformation. Attributioncanbeexplicitorimplied. Heresanexampleofexplicitordirectattribution Themanwasarrestedandchargedwithmurder policesergeantAntonioCostasaid. Rewritten usingimpliedorindirectattribution thesentencewouldread Policearrestedthemanandchargedhimwithmurder. Inbothcases theaudiencecantellthatthesourceoftheinformationisthepolice. Onemajorreasontoattributeinformationinmostnewsstoriesistoallowreaders listeners andviewerstodecideforthemselveswhethertobelieveit. Forexample areportthatNorthKoreahasdecidedtosuspenditsnuclearprogramcouldbeseenasmoreorlesscrediblebysomeaudiences dependingonwho28isquotedassayingso avisitingChineseofficialoraninternationalteamofscientists. Anotherreasonforattributionistoplaceresponsibilityforacontroversialstatementwhereitbelongs withthepersonwhosaidit notwiththereporterorthenewsorganization. Thisdoesnotimplyimmunityfromlawsuits aslegalprotectionsvaryfromcountrytocountry. Butitisgoodjournalisticpracticetomakeclearwhoismakingallegationsortakingaparticularstand. Notallinformationinanewsstoryneedstobeattributed however. Namingthesourceofeverybitofinformationwouldmakestoriesalmostincomprehensible. Informationthatareporterobserveddirectlycanbestatedwithoutattribution. Indisputableorwell- acceptedfactsdonotneedtobeattributed either. Forexample areportercouldsaywhichteamwonasoccermatchwithoutattributionbecausethefinalscorewouldnotbeindoubt. Butwritingthatonecandidatewonapoliticaldebatewouldneedtobeattributed oritwouldcrossthelinefromfactintoopinion. QuotesandSoundBitesNewsstoriesaretoldprimarilyinthereporterswords butmoststoriesalsoincludethewordsofotherpeople inquotationsorsoundbites. Whenusedeffectively quotesmakestoriesstrongerbysharingthedirectexperienceofsomeoneinvolved. Usingaquoteuphighinastorycanmakeitmoreinterestingtotheaudience becausequotesprovideapersonalconnectiontothestory. Bydefinition aquotationmustbeattributedsotheaudienceknowswhosaidit. Directquotesareatleastonesentencelongandareintheexactwordsofthespeaker. Theyreusedwhenmostofwhataspeakersaidisworthrepeating. Partialquotes primarilyusedinprint canbejustawordoraphrasethespeakersaid whichareusedwhenthefullsentencemaybeconfusingortoolong. Thereporterhastheresponsibilityofputtingpartialquotesintocontextsothemeaningofwhatthespeakersaidisunchanged. Forexample whenFrenchPresidentJacquesChiracaddressedhiscountryafterweeksofsocialunrest hesaid Wewillbuildnothinglastingwithoutfightingdiscrimination whichisapoisonforsociety. Somereportersusedthatfull directquoteintheirstories. ButinLondonsGuardiannewspaper onlyonewordofthequoteappearedintheleadparagraph JacquesChirac . . . launchedanappealtocombatthe poison ofracialdiscrimination. Itsneverworthquotingeverythingsomeonesaysinaninterview. Buthowdoyouchoosewhattoquotedirectly Thebasicruleissimple Dontuseadirectquoteorsoundbiteifyoucansayitbetteryourself. Toomanynewsstoriesarestuffedfullofquotesthatfailthistest mostofwhichcomeoutofthemouthsofofficials. Avoidquotesthatmerelystatefacts especiallyinbureaucraticlanguage. Whoneedstohearthemayorsay Weexpecttohaveadecisionnextweekoncontingencyplansforthedistributionofmunicipalfundstolow- incomerecipients Thatkindofinformationwouldbemuchbetterparaphrased thatis rewritteninclear conciselanguagebythereporter. Inthiscase thereportermighthavewritten Itwillbeatleastaweekbeforepeoplecanexpecttogetanymoneyfromthecity accordingtothemayor. Thebestquotesaresubjective addinginsightandperspectivetostories. Theyusecolorfullanguageandreflectonpersonalexperienceorexpertknowledge. Theyhavepassion saystelevisioninvestigativereporterTonyKovaleski. Duringinterviews tryandcapturethepassion hesays. Duringwriting makesurenottomissit. Onegoodruleofthumbistousequotesthatsoundauthentic notasiftheyhavebeenreadfromascript. Onceyouvechosenthebestquotes buildyourstoryaroundthem. ButreporterBobDotson withU. S. televisionnetworkNBC warns Dontusesoundbitesassubstitutesformoreeffectivestorytelling. Reporterswhosimplystringquotesorsoundbitestogetheroftenaretakingthelazywayout. 29NumbersAjournalismteacheroncedescribedherstudentsas do-gooderswhohatemath. Mostjournalistswillnevercometolovemathematics buttheyneedit andtheyneedtoknowwhy. Numbersmaylooksolidandfactual buttheyarenotinfallible. Journalistsneednumericalcompetenceinordertotellthedifferencebetweenameaninglessnumberandasignificantone ortheyriskwritingstoriesthataremisleadingandconfusing atbest and atworst flatoutwrong. Journalistsneedmathematicalintuitionsotheycantellwhenthenumberstheyrelookingatjustdontaddup. Theyneedmathmechanicstofindthemeaningbehindfiguresanddata. Theyneedmathematicalconceptssotheycanunderstandbankingandbusiness bankruptcyandboomtimes. Simplyput journalistsneedmathematicsskillstomakesenseofnumbersthewaytheyneedlanguageskillstomakesenseofwords. Competentjournalistsarebothcapableandcarefulwithnumbers. Theyrequicktospotanimplausiblenumber andtheyhaveabasicworkingknowledgeofarithmeticandstatisticssotheycanconfirmtheirsuspicions. Theyknowhowtocalculatepercentages ratios ratesofchange andotherrelationshipsbetweennumbersthattellfarbetterstoriesthanrawdatacan. Theycanandshouldtranslatenumbersintotermsthatreadersandviewerscaneasilyunderstand. Journalistswithnumericalcompetencearemoreimportantthaneverintodayshighlytechnicalworld. Theyarethewritersandeditorswhocanassessandexplainscientific medical technological andeconomicdevelopments. Theyarethejournalistswhocanfindstoriesindatabasesbycrunchingnumbersthemselves insteadofwaitingforsomeonewithavestedinteresttodoitforthem. Oncethenumbershavebeencheckedandrechecked thereporterhastodecidehowtousetheminastory. Theruleofthumbis Thefewernumbers thebetter. Numbersshouldberoundedoffforsimplicityssake andputincontextforclarity. Anumberhaslittlesignificanceonitsown saysPaulHemp authorofTenPracticalTipsforBusinessandEconomicReportinginDevelopingEconomies. Itstruemeaningcomesfromitsrelativevalue. Soastoryaboutanincreaseinschoolspendingmighttranslatetherawnumbersintotheadditionalamountthatwillbespentperchild. Astoryaboutthenumberofpeoplewhodieoflungcancereveryyearmightnotethatitistheequivalentofajumbojetcrashingeveryday. Journalistswhofailtomastermathematicslackabasicskillneededtodeciphermuchoftheinformationintheworldaroundthem suchascrimestatistics pollutionstandards andunemploymentfigures. Withoutmathematicsskillsappropriatetotheirbeat journalistsareboundtofallshortintheirquestforaccuracy. 304EDITINGTHESTORY31thismorningafteraconferencecallinvolvingtopnewsmanagers. Reporterswhodonothaveassignedstoriesyet pitch theirstoryideasatthemeeting seekingamanagersapprovaltoproducethatstoryfortonightsnewscastortomorrowsnewspaper. Theassignmenteditorrunsthroughalistofscheduledeventsthatmayormaynotmeritcoverage. Oncethedecisionsaremade themanagersputtogethera budget orline-upofstoriesthattheyhopewillsoonbeavailableforpublicationorbroadcast. Atthatpoint youmightthinkthemanagerscouldsitbackandrelax. Butnodecisioninanewsroomiseversetinstone. Almostinevitably planschange. Newswillhappenthatwasnotanticipated andstorieswillbedroppedbecausetheydidntturnoutasexpected. Otherswillrequiremorereportingandwontbecompletedtoday. Decidingwhattorun whattodrop andwhattoholdisthejobofthenewsmanagers theeditors andproducers. Theywillchooseandchangethestoriesofthedaybasedonimportance interest newdevelopments andthetimeorspaceavailable. Buttheeditorsjobstillisntdone. Beforethenewspapergoestopressorthebroadcasthitstheair editorshaveanothercriticalroletoplay. Itstheirjobtoensurethatthestoriespresentedtothepublicarewellwrittenandpresented aswellasaccurate complete andfair. Mostnewsroomshavemorethanoneeditor. Nosinglepersoncouldhandlethevolumeofstoriesproducedbymostnewsorganizationseveryday. Inlargenewsrooms theremaybeseverallayersofeditors whoultimatelyreporttothepersoninchargeofthenewsdivision thechiefnewspapereditororthebroadcastnewsdirector. Asyouwillsee theeditorsjobcallsforavarietyofskills ahighdegreeofliteracy aswellastheabilitytohandleachangingagendaandworkrelentlesslyunderpressure. NewspaperJobsAtypicaldailynewspaperhasastaffofreporterswhocoverawiderangeofnews. Mostofthereportersatalocalnewspaperusuallyworkforthe city or metro desk coveringstoriesinthecommunitythenewspaperserves. Alargenewspaperwithnationalcirculationaddsnationalandinternationalorforeigndesks withreportersbasedinthenationscapitalandinothercountries. Somereportersworkforspecializedsectionsofthenewspaper coveringsports business orfeatures. Eachofthesedesksorsectionsisheadedbyaneditor whooverseesthereporters workandwhomaybeassistedbyoneormoresub-editors. Newspapereditorsassignthestories theyeditthewrittentextor copy andtheysupervisethedesignandlayoutofpages. Inmostlargenewspapers editorsspecializeinjustoneofthesetasks butatsmallernewspapers onepersonmayhandlethemall. Inaddition newspapersmayhaveaphotoeditorwhooverseesastaffofphotographers aswellasagraphicseditorwhosupervisestheworkofartistscreatingmaps charts andotherinformationalgraphics. LargenewspapersalsoItsnineoclockinthemorning andtheeditorialmeetinginthenewsroombeginswithadiscussionofthestorieseveryoneisworkingonforthatday. Somereportersandphotographersalreadyhaveassignmentsandareoutcoveringtoday snews. Afewgottheirassignmentslastnight othersweresentoutearly32haveastaffofresearcherswhohelpreportersfindbackgroundonstoriesandwhomaintainalibrary or morgue ofstoriespublishedbythenewspaper. BroadcastJobsBroadcastnewsroomsarenotorganizedlikenewspapers. Mostbroadcastreportersdonotspecializeincoveringaparticulartypeofstory butmayinsteadbeassignedtospecificnewsbroadcastsliketheearlymorningnewsorthelatenightnews. Eachofthesebroadcastsisputtogetherbyaproducer whodecideswhatstorieswillair atwhatlength andinwhatorder. Inlargernewsrooms anexecutiveproducersupervisestheworkoftheproducers. Inadditiontoreporters broadcastnewsroomshavepresentersor anchors whoappearontheairandintroducethestoriesthereportershavecoveredthatday. Radioandtelevisionanchorsusuallyappearonmorethanonenewscastperday. Thetitleofeditorinatelevisionnewsroomsometimesisgiventothepersonchargedwiththetechnicalproductionofnewsstories theonewhocutsthevideoandsoundtogethertomakethefinishedproductthatgoesontheair. Inmanynewsrooms thephotojournalistwhoshotthevideodoesthecutting workingwithascriptwrittenandvoicedbythereporter. TheEditor sRoleArecentjoblistingforaneditoratasmallnewspaperread Thispersonshouldhavestrongwriting editing andlayoutskills. . . . Heorsheshouldbeaccurate responsible abletoworkwellwithinateamatmosphere andpossesssupervisoryskills. Alargetelevisionstationseekingtohireanewproduceraskedfor expertnewsjudgment . . . superiorwritingskills . . . musthavemanagementskills mustbemulti-taskoriented andwellorganized. Asyoucansee editorsneedtobestrongjournalistsandnewsroomleaders. Theyareinvolvedinthenewsprocessfrombeginningtoend. Editorsneedgoodnewsjudgmentbecausetheyserveasassignmentmanagers responsiblefordecidingwhatstorieswillbecoveredandbywhom. Theymustbegoodwritersinordertohelptoshapethestoryasitisdeveloping discussingitwithreportersinthefieldanddecidingwheretodeploymorepeopletocoveradditionalangles. Editorsaredirectlyinvolvedindecisionsaboutstorypresentation writingorchoosingheadlines captions photos andillustrations. Andtheymustleadandmotivatetheemployeeswhoreporttothem. Editorsandproducersworkcloselywithreporters discussingandreviewingtheirstories. Newspapereditorscheckcopy chooseillustrations eithergraphicsorphotos anddecidehowthestorywillbelaidoutonthepageaswellastheheadline. Inmostbroadcastnewsrooms reportersdonotrecordtheirscriptsorassembletheirstoriesuntilaproducerhasapprovedthecontent. Producersalsodecidetheorderofstoriesinthenewscastandtheamountoftimetobeallocatedtoeachstory. CopyEditingEditorsserveasasecondsetofeyeslookingforanyerrorsinastory. Theemphasishereisonasecondsetofeyes. Thatsbecausereportersshouldalwayschecktheirowncopyforaccuracybeforesubmittingittoaneditor. Afirstdraftisagoodstart butthatsallitis. Everywritershouldallowsometimeforrevisinghisorherowncopy. Goodwriting bydefinition requiresrewriting. Editorsneedtobestrongjournalistsandnewsroomleaders . 