Week 7 - Journalism Sources ( class notes)

Sources

How to find sources.
a.) BSU Web site
b.) BSU Catalog
c.) Press releases from editors
d.) Other Web pages
e.) Phone book
f.) Professional Directories and journals
g.) Ayers Crisscross Directory
h.) Department heads
i.) Bulletin boards

Verify their names. Say verify. Check spelling and titles. Also verify numbers, titles of organizations and numbers. Make sure numbers add up correctly.

You can do interviews by phone or e-mail as well as in person.

Multi-task. If you can’t get your first source, try your second choice. Leave your cell or phone number and e-mail address. While waiting for sources for one aspect of your story to respond, be contacting sources for other aspects of your stories.

Suggest ideas for illustrating stories and bring back facts to pull out as fact boxes.

Get direct quotes. Beginning reporters, for briefs: Read back name and title and relevant facts. Maybe read back their quote. Don’t do that as you move up from junior reporter.

Use a tape or digital recorder. Coordinate your notes with it so you don’t have to listen to the whole tape or read your whole notebook. Use “quote yes” or stars in left margin, along with digital counter number for key facts and quotes. Use the recording function of our phone system, but don’t store things in their long-term. Pull it off into a tape or digital recorder later.

Be thinking how to incorporate video, audio and reference to other Web sites for our online edition. * * *

We should be a 24/7 daily online. Don’t hold stories for the print edition. Get something online as soon as we verify information about it. Build on that story for the print edition.

Don’t write more than it’s worth. Use the inverted pyramid formula.

We can use calendars. For upcoming events, like concerts, do telephone interviews.

Longer stories will be profiles or establish context. They will break out of inverted pyramid and be story-telling. They should be planned a little more ahead of time. The designers should have time to showcase them in packages. These will be your best clips.