News gathering
If you got mugged on holiday in Cuba, only your family, friends and maybe the Cuban police would ever get to hear of it. When the Radio 1 DJ Annie Nightingale was the victim of a similar attack, the media leapt on it because of who she is.
Thousands of events happen in any one day, but only a fraction of them ever hit the news.
Jospeh Pulitzer, a famous American journalist, stated that there are three essential rules of journalism: accuracy, accuracy and accuracy. When news gathering, think about what information you need to tell your story, who can tell you what you need to know and how you can persuade them to give you what you need. Careful research and planning are essential.
But how do you spot a good story in the first place? You need to know the golden rules of news values and news gathering:
• Is it new?
• Where did it happen?
• Who is involved in the story?
• Does the story have wider implications/reader relevance for your readership/audience?
• Is there a human interest element?
• Does it fulfil the shock/horror/hold-the-front-page criteria?
• Is it simply odd, quirky, funny or off-beat?
News gathering – snoop and scoop
A reporter's primary skills include a good nose for a story, a dogged determination to get at the facts and enough charm to prise out the information and some lively quotes from the most reluctant of interviewees. Few are hired for their literary skills but they know how to find things out quickly and reliably, using a wide variety of sources including: contacts, the Internet, press cuttings, reference books and press agencies.
The golden rules of news gathering are:
• If you plan to use a fact in your story – an age, a date, name, address, nugget of information – you must double-check it, preferably with a primary source.
• Keep focussed on the angle of your story – stick to the point.
• Never end a research call without asking for another useful name or number.
• There are six questions crucial to all news stories – who? what? why? where? when? and how? Make sure you can always answer them in your articles.
• Save controversial questions for later in the interview; then, if the interviewee clams up or walks out, you still have some answers.
• The intro or opening sentence of a news story should always contain the freshest, most interesting fact.
• Always protect your sources – if you've promised not to name them, then don't.
• Think about ways you can develop your story online, with linked websites, picture galleries, time-lines and blogs.