33Anaccuracycheckisthefirstlevelofcopy- editing. Editorslookforgrammaticalandusageerrors aswellasforspellingmistakes. Theypayparticularattentiontosubject-verbagreementandsubject-pronounagreement. Editorsmakesurethatallnumbersinastoryarecorrect addresses telephonenumbers ages date andtimereferences. Theyreworkanycalculationsthereportermayhaveperformedtomakesurethemathiscorrect. Theyconfirmthatthereporterhasusedpropertitlesforeveryonewhoisquoted andtheyreviewtheuseofattributionthroughoutthestory. Editorsalsolookcloselyforanyerrorsoffactorissuesoffairness. Thorougheditorsreadstorieswithaskepticaleye withquestionsliketheseinmind Howdoesthereporterknowthis Whyshouldtheaudiencebelievethis Isthemainpointofthestorysupported Arethequotesaccurate anddotheycapturewhatthepersonreallymeant Areallsidesrepresented Issomethingmissing Isthestoryfair Editorsalsopayattentiontomattersoftasteandlanguage whichvarydependingonthelocalculture. WelltalkmoreaboutthatinChapter7 EthicsandLaw. Editorsandreportersalikeshouldreadcopyoutloud especiallyinbroadcastnewsrooms listeningforsentencesthataretoolong redundancies awkwardphrases anddoublemeanings. Inmanynewsrooms editorshavetheauthoritytochangeareporterscopywithoutconsultationtofixthesekindsofbasicproblems. Editorsarenotsimplyproofreaders however. Theyarejournalistsineverysenseoftheword. Mosteditorsandproducerseitherhavereportingexperienceorreportingskills. Sowhentheyreadareportersstory theyarelookingformuchmorethanbasicaccuracy. Theywanttoknowifastorywouldmakesensetosomeonewhoknowsnothingaboutthesubject. Theyremindfuloftheneedtomakestoriesengagingandinteresting. Ifastoryfallsshort theeditororproducermustbeabletoworkwiththereportertoimprovethefinalproduct. Thatswhentheirleadershipskillscomeintoplay astheyuseaprocesscommonlycalled coaching. CoachingCoachingisawayforeditorstohelpreporterssolveastorysproblemsindependently. Itavoidstheresentmentreportersoftenfeelwhenaneditorfixesproblemsbyrewritingtheirstories. Andithelpsreporterslearnhowtodobetterwork ratherthanrepeatingthesamemistakesandlettingtheeditorstepinandfixthem. Agoodeditorcoachesreportersthroughtalkingtothemwhiletheyreportandwrite saysJoyceBazira anewseditorattheTanzaniannewspaperAlasiri. Throughcoaching writerscanalso . . . discusstheproblemstheyareencounteringindoingtheirassignments withtheeditortryingtosolvethem. Theskillsinvolvedincoachingaresomeofthesameskillsthatdistinguishagoodjournalist listeningattentivelyandaskinggoodquestions. Coachingworksbecausereportersgenerallyknowtheproblemstheyarehavingwithastory eveniftheycantquitedecidewhattodoaboutthem. Thejobofthecoachistoaskquestionsandlisten andhelpthereporterimprovethework. Thatsquitedifferentfromthe fixer rolethatsomeeditorsplay 34COACHFIXERHelpsthewriter Fixesthestory HelpsthroughouttheFixesondeadline process Developsthewriter Undercutsthewriter Buildsonstrengths Exposesweaknesses Fostersindependence Createsresentment Sharescontrol. Takescontrol. Manyeditorsresistcoachingreportersbecausetheythinkittakestoomuchtime. Theybelieveitsfastertomakethechangesthemselves. Whenthedeadlinelooms coachingmaybeimpractical. Thenewspapermustbeprintedontime thenewscastmustgoontheair andmistakescannotbeallowedtogothrough. Butinnewsroomscommittedtocoaching editorsdontwaituntilthelastminutetocheckareporterscopy. Byworkingwithreportersthroughouttheprocess editorshelpreportersproducebetterstoriesthatrequirelesseditingtimeattheendoftheprocess. BotswananjournalistRodrickMukumbira currentlywiththeNgamiTimes saysheconsiderscoachingacentralpartofhisjobasanewseditor. Aneditorshouldnotonlyassignareporterandcorrectmistakesinthefinaldraft Mukumbirasays. Heshouldinterveneinthereportingprocess whenthereporterisstrugglingwiththelead tosavetimeonthefinalarticle. Acoachingeditorwilltalktoreportersbeforetheyleavethenewsroom whentheycallinfromthefield andassoonastheyreturn beforetheybegintowrite. Thecoachingeditoraskssimplequestionsthatcanhelpthereporterfocusthestory suchas Whathappened Whatisyourstoryreallyabout Whatdoestheaudienceneedtoknow Howcanyoumakethisclear Whatdoyouthinkofyourstorysofar Whatneedswork Whatdoyouneedtodonext HowcanIhelpyou Editorswhocoachalwayslookforsomethingtopraiseandencourageineverystory andwhentheypointoutproblemstheyfocusononlyafewatatime. ThePoynterInstitutesJillGeislersaysthatwhenshecoaches shesitsonherhands. Asacoach shedoesnotwanttotouchthereporterscopybutrathertoletthereportertalkaboutthestorysoshecanlistenforclarityandraisequestionsthewriterneedstoanswer. Coachingcreatessharperjournalisminamorehumanenewsroom. Itmakesdialogueareward notapunishment. Andbecausepeoplerememberwhattheypractice coachingultimatelyhelpsjournalistsdobetterwork. Headlines Captions andTeasesBesideseditingreporters stories editorsareresponsibleforadditionalmaterialthataccompaniesthestories. Innewspapersandonlinenewsrooms editorswriteheadlinesforstoriesandcaptionsforphotos. Aheadlineisbothasummaryandanadvertisement. Itgivestheaudienceaquickideaofwhatthestoryisabout andtellsreaderswhytheyshouldbeinterestedinreadingtheentirepiece. Acaptionismoreofalabel tellingreaderswhatthephotographorgraphicshows. Inbroadcastnewsrooms producersmaywriteheadlinesandalsowhatarecalledteases shortdescriptionsofstoriesdesignedtomakelistenersorviewerswanttostaytunedtogetthefullreport. Headlines bydefinition areshortandcatchy. Aprintheadlinesummarizesthestory getsthereadersattention helpstoorganizethenewsontheprintedpage and throughtheuseofdifferentsizesoftype indicatestherelativeimportanceofeachstory. Whenwritingaheadline theeditorsimplydoesnotcompresstheleadparagraphintojustafewwords. Goodeditorstrytocapturethecentralpointofthestoryintheheadline sotheyneedtounderstandastoryfullybeforetryingtowriteaheadline. Theeditorhastoreadthestoryfrombeginningtoend andlookatthephotographsandgraphicsthatwillaccompanythestory. Ifthemainpoint35isntobvious theeditorshouldconsultwiththereporterratherthanguessandriskprintingaheadlinethatismisleadingorwrong. Besides aconfusededitorisoneindicationthatthestoryprobablyneedsmorework. Thelanguageinheadlinesshouldbesimpleandstraightforward. Usepropernamesandpresenttense. Itsgenerallyacceptablenottouseconjunctions articleslike the andtodroplinkingverbslike is or were. Astorythattellshowawomanandherboyfriendwerearrestedforastringofbankrobberiesmightbeheadlined Bandit BoyfriendHeldinRobberies. Butavoidwhateditorscall headlinese verbsthatappealtoheadlinewritersjustbecausetheyareshort. Verbslike probe eye nab vie and huddle almostneverareusedinconversation sotheydontbelonginheadlines. Aheadlineshouldmatchthetoneofthestory. Hardnewsstoriesdemandastraightsummary likethisheadlinefromTheZimbabweIndependentnewspaper SmugglersDentZimbabwesGoldProduction. Theheadlinemakessurethereaderknowsexactlywhatthestoryisabout. Featureheadlines ontheotherhand mayonlyhintatthestoryscontent sincetheyarewrittenprimarilytopiquethereaderscuriosity. Forexample ArgentinasBuenosAiresHeraldranthisheadlineoverareviewofanewrecording SassyMadonnaGoesBackinTime. Becauseheadlineshavetofitinarestrictedamountofspace thenewspapereditorcreatesheadlinesthewayyouwouldbuildajigsawpuzzle. ThecopyeditorforanAmericannewspaper theNewarkStar-Ledger JoelPisetzner says Iputwordstogetherlikeassemblingakidnapnote. Scramble rescramble mixandmatch. Whileitcanbefun editorssayitsimportanttoalwayskeepthereaderinmind. Avoidtriteoroverusedexpressionsandbeextremelycarefulwithpunsordoublemeanings. Headlinesthattrytoohardtobefunny clever orgrippingoftenfail. Aboveall headlinesmustbeaccurateandhonest notmisleading. Whatisintheheadlinemustbeinthestory. Nothingannoysareadermorethanastorythatdoesntdeliverwhattheheadlinepromised. Muchlikeaheadline abroadcastteaseisdesignedtodrawtheviewersattentiontotherestofthestory. Teasesaresubjecttomanyofthesamerulesasheadlines. Producersmustwatchthestoryandtalktothereporterbeforewritingatease. Triteandcleverdontworkinteasesanymorethantheydoinheadlines. Andteasesshouldnotover-promiseorover-sellthecontentofthestorythatfollows. Unlikeanewspaperheadline thebroadcastteaseiswrittenincompletesentences. Itstandsalone separatedfromthestorybyothernewsoradvertisingcontent. Ateaseusuallydoesnotsummarizethestorythewayaheadlinewould sinceitsgoalistomaketheviewerwanttostaytunedinordertolearnmore. Instead producerswriteteasesthatleavesomequestionsunanswered ortheymaycreateanticipationbypromisingtodeliverabenefittotheviewerwhokeepswatching. Toillustratethedifference considertheleadofthisstoryfromanAmericannewspaper theLosAngelesTimes reportedfromAmman Jordan AnIraqiwomanappearedonJordanianstatetelevisionSundayandconfessedtobeingthefourthmemberofanal-Qaidasuicidebomberteamthatattackedthreehotelsherelastweek killing57people. Thenewspaperheadlinedthestory IraqiWomanCalmlyConfessesHowSheTriedtoBlowUpHotel. ButtheteaseforthatsamestoryontheNBCNightlyNewsontelevisionwasthis Whoisshe Andwhydidsheagreetobethefourthwould-behotelsuicidebomberinJordan Newdetailstonight. Thetelevisionteasedidnotmentionthewomansconfession butinsteadpromisedtoanswertheviewersquestionsaboutherrole. Headlines bydefinition areshortandcatchy . 36Photocaptionsalsohaveadifferentpurposefromheadlines. Insteadofsummarizingcontentthewayaheadlinedoes acaptionhelpsthereaderappreciatewhatsinsidethevisualframe. Thephotographandcaptiontogetherformasmallstorythatthereadercanunderstandwithouthavingtoreadthetextofthestorythataccompaniesit. Captionsshouldclearlyidentifythemainpeopleinaphotograph. Ifseveralpeoplearefeatured itsoftenhelpfultoletthereaderknowthatthecentralcharacteristheone wearingacap or standingontheright. Captionsshouldnotrepeattheexactwordingoftheheadlineorliftasentencedirectlyfromthestory. Andcaptionwritersdontneedtospelloutwhatcanbeseenclearlyinthephoto. CarlosFernandezsmilesashegetsofftheplane isalesseffectivecaptionthan AjubilantCarlosFernandezreturnsfrom15yearsinexile. Mostcaptionsareshort justoneortwolinesinsmalltype. Butonoccasion anewspaperoronlinesitewillcarrymultiplephotographswithlongercaptionsinaphotoessaythattellsacompletestory. Longercaptionscanusequotationsfromthepeoplepictured. GraphicsandVisualsNewspaperreporterssometimesresenttheuseofgraphicsbecausetheytakeupspace forcingstoriestobeshorter. Butgoodgraphicsaddtothevisualappealofthenewspaper attractreaders attention andmakestoriesmoreunderstandable. Theyhelpreporters stories ratherthantakeawayfromthem. AsnewspaperdesignerRonReasonputsit graphicsare information notdecoration. Everygraphicmusthaveapurpose. Fillingemptyspaceorairtimeisnotasufficientreasonforusingagraphic. Agraphicshouldenhancethereaderorviewersunderstandingofthestory whichmeanstheeditormustfullyunderstandthestorybeforedesigningorchoosingagraphictogoalongwithit. Graphicartistsusuallyproducethevisualimages theroleoftheeditoristoconceptualizethegraphic findtheinformationitshouldcontainorillustrate andascertainitsaccuracy. Graphicscanconveybasicfactsorillustrateaprocess. Imagineyouarereportingonairpollutioninyourcountry. Amapcouldbeusedtoshowwheretheairismostunhealthy. Anillustrationcouldbeusedtoshowhowairpollutionaffectsthelungs. Bothtypesofgraphicsworkjustaswellforbroadcastastheydoforprint. Whateverthemedium avoidgraphicsthatarecrammedwithtoomuchinformation. Thereaderorviewershouldbeabletolookatthegraphicandtakeawayonebasicidea. Thinkofagraphicasahighwaysign thedriverdoesntgetachancetostudyitbecausethingsaregoingbytoofast sotheinformationhastobeclearandeasilyabsorbed. Letsimagineyouhaveastorythatsaysthecitysannualbudgetistwiceaslargeasitwas10yearsago. Readingclosely younoticethatmostofthegrowthhasbeeninthelastthreeyears. Abargraphchartingthesizeofthebudgetforeachofthelast10yearswouldbeaneasywaytomakethatclear. 051015202530354045199519971999200120032005Budget inmillions 37Itiseasierforreadersandviewerstoabsorbinformationpresentedwithshapesratherthanrawnumbers. Forexample inastoryaboutyourcitysbusinessdevelopmentcrowdingoutresidents youcouldlistthenumberofapartmentsandofficebuildingsinthearea. However itwouldbemoreeffectivetocreateapiechartshowingtherelationshipbetweenthetwo. Comparerateswheneverpossible notrawnumbers. ItismisleadingtoshowthatonetownhastwiceasmanydeathsfromAIDSasanother whenthefirsttownhas10timesasmanyinhabitants. Calculatetherateofdeathsperinhabitantsoyoucanmakeafaircomparison. Editorswhoworkwithgraphicsneedagraspofstatisticsandacommitmenttoemploythemtransparentlyandaccuratelytoenhanceunderstanding. SupervisingAswevealreadynoted editorsaresupervisorsaswellasjournalists. Astheyworkwithreportersondailystories theyalsooverseetheirprogressoverthelongterm. Theylookforopportunities eitherinpersonoronpaper toprovideconstructivefeedbackthatwillhelpreportersimprovetheirwork. Manyeditorsalsoareresponsibleforannualperformancereviewsoftheemployeestheysupervise whichisamoreformaltypeoffeedback. Effectivefeedbackistimelyandspecific. Itisprovidedbothinpersonandinwriting. Andmosteditorsbelieveinprovidingsomepositivefeedbackinpublicbutkeepingallcriticalcommentsprivate. Formostbusyeditors theonlywaytoensurethattheiremployeesgettheone-on-onefeedbacktheydeserveistoscheduleregularfeedbacksessions. Lettingemployeesknowhowtheyaredoingonaroutinebasisisagoodwaytoavoidunpleasantsurprisesatperformance-reviewtime. Newsmanagersshouldfindawaytogethonestfeedbackfromthestaffontheirownperformance. Thiscanbedonethroughinformalconversationsorbyaskingemployeestofilloutananonymousquestionnaire. Eitherway itsimportantformanagerstostressthattheywantpeopletobecandid andtoavoidbearinggrudgesiftheresultsarenotentirelyfavorable. Thepointisforthemtolearnhowtheyredoingsotheycanimprovetheirownperformance. Topeditorsandnewsdirectorssetthetoneforthenewsroomandhelptocreateapositivenewsroomculture establishingandreinforcingthenormsandvaluesthatemployeesshare. Inawell-managednewsroom editorsavoidplayingfavorites. Theyencourageopencommunicationandholdregularmeetingstomakesureeveryoneunderstandsthegoalsofthenewsorganization. Editorsshouldpaycloseattentiontostaffmorale anddowhattheycantobolsteritbycelebratingsuccessesandrewardingoutstandingachievement. Recognizinggoodworkinapublicsettingisonewaytogetmoreofit. 385BROADCASTANDONLINE39bytheaudience. LiketheirTVcounterparts onlinejournalistscanincludesoundandvideointheirstories aswellasinteractiveelementsthatallowareadertoexplorethestoryathisorherownpace. Forsimplicityssake wellusethetermbroadcastinthischaptertodescribeallradioandtelevisionnews whetheritstransmittedovertheair oncable orviasatellite. BroadcastStoryFormsandTermsThebasicbroadcaststoryformsarethe tell or reader story the VO orvoiceover andthe wrap or package. A reader storyisjustwhatitappearstobe astorywithoutadditionalsoundbitesorvideo usuallypresentedbythenewscasteroranchorinthestudio. A VO isatelevisiontermforastorytoldwithvideobutno soundbites thebroadcastterminEnglishfordirectquotes. Thenewsreaderoranchorwillreadthescriptforthestorywhilethevideoisplaying. AddingasoundbiteturnsaVOintoa V O-SOT shorthandforsoundontape. Eventhoughmanystationsnowcaptureallvideodigitallywithoutusingtape theabbreviationSOTappearstohavestuck. Thesestoryforms reader VO andVO-SOT tendtobeshort usuallylessthanaminute andsometimesonly10or15secondslong. Acompletestorybyareporteriscalleda wrap inradioanda package intelevisionnewsparlance. Itconsistsofthereportersnarration alsocalled track andoftenincludessoundbitesandnaturalsound soundthatoccursnaturallyonlocation. Obviously thetelevisionversionhasvideo whichmayincludegraphics eitherstaticoranimated. Thesetypesofstoriescanbepresentedliveorrecordedinadvance andtheytendtorunlongerthantheotherstoryforms sometimesuptosixorsevenminutes dependingontheformatofthenewscast. Eachpackagealsohasa lead-in orintroduction tobereadbythenewscaster. Manyalsoincludea tag whichprovidesadditionalinformationattheendofthereporterspackage. Anothertypeofbroadcaststoryisknownasa naturalsound or NATSOT package. Thisstoryformismostoftenusedintelevisionbutoccasionallyinradioaswell. Itdoesnotincludeanyreportertrack. Instead thepeoplefeaturedinthestoryhavetoprovidethenarration. Thisapproachcanrequiremoreplanningandjustasmuchreportingasanyotherstory buttheresultscanbepowerful. Photojournalists whosometimesproducethistypeofstoryontheirownwithoutareporter havetomakesurethateverybitofinformationneededtotellthestoryiscapturedontapeorelsethefinalproductwontmakesense. Radio television andonline orWeb -based journalismarespecializedformswithdemandsandrequirementsoverandabovethosewehavediscussedsofar. Broadcastjournalistsusenotonlywords butalsosoundandvideoinconstructingtheirstories. Whattheywritemustbewrittentobeheard notread 40BroadcastWritingRadioandtelevisionstoriesarewrittenforthelistenersear notthereaderseye. Reportersmustwritecopytheycanreadoutloud clear conversationalcopythatiseasilyunderstood. Unlikenewspaperoronlinereaders thebroadcastaudiencecantgobackandtakeasecondlookorlistentoastorythatdidntquitemakesensethefirsttime. Thewordsarespokenand oncespoken areirretrievable formerCBS U. S. TVnetwork NewseditorEdBlissoncewrote. Broadcastjournalistsaremoreconcisethantheirnewspapercolleagues. Theyhavetobe. Theprintoutofahalf-hournewsbroadcastwouldfillonlyapageortwointhenewspaper. Abroadcastleadcannotincludeall5WsandtheHdiscussedinChapter2 itwouldbetoolongandtoohardtofollow. Instead abroadcastwriterwillselectthetwoorthreemostsignificantpointstouseinthelead andputtherestinthesentencethatfollows. Broadcaststoriesalsotendtoleaveoutsomedetails suchasagesandaddresses whichareroutinelyfoundinprint. Broadcasterswriteshortersentencessotheycanreadthemaloudwithoutrunningoutofbreath. Reportersforradioandtelevisionmustbeattunedtothesoundofthewordstheyuse. Likepoets theyarealerttopacingandrhythm. ConsiderthissentencefromascriptbyEdwardR. Murrow thefamedCBScorrespondentwhocoveredWorldWarIIfromLondon TheblackoutstretchesfromBirminghamtoBethlehem buttonight overBritain theskiesareclear. Thisiswritingthatismeanttobeheard. Thewordsaresimple theendingiscrisp. Broadcastwritersmustbewaryoflanguagethatmightbecorrectontheprintedpage butsoundsridiculouswhenreadaloud. WhentheAmericanactressandTVentertainerLucilleBalldied aprintstorycalledher the83-year-oldBall. Ontheradio thestorysaid LucilleBallwas83yearsold. Itthusavoidedconfusionoverothermeaningsfor ball inEnglish. Broadcastwritersalsoshouldbewareofwordsthatsoundalikebuthavedifferentmeanings. InEnglish forexample miner couldeasilybeconfusedwith minor. Thesewordsmustbeusedinthepropercontextsotheirmeaningisclear. Broadcastjournalistsmakeahabitofreadingtheircopyoutloudbeforegoingontheairtocatchthiskindofproblem aswellaspotentiallyembarrassingdoublemeaningsthatarenotobviousonpaper. Reportingonacharitygolftournament youdontwanttosaythatsomeone playedaroundwiththeprimeminister. Playaround inEnglishcanconnote misbehavedwith. Eventhoughbroadcastscriptsarewrittentobereadoutloud itsjustasimportanttospellcorrectlyforbroadcastaswellasprint. Misspellingsoftenresultinstumblesormispronunciationsontheair. Tomakesuretheyknowhowtocorrectlypronouncedifficultwords broadcastjournalistsoftenincludephoneticspellingsintheirscripts. Correctspellingalsomattersmoretodaybecausemanystationsposttheirstoriesonline. Somestationshavecomputersoftwarethatautomaticallyconvertsscriptsintoclosedcaptioningorsubtitlingfortheirnewscastsasaservicetodeafviewers. Inbothcases misspellingsreflectbadlyonthereportersandthestation. Radioandtelevisionstoriesarewrittenforthelistener sear . 41Radioandtelevisionnewsiswritteninamoreconversationalstylethannewsinprint. Putanotherway broadcastjournalistsshouldwritethewaytheyspeak. Anewspaperstorymightread ThemanescapedinaredToyotatruck policesaid. Butinbroadcast attributioncomesfirst sothescriptwouldread PolicesaythemanescapedinaredToyotatruck. Tomaintainaconversationaltone broadcastersdontneedtousecompletenamesandtitlesinnewsstories. Generallyspeaking middleinitialsarenotusedontheairunlesstheinitialisanessentialpartofthename. Andattimes noteventhenameisrequired. Anewspaperstorywouldnote PakistaniForeignMinisterKhurshidMahmoodKasurimethisIsraelicounterpartSilvanShalominIstanbul Turkey onThursday. Buttheradiostorymightsimplysay TheforeignministersofPakistanandIsraelmetinTurkeytoday. Immediacyisakeyfeatureofbroadcastnews. Ifsomethingishappeningwhileyouareontheair youcanandshouldsayso ThepresidentisflyingtoCapetown . . . ismoreimmediatethan ThepresidentfliestoCapetowntoday. Generallyspeaking radioandtelevisionreportersavoidusingtimereferencesintheirleadsunlesstheeventhappenedtoday. WhereWednesdaysnewspaperwouldpublishthislead PresidentMbekiflewtoCapetownonTuesday theradionewscastWednesdaymorningwouldputitdifferently PresidentMbekihasarrivedinCapetown. Betteryet thewriterwouldlookforwardtowhatthepresidentisdoinginCapetownonWednesdaysothestorycouldbewritteninthepresenttense Thismorning PresidentMbekimeetswithstudentsattheUniversityofCapetown. SoundThesoundbitesthatradioandtelevisionreportersuseintheirstoriesarethebroadcastequivalentofquotes butchoosingthemrequiresanadditionallayerofdecision-making. Itisnotenoughforthesoundbitetomakesenseonpaper. Itmustbeclearenoughtounderstandovertheradioorontelevision. Broadcastjournalistshavetobemindfulofhowlongasoundbiteruns. Whatlooksshortonpapermayactuallytakesomeonequitealongtimetosay solong insomecases thatitcannotbeusedinitsentiretywithoutmakingtheentirestoryexceeditsallottedtime. Broadcastwriterspayparticularattentiontothetransitionsintoandoutofsoundbites. Theirgoalistocreateaseamlessnarrativethatwillretaintheattentionoftheaudienceallthewaythroughthestory. Ifasoundbitebeginswithapronoun forexample thewritermustmakethemeaningclearatthefrontend bycraftingthesentencesothattheeargetstheinformationneededtodecodewhatscomingnext. Letssaytheresanoutbreakofheadliceinthelocalschools. Aschoolnursesaysinasoundbite Theycomeinherescratchingandwejustknowwhatwevegot. Itssoobvious. Whenshesays they shemeanstheschoolchildren. Itwontdoifthesentencebeforethatsoundbitesays Schoolnursessaytheyaredealingwithaterribleoutbreakofheadlice becausethesoundbitethatfollowswouldappeartosuggestthat they referstoheadlice. 42Instead thereportermightsay TheoutbreakofheadlicemeansthatnurseslikeMarySmithareseeingalotmorechildrenthanusualtoday. Inadditiontosoundbites storiesonradioandtelevisionmayincludeso-called natural or wild sound. Thisissoundthatiscapturedwhilereportingastory thewhistlingofthewind apolicesiren childrenshoutingforjoy. Usingthissoundintellingthestoryisstandardpracticeinsomepartsoftheworld. Includingnaturalsoundallowslistenersorviewerstoexperienceaplaceorsituationforthemselves insteadofthereportertellingthemaboutit. Soundalsocanprovideanaudiotransitionfromonelocationtoanother leadingtheaudienceintothenextscene. Naturalsoundcanbeusedatalowaudiolevel underthereporterswords or upfull soitcanbeclearlyheard. Eitherway thesoundhelpsthereportertellthestory. Likemortarbetweenbricks goodnaturalsoundholdsthestorytogether. AmericanphotojournalistSteveSweitzersaysthat intelevision usingnaturalsoundisessentialtotellacompletestory. Soundistheotherpartofthepicture hesays. PicturesTelevisionismuchmorethanradiowithpictures. Skilledtelevisionjournalistsmarrytheirwordswiththevideoinordertotellamorepowerfulstory. Picturesarenotjustvideo wallpaper theyareanessentialpartofthestory. Thevisualstellthe what ofthestory. Thewordstellthe why. ToquoteEdBlissagain Seeingmaybebelieving butitisntunderstanding. Televisionreportersneedtoknowwhatvideotheywilluseinastorybeforebeginningtowrite. Wheneverpossible theyshouldlookatallofthevideofirst sotheycanbesurethatwhattheywritewillmatchthepictures. Thisisnotjustanissueofstyle. Researchhasshownthatviewersunderstandandrememberstoriesmuchbetterwhenthewordsandvideomatch thatis whentheytellthesamebasicstory. Whenthevideodoesnotmatchthewords viewerstendtoremembermoreofwhattheyseethanwhattheyhear. Imagine forexample astoryabouttheeffectsofamajorstormonacountrysfuelsupplies. Ifthevideoshowsonlystormdamageanditsaftermath theviewermightmissthecentralpointthatfuelsupplieshavebeendisrupted. Thestorywouldbeeasiertofollowifthevideoshowedstormdamagewhilethereportertalkedabouttheaftermath andthenswitchedtopicturesofstrandedfueltrucksorpeoplewaitinginlinetryingtobuygasolinewhilethereporterdescribedtheeffectofthestormonfuelsupplies. Synchronizingwordsandpicturesdoesnotmeanthatreportersshouldsimplydescribewhattheviewercansee. Letssaythevideoshowsafarmtruckdrivingdownadustydirtroad. Theresnopointinhavingareportersaysomethingobvious suchas TheRobertsonsliveattheendofalongcountryroad. Instead theaudiotrackshouldofferinformationthataddscontextandmeaningtothepicture. Inthiscase thereportermightsay ThedroughthasbeensobadthattheRobertsonshaventhadanycropstosellthisyear. Broadcastjournalistsshouldwritethewaytheyspeak . 43NewscastsReadersofnewspapersorofnewssitesontheInternethaveconsiderablecontroloverhowtheyreceivethenews. Radiolistenersandtelevisionviewershaveless. Anewspaperreadercanchoosetobeginwiththefrontpage thesportssection ortheobituaries. AnonlinereadercanscrollthroughaWebsiteshomepageofferingsbeforedecidingwhatspecificitemtoreadfromstarttofinish. Butaradiolisteneroratelevisionviewerhastoconsumethenewsthewayitsmadeavailable theorderofstoriesispre- determinedbythenewscastproducer. Newscastsgenerallybegin or lead withwhattheproducerbelievesisthemajorstoryoftheday. Thatdoesnotmeanthateverystoryfollowingtheleadisconsideredslightlylessimportantthantheonebeforeit. Theproducerhastoconsidertheimpactofthenewscastasawhole notjusteachindividualstory. Producersoftenplaceanimportantorunusualstorylowerdowninthenewscastand tease whatscomingnextasawayofholdingtheviewers interestandkeepingthemtunedin. WetalkedaboutteasesinChapter4. Muchasanewspapereditordecidesonthelayoutofpages thetelevisionnewsproducercreatesarundownorlineupforthenewscast listingallstoriesintheordertheywillrun. Theproducersjobistoknowexactlyhowlongeachstorywilllastbecausethenewscastmustbeginandendataspecifictime. Oncetheprogramstarts theproducermakessureitstaysonschedule. Ifastoryrunslongerthanexpected theproducerhastodecidewhattocuttomakeupforit. Ifastoryisdropped theproducerhastoprovidematerialtofillthegap. OnlineNewsOnlinejournalismhascertainattributesofprintjournalismandofbroadcastjournalism andotherattributesthatareuniquetotheWeb. FrequentlyWebsitesoffernewsarticlestoberead justastheywouldbeinanewspaper. Atothertimes theaudiencemayselectavideoclip sotheWebsiteresemblesaTVbroadcast. Anonlinestorythattakesfulladvantageofthenewmediumallowsthereadertobecomeaparticipant choosinghisorherownpaththroughtheinformationpresented. Onlyifthereissomeelementofcontrolbytheuserisitanewstoryform saysNoraPaul directoroftheUniversityofMinnesotasInstituteforNewMediaStudies. Onlinejournalistsmustthinkonmultiplelevelsatonce words ideas storystructure design interactives audio video photos newsjudgment saysJonathanDube publisherofCyberJournalist. net aWebsitethatfocusesonhowtheInternetandothertechnologiesarechangingthemedia. TVisaboutshowingthenews. Printismoreabouttellingandexplaining. Onlineisaboutshowing telling demonstrating andinteracting. Tomakethatpossible onlinejournalistspresentinformationinlayers usingavarietyofstoryforms. 44OnlineStoryFormsThemostbasiconline-storyformhasbeendescribedas printplus. Itsatextstorythatincludesadditionalelementslikephotographs audio andvideo orhyperlinkstomoreinformation. Byembeddinglinks thejournalistcantakethereadertoadditionalinformationonseparateWebpages someofwhichmaybeprovidedbysourcesoutsidethenewsorganization withmorebackgroundorhistory. Onlinestoriescanbeenhancedbyincludinglinkstodatabasesthatausercansearch. Forexample astoryaboutfallingtestscoresatsecondaryschoolsacrossthecountrycouldlinktoadatabaseofresultsfromallschools. Theusercouldsearchforaspecificschool forallschoolsinaparticularcity orcomparetheresultsofdifferentschools. Amoreinnovativeapproachuses clickableinteractives ormultimediagraphicsspecificallydesignedtoillustrateastory. Thegraphicelementsarelaidoutinlinearfashion butthereadercanexplorethemindependentlyinanyorder. Thesameistrueofmostonline slide- shows whichcombinetextandaudiowithstillphotographsinamulti-mediaexperiencefortheuser. Toolsthatallowthereadertonavigatethrougha360-degreeviewofalocationcanenhanceonlinestorytelling too. SocanFlashanimation oneofthesoftwareprogramsthatallowsyoutodesigninteractivecontent video graphics andanimation. Forexample theBBCinLondoncreatedaWebsiteaboutillegaldrugsandalcoholthatallowedthereaderto choose aparticulardruganddosage andthenselectapartofthebody likethebrainorheart toreadabouttheeffectsofthatdrugonthatorgan aswellassafetyinformation. Onlinesitesevenhaveusedquizzesandgamestotellstoriesbybreakingtheinformationintoquestionsandanswersandlettingtheuserdiscoverwhatthereporterhasalreadylearned. OnlineWritingOnlinewriting saysJonathanDube isacrossbetweenprintandbroadcastwriting. Hemaintainsthattheshort simplestylefavoredbybroadcastersmakesonlinewritingeasiertofollow. ButhesaystoomanyWebsitesignorethebasicrulesofgoodwriting. Aconversationaltoneisgood saysDube butgrammarandspellingstillmatter. TelevisionnewsmanagerScottAtkinsonsayshisbestadviceistowritefortheInternetasyouwouldwriteane-mailtoafriend. Thatdoesntmeanyoucanmisspellwords ignorestorystructure orleaveoutcontext hesays. Whatitdoesmeanisyoushouldwriteinthemostintimatestyleyoucanmuster. BecauseWeb-basednewssitestendtoofferreadersmanychoices writersshouldavoiddelayedoranecdotalleadsthatdontquicklyindicatewhatastoryisabout. Theleadshouldgivethereaderagoodreasontocontinuereading otherwise heorsheprobablywillclickonanotherstory. Storiesonlinegenerallyareshorterthannewspaperstories. Agoodguidelineistolimitanonlinestorytoabout800wordsandtokeepitallononepage. Studieshavefoundthatreadersarewillingtoscrollthroughtextonline thereisnoneedtoforcethemtoclicktoadditionalpagesformoreofthesamestory. Buttomakethetexteasiertoabsorb Dubesuggeststhatonlinewritersbreakthetextintomoreblocksandusemoresubheadsandbulletpointstoseparateideasthantheywouldinprint. 45Onlinejournalismmayallowreaderstorespondimmediatelyanddirectlytothewriteroreditorviae-mailoreveninaliveWebchat. Inaddition manysitesprovidespaceforreaderstoposttheirfeedbackoropinions sootherscanreadwhattheyhavewrittenandrespond. MinnesotaPublicRadio MPR intheUnitedStatessolicitsinputforstoriesbothontheairandonline. Listenersareaskedtocallore-mailadditionalinformation. StoriesontheMPRWebsiteincludea Helpuscoverthisstory link sotheaudiencecanaddcommentsandinsights. MPRalsosurveysitsaudiencebeforeproducingspecialreports suchasanexaminationofthestateseconomy. MPRNewsVicePresidentBillBuzenbergsaysaudienceinputresultsin muchmoresophisticatedreporting withmoredepthandlotsofreal- worldexamplesandvoices. 466SPECIALIZEDJOURNALISM47specializedvocabularyinordertounderstandtheirsources. Thisdoesnotmeantheyusethatvocabularyintheirstories. Onthecontrary goodbeatreportersbecometranslatorsandinterpreters makinginformationthatmightotherwisebeobscureaccessibletothegeneralpublic. Beatsarerareinthesmallestnewsrooms whereeveryreporterisexpectedtocovereverykindofstory. Butinlargernewsorganizations printandbroadcast journalistsmayhavetheopportunitytofocusonaparticulartypeofnews. Somebeatsaretraditional government police courts andbusiness forexample. Othersvarywiththeterritory. Dependingonacommunitysmake-up reportersmightbeassignedtocovertheenvironment ortheelderly oreducationasabeat. Beatreportershaveonebasicresponsibility tostayontopofthenewsintheirspecialtyarea. Theyareexpectedtocoverstoriesthatariseontheirbeat meetings printedreportsorWebpostings andotherroutineevents buttheyrealsoresponsibleforfindingnewsthatgoesbeyondtheobvious. Beatreportersdevelopstoriesthroughtheirownenterprise bybuildingrelationshipswithsourceswhowillkeepthemabreastofwhatsreallygoingon notjustinpublicbutbehindthescenes. Theyproduceawidevarietyofstories frombreakingnewstofeatureprofiles. ThebestbeatreportersIveknownarewellorganized determined withaclearsenseofmission andawiderangeofsources saysChipScanlan aformerbeatreporterforKnightRiddernewspapersandcurrentlywithThePoynterInstitute. BeatReportingSkillsWhateverbeatajournalistchoosesorisassignedtocover onebasicskillisessential theabilitytounderstandtheinstitutionsthatdominatethebeat. Learninghowthesystemworkstakestimeandeffort butitpaysoffinstoriesthatnon-beatreporterscantmatch. EricNalder thereporterwhouncoveredtheliferaftstorydiscussedinChapter2 usesthesequestionstobeginlearninghiswayaroundabeat Whoaretheplayers Whoisincharge Whoaretheregulators Whataretherules Howarethingsdone Wherearethemistakesrecorded Whereisthespendingrecorded WhoknowstherealstoryandhowcanIgetit Togetanswerstothesequestions areporterhastostudyhardand walkthebeat. Readeverythingyoucanaboutthetopic collectmeetingschedulesandagendas subscribetospecializedpublications. Butmostimportantly Manynewsorganizationsassignjournaliststocoverspecificareas eithergeographicortopical knownas beats. Thisisatermoriginallyusedtodescribearegularrouteforasentryorpoliceman. Journalistsgettoknowtheterritoryandpeoplewhomakeuptheirbeat andinmanycasestheyhavetolearn48getupandgo. Beatreporterscannotdependsolelyonthetelephone theyhavetospendtimeonthebeat meetingandtalkingwithpeople. Nooneevergotastorysittingaroundthenewsroom saysveteranAmericanjournalistMikeMather aninvestigativereporteratWTKR-TVinNorfolk Virginia. Gettoknoweveryonewhocouldbehelpful fromofficialstoclerks andpassoutyourbusinesscardtoeveryoneyoumeetonthebeat. Buildasourcelistwithasmuchcontactinformationasyoucanpryloose andstayintouchwiththosepeoplebymakingregular beatchecks. Inadditiontocoveringthekeyplayersonthebeat agoodbeatreporteralsolooksathowtheiractionsaffectpeopleinthecommunity. Beatreportingrequiresstrongorganizationalandpersonalskills. Stayingorganizedmeansusingacalendartotrackmeetings hearings andduedatesforreportsoraction. Itmeanshavingareliable portablesystemforfilingandretrievingcontactinformation especiallyphonenumbersande-mailaddresses. Anditmeanskeepingafileoffuturestoryideas withdailylistsofthingstofollowupon. Manyreportersnowkeepthisinformationintheircomputers usingprogramsthatmakeiteasytosearchforpeopleanddates. Buttheyalsoneeditwhentheyrenotintheoffice sotheyeithercarryaprintout alaptopcomputer orthatusefulhand-helddevicethatallowsremoteWebaccess thepersonaldigitalassistant PDA. Sincetechnologycanbeunreliable itsimportanttomakeaback-upcopyoftheinformationfrequently. Coveringabeatmeansgettingtoknowpeoplewellenoughthattheywilltrustyou whilestillmaintainingaprofessionaldistance. Thehardestpartofbeingabeatreporter saysScanlan is dealingwithsourcesyouhavetoreturntoeverydayevenifyouvewrittenastorytheydontlike. GovernmentandPoliticsReporterswhocovergovernmentneedtounderstanditsinnerworkings andtolookfortheimpactofgovernmentdecisions. Reporterswhoaskthebasicquestion Whocares whencoveringgovernmentareabletofindpeoplewhoselivesareaffectedbywhatgovernmentdoes. Storiesthatfeaturethesepeoplearemoreinterestingtotheaudience. Muchofthebusinessofgovernmentisconductedinmeetings soreportersonthebeatshouldexpecttocoverplentyofthem. Adullmeetingdoesnotjustifyadullstory however. Theaudiencedependsonthejournalisttotellthemonlywhatsimportant noteverythingthathappenedinchronologicalorder. Thebeststoriesaboutmeetingsfocusnotonwhathappenedintheroom butonthepeoplewhoareaffectedbywhathappened. Onthegovernmentbeat itscriticalforjournaliststoknowhowtoreadandinterpretabudgetandotherfinancialstatements. Followthemoney isgoodadviceforalljournalists butparticularlyforthosecoveringgovernmentandpolitics. Storiesaboutgovernmentfundingmayseemdry buttaxesandspendingaffecttheaudiencedirectlyandpeopleneedtoknowwheretheirmoneyisgoing. Ingeneral documentsarethelifebloodofgovernment sobeatreportersmustbeabletoobtainthemandunderstandthem. Areporterhastostudyhardand walkthebeat . 49Politicalreportersinademocracyhaveonecentralmission toprovidecitizenswiththeinformationtheyneedtomakeaninformedchoicebetweenthecandidatesforelectiveoffice. Todothat journalistsneedtoexaminethecandidates backgroundsandqualifications theirpositionsonthekeyissues andwhatthecandidatesaresayingincampaignappearancesandadvertising. Reporterswhocoverpoliticslookatthecandidates supporters too sincetheirinterestscanoftenshedlightonwhatapoliticianwilldoifelected. Publicopinionsurveysareastapleofcampaigncoverage butjournalistsneedtolookcloselybeforedecidingwhetherapollsresultsareworthreporting Seesidebar QuestionsJournalistsShouldAskAboutPolls onpage53. Horse-race or tracking pollsthattellthepercentageofvoterswhosupporteachcandidateareoflimitedvalueexceptasafleetingsnapshotoftheraceonanygivenday. Somejournalistsbelievethesepollsmayactuallybiasvotersinfavoroftheleadingcandidatebecausepeoplegenerallywanttosupportawinner. ButresearchersintheUnitedStateshavediscoveredthatvoterswhopayattentiontopollsalsolearnmoreabouttheissuesinvolvedinthecampaign. Theresearchers advicetojournalistsistokeepreportingtheresultsoflegitimate tracking pollsthroughoutthecampaign butnottomakethemamajorfocusofthecoverage. Whenitcomestocampaignissues journalistsshouldpayattentionnotonlytowhatthecandidatessaybutalsotowhatthevoterswanttoknow. Manynewsorganizationsconduct issuepolls toseewhattopicsareofgreatinteresttothepublicduringanelectionyear. Sometimescandidatesmaytrytoavoiddiscussingacontroversialissuethatmattersdeeplytovoters. Inthatcase journalistsshouldraisethequestionsthepublicisasking. Goodpoliticalreportersdonotsimplypointoutwherethecandidatesstandontheissues theyaskwhatthecandidateshavedoneaboutthoseissuesinpreviouselectedofficeorinotherpositionstheymayhaveheld. Tobringtheissuestolife reporterslookforpeoplewhoseindividualstoriesillustratewhytheissuesmatterandwhatdifferenceitwouldmakeifonecandidateortheotherwinstheelection. BusinessandEconomicsThebusinessbeattouchesthelivesofalmosteveryone. Unemployment thecostoffoodandfuel personalsavingsandinvestment allofthesetopicsmatternotjusttobusinessleadersbutalsotoworkersandconsumers. Coveringthelocalbusinessbeatmeansreportingonemployersandworkers construction andpropertysales aswellasthebusinesssectorsthatkeepthelocaleconomygoing beitfarming manufacturing mining orhealthcare. Atthenationallevel businessreporterscovermoreabstrusetopics suchascommodityandstockmarkets interestrates andinstitutionaldebt. 50Reporterscoveringbusinessandeconomicshavetomaketheirstoriesaccessibletoageneralaudience. Theymustunderstandeconomicconceptsandtermsandbeabletodefineorrestatetheminplainlanguage. Thisisgoodpracticeevenforreportersworkingforspecializedpublicationsorbroadcasts whoseaudiencemightbeexpectedtobefamiliarwiththeterms. IntheUnitedStates forexample TheWallStreetJournalisaimedatbusiness- savvyreaders butstillitspellsoutthemeaningofcommontermslike grossnationalproduct thetotalvalueofanationsoutputofgoodsandservices. Overtime businessreportersdeveloptheirownlistofconcisedefinitionstheycanplugintotheirstories. Theaudiencewillappreciateaclearstatementofwhatismeantby debtconversion currencydevaluation privatization andothereconomicterms. Theywillappreciatestoriesthatexplainwhythoseconceptsmattertoindividualsaswellastocorporationsandgovernments. Businessreportersneedtobeabletoreadandunderstandfinancialstatements balancesheets andannualreports. Theyoftenfindstoriesbylookingatchangesinincomeorspendingfromyeartoyear. Theycomparecompaniestoothersinthesameindustryorthesameregion. Forexample whenabusinessclosesorfails reporterswillasknotonlyhowmanypeoplehavelosttheirjobsbutalsowhatimpacttheshutdownwillhaveonthecommunity. Toanswerthatlargerquestion theyneedtoknowwhetherthecompanywasoneofthelargestemployersinthearea whetherotherlocalcompaniesprovidethesameproductorservice whatthelocalunemploymentrateis andsoon. Thebusinessbeatrequiresadeeperknowledgeofmathematicsandstatisticsthanmostothertopicareas. Butbusinessreportersshouldusenumberssparinglyintheirstories becausetoomanyfiguresmakeastorydryanddull. Themostcompellingbusinessstoriesshowthesignificanceofdevelopmentsbyputtingtheminhumanterms describinghowindividualshavebeenorwillbeaffected. Health Science andtheEnvironmentStoriesabouthealthandtheenvironmenthaveadirectimpactonpeopleslives. ReporterswhocoverAIDSknowthatignorancecanbealmostasdangerousasthediseaseitself theirstoriescaneducatepeoplesotheycanprotectthemselves. Journalistsonthehealth science andenvironmentbeatmayreportabouteverythingfromavianflutothemappingofthehumangenomeandtheeffectsofdammingrivers. Foreachofthesetopics theunderlyingissuesarecomplicatedandthejournalistsjobistoexplainthemclearly. Whendealingwiththesekindsofstories journalistsneedtobefamiliarwiththelanguageofscientistsandmedicalresearchers whichcanbeconfusingtolaymen. Dontbeintimidatedbyit saysreporterDennisBueckertoftheCanadianPressnewsagency anddontuseitinyourstories either. Likebusinessreporters sciencewritersdeveloptheirownlistofdefinitionsandexplanationsforcomplicatedtermssotheycanwritestoriesthatmakesensetothegeneralpublic. Reporterswhocoverscientificsubjectsneedtounderstandthescientificmethod basicmathematics andstatistics sotheycandouble-checktheresultsofresearchstudies. Atthesametime theyshouldresisttheurgetoturneverydevelopmentintoabreakthrough ortopressfor yes or no answersinsteadofacceptingprobabilities. Theirstoriesmaynotseemasdramaticbuttheywillcertainlybemoreaccurate. Journalistswhoaretrainedtoreportallsidesofastoryoftenfallintoatrapwhencoveringscience. Givingeven-handedcoveragetodifferingscientificopinionscanactuallymisleadtheaudience. Forexample 51theoverwhelmingmajorityofscientistsbelievethatexposuretoleadcanharmchildrensintelligencelevels. Onlyafewresearchersdisputetheconnection. Areportercouldmentionbothviewpoints butnotinsuchawayastosuggestthereisnoscientificconsensusontheissue. CarolRogers ajournalismprofessorattheUniversityofMarylandwhohaseditedbooksaboutsciencewriting hastwousefultipsforbeatreporters. First identificationmatters. Journalistsoftendontidentifytheexpertstheyquoteinameaningfulway. Theaudiencedeservestoknowwhyyouarequotingaparticularperson. Forexample astoryaboutaninternationalconferenceonclimatechangequotedtheheadoftheWhiteHouseOfficeofScienceandTechnology butnevermentionedthathewasarespectedclimatescientist. Providingthatinformationwouldhaveallowedtheaudiencetobetterassessthevalidityofhiscomments. Second Rogerssays audiencesdontbringanywherenearthebackgroundjournalistsdotoanykindofstory muchlesstocomplicatedones. So ifyourecoveringascienceconference forexample donotassumeyouraudiencehasheardorreadyesterdaysstory orthattheyllheartomorrows. Givethemthebackgroundtheyneedtounderstandtheissueanddoitasifyourstoryweretheonlyonetheywouldeverreadorhearonthesubject. Itmaywellbe. PoliceandCourtsReporterswhocovercrimeandthecourtsneedtoknowhowthesystemworks. Fewreportershaveanytrainingincriminaljustice butveteransonthepolicebeatrecommendtakingatleastonecourseonthesubject. Policeofficialsarenotoriouslyreluctanttoprovideinformationtojournalists butifyouknowtheirrules regulations andprocedures youcanaskbetterquestionsandimproveyourchancesoffindingoutwhatyouwanttoknow. Policereportersneedtoknowexactlyhowcrimesaredefinedinthecommunitytheycover. IntheUnitedStates forexample a burglary anda robbery arenotthesamething. Burglaryinvolvesbreakingintoabuildingtocommitacrime. Robberyisstealingmoneyorpropertybyforce. Developingaglossaryofessentialtermscanpreventembarrassingmistakes. Apolicepressreleasemayprovidethebasicfactsaboutacrime butgoodreportersdigdeeper. Theygotothescenetolookfordetailsandtotalkwithneighborsoreyewitnesses wheneverpossible. 52Courtreportersmustunderstandthejudicialprocessfrombeginningtoend. Theyshouldknowwhathappenswhenasuspectisarrested charged arraigned tried andsentencedorreleased. Experiencedreporterssaythebestwaytolearntheprocessistospendtimeatthecourthouse. Beginwiththecourtclerks whokeeptrackofthedocket thelistofcases andthecalendar. Findouthowtogetcopiesofthecourtrecord filings andtestimony. Readthecasefiles includingmotionsandpleadingsbeforethetrial andkeeptrackofwhatsreportedaboutthecaseifyoucantbeincourteveryday whichfrequentlyhappens. Defenseattorneysaresomeofthebestsourcesofinformationonthejusticebeat. Theyoftenaremorewillingthanprosecutorstotalkwithreportersaboutcasesonwhichtheyareworking. Doyourbesttounderstandlegaljargon butavoidusingitinyourstories. Lawyersarecounseledtousebigwordstoconfusejournalists saysS. L. Alexander authorofCoveringtheCourts AHandbookforJournalists. Ifyoudontknowwhatsomethingmeans askthepersonyoureinterviewingtoexplainit sheadvises. SportsSportsreportersdosomeofthebestwritinginjournalism. Theirstoriesnaturallyinvolvedrama emotions andoutsizedpersonalities saysformerTVsportsreporterBillSchwanbeck whonowteachesatQuinnipiacUniversityinConnecticut. Goodsportswritersdomuchmorethanreportthescoreofagameortheresultsofanathleticcompetition. Theyprovidethebasics ofcourse buttheyalsoprovideperspectiveandcontextthattheaudiencecantgetfrombeingatthegameorwatchingitontelevision. Sportswritersexplainthewhyandhowofwhathappened notjustthewhoandthewhat. Theyalsoreportonthebusinessofsports andwritefeaturestoriesaboutathletes teamowners andfans. Butsportsreportersstillhavetostartwiththefundamentals. Theyneedtobeknowledgeableaboutallsports understandtherulesofthegameorsporttheyarecovering andhowthescoreisdetermined. Theyworkonverytightdeadlines especiallywhencoveringnightgames. Theyhavetokeepscoreandmakenotesatthesametime notaneasytaskduringafast-movinggame. Mostimportantly theyneedtofindathemeforeachstoryandbuildthedetailsaroundit. Inmanycases thebeststoryisnotonthefield. Sportswritersprobeforwhatshappeningbehindthescenes theatmosphereinthelockerroom orthetensionbetweentwoplayersthatmightbeaffectingtheentireteam. Theytreatplayersandmanagerswithrespect buttheydonotengageinhero-worship. Theyoftenenjoythesportstheycover buttheyarenotfansorboostersofanyoneteam. Likealljournalists theyshouldbefairandindependentobserversofthestoriestheycover. 53Justasbusinessandsciencereportersavoideconomicandbusinessjargon sportswritersshouldavoidtermsthatonlythemostardentfanorcoachwouldknow. Keepitsimple saysformersportsreporterMikeReilley nowpublisheroftheonlinesiteTheJournalistsToolBox. Dontgetcute. Healsowarnsyoungjournaliststoexpectsomeinterviewswithathletesandcoachestobeconfrontational especiallyafteraloss. Manyprofessionalathletesthriveonintimidation Reilleysays sobepreparedtostandyourground. QuestionsJournalistsShouldAskAboutPolls Whodidthepoll Isthisalegitimatesurveyorganization Whoelsedotheypollfor Whopaidforthepoll Whatistheirpoliticalagenda Howmanypeoplewereinterviewed Howweretheyselected Whatkindsofpeoplewereinterviewed Aretheresultsbasedonanswersofallorsomeofthosepolled Whenwasthepollconducted Howwasthepollconducted Whatwerethequestions Whatwasthemarginoferror Whatweretherawnumbers Aretheresultsdifferentfromotherpollsand ifso why Isthispollworthreporting Excerptedwithpermissionfrom20QuestionsaJournalistShouldAskAboutPollResults ThirdEdition bySheldonR. Gawiser Ph. D. andG. EvansWitt. http www. ncpp. org547ETHICSANDLAW55comeresponsibilities. Forjournalists themostbasicresponsibilityinafreesocietyistoreportthenewsaccuratelyandfairly topracticeethicaljournalism. Ethicsisasystemofprinciplesthatguidesaction. Whilethelawestablisheswhatyoucanandcannotdoinagivensituation ethicstellsyouwhatyoushoulddo. Itisbasedonvalues personal professional social andmoral andspringsfromreasoning. Ethicaldecision- makingsimplymeansapplyingthesevaluesinyourdailywork. TheDeclarationofChapultepec approvedbycountriesintheAmericasin1994asacountertopressuresonfreedomofexpressionthroughoutthehemisphere makesclearthatethicaljournalismisessentialtothelong-termsuccessofthenewsmedia Thecredibilityofthepressislinkedtoitscommitmenttotruth tothepursuitofaccuracy fairness andobjectivityandtothecleardistinctionbetweennewsandadvertising. Theattainmentofthesegoalsandtherespectforethicalandprofessionalvaluesmaynotbeimposed. Thesearetheexclusiveresponsibilityofjournalistsandthemedia. Inafreesociety itispublicopinionthatrewardsorpunishes. Ethicallapsesdooccurinjournalism. Reportershaveinventedinformation. Editorshaveacceptedpaymentsfromsources. Newsorganizationshavepublishedadvertisementsintheguiseofnews. Whenthishappens thepublichasarighttoquestioneverythingthatappearsinthenewsmedia. Alljournalists andallnewsorganizations sufferwhenjournalistsbehaveunethicallybecausethatbehaviorcallstheprofessionscredibilityintoquestion. Whencredibilitysuffers sodoesanewsorganizationsabilitytosurviveeconomically. EthicalPrinciplesThereisonesacredruleofjournalism saidthelatereporterandprize-winningnovelistJohnHersey whocoveredtheaftermathoftheatomicbombattackonHiroshima. Thewritermustnotinvent. Thelegendonthelicensemustread NONEOFTHISWASMADEUP. Ethicaljournalistsdonotputwordsinpeoplesmouthsorpretendtohavebeensomewheretheyhavenot. Andtheydonotpassofftheworkofothersastheirown. Fabricationandplagiarismareviolationsofbasicjournalisticstandardstheworldover. Butnotalltransgressionsaresoclear. Journalistsfaceethicaldilemmaseveryday underpressurefromowners competitors advertisers andthepublic. Theyneedaprocesstoresolvethesedilemmas sothatthejournalismtheyproduceisethical. Theyneedawayofthinkingaboutethicalissuesthatwillhelpthemmakegooddecisions evenondeadline. Afreepresshastremendouspower ifpowerisdefinedasthecapacitytoinfluenceothers. Thenewsmediainademocracygenerallyhavetherighttoreportinformationwithoutpriorgovernmentapproval. Manycountriesprovidelegalprotectionstojournalistssotheycanexercisethatright. Butwithrights 56Thiswayofthinkingisgroundedintheprinciplesjournalistsrelyon. ThesearethebasicprinciplesoftheU. S. SocietyofProfessionalJournalists avoluntaryjournalismorganization Seektruthandreportit. Journalistsshouldbehonest fair andcourageousingathering reporting andinterpretinginformation. Minimizeharm. Ethicaljournaliststreatsources subjects andcolleaguesashumanbeingsdeservingofrespect. Actindependently. Journalistsshouldbefreeofobligationtoanyinterestotherthanthepublicsrighttoknow. Beaccountable. Journalistsareaccountabletotheirreaders listeners viewers andeachother. Onthesurface itmayseemeasyenoughtoabidebytheseprinciples. Ofcourse journalistsshouldseekthetruthandtreattheirsourceswithrespect. Butoftentimes theprinciplesthemselvesareinconflict. Journalistswhoseekthetruthmaydiscoverinformationthatwillbehurtfultothefamilyofapersoninvolvedinwrongdoing. Areportersmembershipinanon-governmentalorganizationmayallowhertolearnmoreaboutastorythegroupisinvolvedwith butherassociationwiththegroupmayalsocompromiseherindependenceandbedifficulttojustifytotheaudience. Inmanycases makinganethicaldecisionmeanschoosingnotbetweenrightandwrongbutbetweenrightandright. How then canjournalistspossiblymakegoodethicaldecisions Somesituationsarebestdealtwithbyavoidingtheminthefirstplace. Forexample reportersmaychoosenottobelongtoanyoutsidegroups ortheymaydisqualifythemselvesfromcoveringstoriesinvolvinganygroupstheydobelongto. Inothercases ajournalistmustseekthebestpossiblebalancebetweenconflictingprinciples alwayskeepinginmindtheprimaryimportanceofseekingthetruthandservingthepublic. EthicalDecision-MakingSomenewsroomsdealwithethicalquandariesfromthetopdown. Wheneveranissueordilemmaarises aseniormanagerdecideswhattodo. Thisapproachhastheadvantageofbeingquick butitcanbearbitrary. Itdoesnothingtohelpjournalistsmakegooddecisionswhentheyareoutinthefieldorwhenthemanagerisunavailable. Forthatreason manynewsroomshaveadoptedanethicaldecision-makingprocessthatismoreinclusiveandthathelpsalljournalistsmakegooddecisionsunderavarietyofcircumstances. Thefirststepintheprocessistodefinethedilemma. Mostpeoplerecognizewhentheyarefacinganethicalquandary. Aninternalalarmgoesoff. Somethingdoesnotfeelquiterightaboutasituation. Whenthathappens itsimportanttospelloutwhatsbotheringyou. Whatarethevaluesthatmaybecompromised Whatjournalisticissuesareatstake Oftenthereistensionbetweenajournalisticgoalandanethicalstand. Thereporterwhohasanexclusivestorymaywanttorushitintoprintbeforeanyoneelsegetsit buthealsoneedstoconsiderthepossibleconsequences. Whatifthestoryturnsouttobewrong Journalistsshouldnotsacrificetheirethicalvaluestoachieveotherobjectives suchasbeatingthecompetition. Forjournalists themostbasicresponsibilityinafreesocietyistoreportthenewsaccuratelyandfairly . 57Thenextstepafterdefiningtheproblemistocollectmoreinformationtohelpyoumakeagooddecision. Consultnewsroompoliciesandguidelines ifanyexist andtalktoothersaboutthedilemma. Beginwithcolleaguesandsupervisorsinthenewsroom butdontstopthere. Itsoftenusefultoincludeothervoices peoplewhoarenotdirectlyinvolvedinthestorybutwhoareknowledgeableaboutthecircumstances. Itsimportanttonotethatjournalists unlikedoctors arenotexpectedtopromisetodonoharm. Manytruthfulandimportantstorieswillhurtpeoplesfeelingsorreputations. Itsinevitable. Butjournalistsdotrytominimizetheharmbynotputtingpeopleatunnecessaryrisk. BobSteele whoteachesjournalismethicsatThePoynterInstitute likestoask Whatiftheroleswerereversed HowwouldIfeel Letssayareporterhasdiscoveredafactorywhereboysundertheageof12work10hoursaday sixdaysaweek andarepaidlessthanhalfthecountrysminimumwage. Thecountrysconstitutionprohibitsemployersfromhiringanyoneunder14anditisillegalforanyonetoworkmorethan45hoursaweek. Findingthefactorymeansthereporterhasproofofchildexploitation butwhatmoredoesheneedtoknowbeforepublishingorbroadcastingthestory Tellingthetruthaboutthefactorywouldcertainlyhaveconsequences andsomeofthemcouldbehurtful. Whenfacedwiththiskindofstory itcanbehelpfultocreatealistofpeopleandinstitutionsthatmightbeaffectedbythestoryandtoconsidertheimpactthestorymighthave. Thestoryaboutthefactorywouldaffecttheboysdirectly ofcourse butitwouldalsoaffecttheirfamiliesandthefactoryowner. Knowingthepossibleconsequences journalistscanbegintolookatalternativesforpresentingtheinformationsothestoryremainstruthfulbutdoesnotcauseasmuchharm. Inthecaseofthefactory thejournalistmightdecidetousephotosofthechildrenbutnottonamethem inanefforttolimitthepotentialharmthestorycouldcause. Thatsjustoneexampleofajournalisticdecisionthatcanhaveethicalconsequences. Othersincludethetypeandplacementofthecoverage aswellasitstone. Theimpactofafront-pagestorywithabannerheadlineandalargephotographisconsiderablygreaterthanasmallerstorythatrunsonaninsidepage. Atelevisionstorythatispromotedmultipletimesbeforeitairswouldhavemoreimpact andthereforegreaterethicalconsequences thanastorytoldonceinthemiddleofanewscast. Goingthroughaprocesstomakegoodethicaldecisionsputsjournalistsandnewsorganizationsinapositiontojustifytheiractionsclearly. Byexplainingwhatwasdoneandwhy journalistsareabletobolstertheircredibilityandjustifythepublicstrustinthem. Newsroomsthatvalueethicaldecision- makingmakesurethesekindsofissuesarediscussed andnotjustwhenadilemmaoccurs. Somenewsroomsholdregularmeetingstodiscusswhattheywoulddoinhypotheticalsituations. Journalistswhopracticelisteningwithanopenmindandwhokeeptheiremotionsincheckandavoidbecominginflexibleabouttheirpositionsareabletoputtheseskillstoworkwhenfacingarealethicalconcern. Ethicaljournalismisessentialtothelong - termsuccessofthenewsmedia . 58EthicsCodesJournalismassociationsandfederationsaroundtheworldhaveestablishedcodesofethicstoguidetheworkofmemberjournalists. Ethicscodescancovereverythingfromplagiarismtoprivacyandfromcorrectionstoconfidentiality. Somearebriefandvaguelyworded whileothersarelengthyandquiteexplicit. Claude-JeanBertrand whoisaprofessorattheUniversityofParissFrenchPressInstituteandhasexaminedethicscodesfrommanycountries saysthatmostincludethesethreebasicelements Fundamentalvalues includingrespectforlifeandhumansolidarity Fundamentalprohibitions includingnottolie causeneedlessharm orappropriatesomeoneelsesproperty Journalisticprinciples includingaccuracy fairness andindependence. Thesecodesaresometimesvoluntaryinnature withnoclearconsequencesforviolators. Buttheexpectationisthatpeersandemployerswillholdjournalistswhobehaveunethicallyaccountable. Insomecountries presscouncilshearcomplaintsagainstjournalistsandcanrecommendactiontocorrectmistakes. Journalismreviewmagazinesalsoserveacorrectivefunctionbyexposingthebehaviorofunethicaljournalists. Somenewsorganizationshaveastaffperson commonlycalledan ombudsman whowatchesoutforerrorsandethicallapsesandservesasthepublicsrepresentativeinsidethenewsroom. Incountrieswherejournalistsarerequiredtobelongtoaunionorassociation ethicscodesoftenincludeanenforcementprovision. Forexample theAustralianJournalistsAssociationhasjudiciarycommitteesthatinvestigatechargesofunethicalbehaviorbroughtagainstjournalists. Ajournalistfoundinviolationcanberebuked fined orexpelledfromthegroup. CodesofConductInadditiontonationalandregionalcodesofethics manynewsorganizationshavetheirowncodesofconductorstandardsofpracticethattheyexpecttheirjournaliststofollow. Thesecodesmayspelloutspecificactionsoractivitiesthatareeitherencouragedorprohibited orthatrequiretheapprovalofamanager. Manynewsorganizationslimitwhatjournalistscandobothonandoffthejob. Themainreasonfortheselimitationsistoprotectthecredibilityofnewsorganizations. Reportersandphotographersmaybetoldexplicitlythattheycannotmanipulateor stage thenewsbyaskingpeopletodosomethingforastorythattheywouldnotdoordinarily. Reportersmaynotbeallowedtoconcealtheiridentitiestogetastory unlessthereisaclearandcompellingpublicinterestintheinformationanditcannotbeobtainedanyotherway. Atelevisionstationmayexplicitlyforbidtheuseofhiddencamerasorsurreptitiousrecordingingatheringthenews unlessamanagerapprovesitforpublic- interestreasons. Withtheadventofdigitalphotography newstandardshavebeenaddedtoprohibitalteringphotographsorvideoinawaythatcouldmisleadtheaudience. Severalhigh- profileincidentscontributedtothesenewpolicies includingaphotographonthecoverofNationalGeographicmagazineinthe1980sthatdigitallymovedthefamousPyramidsofGizainEgyptclosertogether. Manyoftheregulationsinnewsroomcodesofconductaddressissuesofjournalisticindependence. Toavoideventheappearanceofaconflictofinterest reportersmaybeforbiddentoownstockorhaveapersonalinterestincompaniestheycover. Journalistsmaynotbeallowedtotakeapublicpositiononapoliticalissueoropenlysupportacandidateforoffice. Thenewsorganizationmayprohibitjournalistsfromhavingabusinessrelationshipwithanynewssource orfromdoinganyoutsideworkforpayunlessapprovedbyamanager. 59TheethicspolicyoftheDetroitFreePress anAmericannewspaperinthestateofMichigan clearlyspellsoutwhatthenewspaperwillandwillnotdo. Itprohibitspayingsourcesfornewsandsaysthatsourceswillnotbeallowedtoreviewmaterialbeforepublication. TheCanadianBroadcastingCompany CBC hasalengthystandardsmanualthatrequiresemployeestorefuseanygiftsthatmayappeartoinfluenceaCBCdecision onlymodestgiftsofgoodwillorhospitalityofferedduringtheconductofnormalbusinessmaybeaccepted. CBCemployeesmaynotacceptoffersoffreetraveloraccommodationsinordertocoverastory. Itmaynotbepossibletoavoideverypotentialconflict butjournalistsneedtobeawarethattheirconductcanreflectbadlyonthenewsorganization. Whentheysensethataconflictmightarise theyshouldbeexpectedtonotifytheirsupervisors. Areporterwithapersonalconnectiontoastorymayaskthatadifferentreportertakeontheassignment. Manynewsorganizationshavemadeittheirpracticetohavereportersdiscloserelationshipsintheirstoriesthatcouldevensuggestaconflictofinterest evenifnoneexists. Codesofconductaretypicallyinternaldocuments butmoreandmorenewsorganizationsarepostingthemontheirWebsitessothepublicknowswhattoexpectandcanholdthenewspaperorstationaccountableifitsstandardsareviolated. CommunityStandardsNewsorganizationsoftenfaceconflictsbetweennewsworthinessandcommunitystandards andresolvingthemrequirestheskilfulpracticeofethicaldecision-making. Supposeanelectedofficialhasusedaracialslurindiscussingamemberoftheoppositionparty. Somenewspapersmightprinttheexactwordstheofficialused. Otherscoulduseafewlettersfollowedbydashestoindicatewhathesaidwithoutspellingitout. Andsomenewspaperswouldlikelyreportonlythattheofficialhadusedoffensivelanguage. Newspapereditorschoosedifferentsolutionsdependingonwhattheyfeelthereaderswouldbewillingtotolerate. Butsometimestheygoaheadwithadecisiontheyarecertainwouldoffendsomereaders. Editorsfacesimilardifficultchoiceswhenitcomestoshockingphotographsorvideotheaudiencemayfinddistasteful butthatmaybethemostpowerfulwaytotellanimportantstory. Tominimizetheharmsuchachoicemightcause manynewsmanagersnowchoosetoexplainwhytheymadethedecisiontheydid eitherinthetextofthestoryorinaseparate editorsnote alongsideit. Forexample aphotographofamotherholdingtheemaciatedbodyofhersonwhodiedofstarvationwouldcertainlybedisturbing. Insteadofwaitingforangryphonecallsandrespondingtoeachindividualcomplaint theeditorsnotemightsaythatthispictureofsufferingtellsthestoryoffaminemuchmoreclearlythanwordsalone. Byexplainingtheirdecisionstothepublic journalistscanliveuptotheguidingprincipleofaccountability. 60LegalIssuesThecornerstoneofinternationalstandardsonthenewsmediaisArticle19oftheUnitedNationsCharter whichstates Everyonehastherighttofreedomofopinionandexpression thisrightincludesfreedomtoholdopinionswithoutinterferenceandtoseek receive andimpartinformationandideasthroughanymediaandregardlessoffrontiers. CountriesthataremembersoftheUnitedNationsarecommittedtoupholdingthecharter includingArticle19 butthathasntstoppedsomecountriesfromsuppressingtheirownnewsmediaandblockingaccesstointernationalnews. Insomecases journalistshavebeenkilled imprisoned orexiledfortryingtodotheirjobs. DaniloArbillaoftheInterAmericanPressAssociationandUruguaysBusquedasaysthebestpresslawisnolawatall. Intheidealworld hesays legislationgoverningpressfreedomwouldtakeupnomorethanacoupleofpages containingclearandfranklywordedclausesprohibitinganyattempttoregulate . . . freedomofexpression. Needlesstosay theworldisnotanidealplace. Presslawsvaryaroundtheworldtosuchanextentthatitisnotpossibletosummarizethemall. Somedemocraticcountrieshavelawstoensurejournalists accesstopublicinformation whileotherslimitwhatinformationcanbepublishedoraired. Insomecountries itisillegaltonamethevictimofasexualcrime ortoidentifyjuvenilesaccusedofcriminalactivity. Evenwithincountries theremaybedifferinglocallawscoveringissuessuchaswhetherajournalistcanbeforcedtonameaconfidentialsourceorprovidereportingnotestoacourtoflaw andunderwhatcircumstances. Sufficeittosaythatjournalistsneedtobeawareofthelawsinthecountriesinwhichtheywork aswellasongoingeffortstohaverestrictivelawslifted. Oneofthemostcommonkindsoflegalissuesjournalistsfaceislibelordefamation. IntheUnitedStates defamationisastatementoffactthatissubstantiallyfalseaboutsomeonewhocanbeidentifiedandthattendstoinjurethatpersonsreputation. Defamationiscalled libel whenthestatementispublishedand slander whenitisbroadcast butthebasicparametersarethesame. Generallyspeaking ifastatementistrue itcannotbedefamatory. Journaliststhereforemustconfirmindependentlywhattheirsourcessay ifthosecommentscoulddefameanotherperson. Asnewtechnologychangesthewayjournalistsdotheirwork medialawsarebeingreexamined. Attheforefrontarequestionssuchas Shouldonlinereportersbegrantedthesamerightsandprotectionsasjournalistsworkingforestablishednewsorganizations ShouldthosesameprivilegesextendtoInternetbloggers Thesequestionsarelikelytoremainunresolvedforsometime. Reportersobviouslyaresubjecttootherlawsthatapplytoindividualsinagivencountry suchaslawsgoverningprivacy. Ajournalistwhowantsaccesstoinformationcannotenterprivateproperty takedocumentswithoutpermission orwiretapatelephoneandexpecttofacenolegalconsequences. Anewsorganizationmightdecidethatsomestoriesaresoimportanttheyareworththeriskoflegalsanctions butthatisadifferentmattertobedecidedjointlyandcarefullybyeditors reporters andmanagement. 618JOURNALISMRESOURCESMembershipGroupsAmericanSocietyofNewspaperEditorshttp www. asne. org RepresentsdailynewspapereditorsintheAmericas. AssociationforWomenJournalistshttp www. awjdfw. orgindex. htmlPromotesfairtreatmentofwomeninthemediaandthenewsroomthroughascholarshipprogram careergrants networking advocacy careerseminars andtheannualVivianCastleberryAwardsCompetition. InternationalFederationofJournalistshttp www. ifj. org Representsaround500 000membersinmorethan100countries. InvestigativeReportersandEditors Inc. http www. ire. org Representsinvestigativejournalists. NationalPressPhotographersAssociationhttp www. nppa. org Servesprintandtelevisionphotojournalists. OnlineNewsAssociationhttp www. journalists. org Servesonline-mediajournalists. OrganizationofNewsOmbudsmenhttp www. newsombudsmen. org Internationalassociationofombudsmen orinternalnewsroomcritics. Radio-TelevisionNewsDirectorsAssociationhttp www. rtnda. orgMembershipgroupforelectronicjournalistsworldwide. SocietyofProfessionalJournalistshttp www. spj. org TheSocietyofProfessionalJournalistsworkstoimproveandprotectjournalism. SPJalsopromotesthefreepracticeofjournalismandhighethicalstandardsofbehavior. Encouragesthefreeflowofinformationvitaltoawell- informedpublic workstoeducatethenextgenerationofjournalists andprotectsFirstAmendmentguaranteesoffreedomofspeechandpress. SocietyforNewsDesignhttp www. snd. org Representsdesigners graphicartists illustrators andothervisualjournalists. ReportingandEditingCyberjournalist. nethttp www. cyberjournalist. nettips_and_ tools CyberJournalist. netisaresourcesitethatfocusesonhowtheInternet convergence seenote andnewtechnologiesarechangingthemedia. Thesiteofferstips news andcommentaryaboutonlinejournalism citizensmedia digitalstorytelling convergednewsoperations andusingtheInternetasareportingtool. 62Note Convergenceinthemediareferstocross-platformreporting. Forexample newspaperreportersfilestoriesforthenewspaper thepapersWebsite andevenaTVorradiostationownedbythenewspaper. Journalism. nethttp www. journalismnet. comAfullservicesitewithdozensofusefullinks developedbyaCanadianreporter. NewsLabhttp www. newslab. orgResources storybackground andtrainingfortelevisionandradiojournalists. ProjectforExcellenceinJournalismhttp www. journalism. orgU. S. non-profitorganizationhasresourcesandresearch. Reporter. orghttp www. reporter. orgResourcesforjournalists includingbeat-relatedlinks. SpecializedJournalismMostofthesegroupsaremembershiporganizationsthatoffertrainingatregularlyscheduledconferencesandresourcesontheirWebsites. BUSINESS NationalCenterforBusinessReportinghttp www. businessjournalism. org CONFLICT CenterforWar Peace andtheNewsMediahttp www. bu. eduglobalbeat ENVIRONMENT InternationalFederationofEnvironmentalJournalistshttp www. ifej. org INVESTIGATIVE InternationalConsortiumofInvestigativeJournalistshttp www. publicintegrity. orgicij SCIENCE InternationalScienceWritersAssociationhttp internationalsciencewriters. org SPORTS AssociatedPressSportsEditorshttp apse. dallasnews. com JournalismTrainingAmericanPressInstitutehttp www. americanpressinstitute. org TrainingcenterforprintjournalistsbasedintheUnitedStates. Siteoffersresources includingusefullinksatTheJournalistsToolbox. CIESPALhttp www. ciespal. net InternationaljournalismcenterforLatinAmerica basedinEcuador. SiteisinSpanish. EuropeanJournalismCentrehttp www. ejc. nl TraininginstitutebasedinTheNetherlands hasbackgroundinformationonEuropeanmediaandresources. IFRANewsplexhttp www. newsplex. orghome. shtmlTrainingcentersintheUnitedStatesandGermany. IndependentJournalismFoundationhttp www. ijf-cij. org SupportsfreepressinEasternEuropewithtrainingatfourregionalcenters. InternationalCenterforJournalistshttp www. icfj. orgTrainingcenterbasedintheUnitedStatesalsohaslinkstoworldwidetrainingandfellowshipopportunitiesonitsInternationalJournalists Network http www. ijnet. org 63Internewshttp www. internews. org U. S. non-profitgroupoffersjournalismtrainingaroundtheworld. InstitutefortheAdvancementofJournalismhttp www. iaj. org. za SouthAfricanmediatraininginstitute. InstituteforWarandPeaceReportinghttp www. iwpr. netSpecialreportsbyregionfromthisLondon- basednon-profit inmultiplelanguages. JohnS. KnightFellowshipshttp knight. stanford. eduprogramindex. htmlOffersone-yearprofessionaljournalismfellowshipsatStanfordUniversityforoutstandingmid-careerjournalists. Journalismtraining. org SocietyofProfessionalJournalists http www. journalismtraining. orgaction homeProvidesacentralizedlocationforjournalistsseekinginformationaboutprofessionaldevelopment. Thecenterpieceofthesiteisasearchabledatabaseoflocal regional andnationaljournalismtrainingprograms. NoTrain-NoGainhttp www. notrain-nogain. org Newspapertrainingeditorsshareideasandexercisesonthissite. ThePoynterInstitutehttp www. poynter. org Aschoolforjournalists basedintheUnitedStates. Websiteprovidesresources storybackgroundinformation andplentyoflinks. FreedomofExpressionArticle19http www. article19. org Internationalnon-profitgroupsupportsfreedomofexpressionandthefreeflowofinformationasfundamentalhumanrights. CanadianJournalistsforFreeExpressionhttp www. cjfe. org Nongovernmentalgroupdefendstherightsofjournaliststhroughouttheworld. FreedomForumhttp www. freedomforum. org NewsoutletdealingprimarilywithU. S. FirstAmendmentandFreedomofInformationissues. InterAmericanPressAssociationhttp www. sipiapa. org SupportsfreepressintheWesternHemisphere. JournalistsforHumanRightshttp www. jhr. ca Canadian-basednonprofit focusedonreportinginAfrica. TheReportersCommitteeforFreedomofthePresshttp www. rcfp. org Anonprofitorganizationdedicatedtoprovidingfreelegalassistancetojournalists. ReportersWithoutBordershttp www. rsf. org Internationalpressfreedomorganization basedinParis. ResourcesinEnglish French andSpanish. WorldPressFreedomCommitteehttp www. wpfc. org Internationalumbrellagroupdefendsandpromotespressfreedom. 64BooksClark RoyPeterandColeC. Campbell eds. TheValuesandCraftofAmericanJournalism EssaysFromThePoynterInstitute. Gainesville FL UniversityPressofFlorida 2005. TheFirstAmendmentHandbook. Arlington VA TheReportersCommitteeforFreedomofthePress 2003. http www. rcfp. orghandbookindex. htmlHachten WilliamA. TroublesofJournalism ACriticalLookatWhatsRightandWrongWiththePress. Mahwah NJ LawrenceErlbaumAssociates 3rdedition 2004. Hamilton JamesT. AlltheNewsThatsFittoSell HowtheMarketTransformsInformationIntoNews. Princeton NJ PrincetonUniversityPress 2003. Overholser Geneva andKathleenHallJamieson. ThePress. NewYork NY OxfordUniversityPress 2005. Sloan W. DavidandLisaMullikinParcell eds. AmericanJournalism History Principles Practices. Jefferson NC McFarland Company 2002. Sullivan MargueriteH. AResponsiblePressOffice AnInsidersGuide. Washington DC U. S. DepartmentofState InternationalInformationPrograms 2001. http usinfo. state. govproductspubs pressoffice EthicsCodesAmericanSocietyofNewspaperEditorsASNEStatementofPrinciples. Reston VA AmericanSocietyofNewspaperEditors 2002. http www. asne. orgkioskarchive principl. htmRadio-TelevisionNewsDirectorsAssociationCodeofEthicsandProfessionalConduct. Washington DC Radio-TelevisionNewsDirectorsAssociation 2000. http www. rtnda. orgethicscoe. shtmlSocietyofProfessionalJournalistsSPJCodeofEthics. Indianapolis IN SocietyofProfessionalJournalists 1996. http spj. orgethics. aspInternationalCenterforJournalistsCodeofEthics bycountryandregion. Washington DC. Englishversion http www. ijnet. org Director. aspx PEthicsTheU. S. DepartmentofStateassumesnoresponsibilityforthecontentandavailabilityoftheresourcesfromotheragenciesandorganizationslistedabove. AllInternetlinkswereactiveasofFall2006. ThispublicationisacompanionvolumetoAResponsiblePressOffice AnInsidersGuidebyMargueriteH. Sullivan http usinfo. state. govproductspubs pressoffice. TheopinionsexpressedinthispublicationdonotnecessarilyreflecttheviewsorpoliciesoftheU. S. government. BureauofInternationalInformationProgramsU. S. DepartmentofStatehttp usinfo. state. gov 2006ExecutiveEditor GeorgeClackWriter DeborahPotterEditor MildredSolaNeelyArtDirectorDesign Min-ChihYaoIllustrations BryanLeisterBureauofInternationalInformationProgramsU. S. DEPARTMENTOFSTATEhttp usinfo. state. gov

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