In Series...

A few things I'm learning as I work on an ambitious series to run at the end of the year:

1. Plan, plan, plan. Try to map out ahead of time what stories you will have and in what order; when you want to run them and how.
   
2. If you are working with someone else, be sure to delegate and let the other people pull their own weight.
3. Communicate. Bring the other reporters, photographers, editors and Web producers inside your head so they can know where the project is going and can offer help in their areas of expertise.
4. Make and meet self-imposed deadlines. Any series is going to require a lot of interview and writing time, so be sure to do interviews early and keep up with your notes and transcriptions. Give yourself early deadlines for each story so you don't try to cram all your information through a bottleneck of time near the publication date.
5. Pace yourself. Don't do all your interviews in one night. Try to seize on your free moments in the regular workday to make progress, instead of waiting to block off an entire day to work on the project.
   
6. Don't overdo it. It might sound awesome to have photos, graphics, video AND audio slideshows to go with all your text stories, but sometimes attempts at complementing can turn into redundancy. Determine the most effective way to tell each element of the story, and don't overtell it.
   
7. ASK for help when you need it. If you're beginning to feel in over your head, remember there are others in the newsroom who might enjoy a piece of your action.
8. Have fun. Remember why on earth you decided to take on this project in the first place, and love every minute of it.
   

Grand juries: what they didn't teach me in civics

Nothing will show you how much you don't know about government and the justice system as effectively as splashing into local news coverage as a cub reporter.

You will find yourself asking what the difference is between a regular jury and a grand jury, the difference between civil and criminal lawsuits, what role the municipal councils have with relation to the county commission, why there are county schools in cities that have school systems and so forth.

And you will learn the hard way. The answers to some of these questions will depend on where you work. Each city, county and state has its own unique operational characteristics.

The answer to the grand jury question, by the way, is here, from uscourts.gov:

''A grand jury decides if there is a probable cause to indict (accuse) individuals or corporations on criminal charges based upon the evidence presented. Grand jury sessions are held in a private room with only the grand jury, which consists of 23 individuals, government lawyers, court reporters, an interpreter if needed, and the witnesses to be heard, all under oath."

The U.S. Constitution's Fifth Amendment requires a grand jury indictment for federal criminal charges. According to the American Bar Association, every federal jurisdiction has one, and it usually sits for about five or six consecutive days per month. Some states don't use them, however; other states in the subset that do use them require their indictment for only certain crimes.

In leaving: reflecting on what my readers and sources taught me

Aug. 7, 2009

When I started work here a year ago, I never suspected leaving my post at the southern bureau of this local paper would be so bittersweet.

If I have learned nothing else in the last 13 months, it is that the news – good and bad – never ends. There will always be new projects to work on and old projects to plug away at, and no matter what time you choose to move on, there will always be loose ends. In the last several weeks, I have learned to accept that some things get left unfinished. I hope, though, I am not merely leaving, but instead leaving my successor(s) with some things to carry forward – like some of these stories I wish I could have seen through before my departure:

• The opening of the new Mexican restaurant in this city. In a county hit so hard by the economic recession, good news is now even better news.
• The passage of a telecommunications ordinance that would allow construction of cellular towers that would improve mobile phone service for residents.
• The case of a shooting involving a member of the police force. The shooting happened 10 months ago and I have written more than a dozen stories on its various aspects, but its late placement on the grand jury docket means my colleague will take the torch from here.
• The new school year. A year of hope and countless stories within stories about children I have met, children of people I have met, and children I never got the opportunity to meet.
• An examination into why this county has no drug court, and what having one might mean for the citizens here.
• The completion of new garden homes in a nearby tiny town, and what it will mean for their local economy as well as the economy in nearby cities.
• The construction of a new independent-living facility for the seniors in this city.
• Resolution and conclusion of the citizens' law suit against a nearby waste management company.

I don’t flatter myself that my work has done wonders for the south end of this county -- after all, I was following in legendary footsteps – but I know the cities I covered have done wonders for me.

Each article I reported deepened the realization that every story has more than one, or even two sides. Most have many sides, and all deserve to be told.

The people of this coverage area, in a hundred ways in hundreds of days, have taught me something of even more importance when I think about my future: the vitality of the local newspaper. By vitality, I mean two things: the local newspaper’s ability to thrive during the hard times, and as an extension of that, its utter, incalculable importance and value to the community.

The local paper’s vitality is evident when at a 9 a.m. city council meeting, the only people present are the council members, reporters from the local news outlets, and a handful of civic leaders. The actions taken by the council are no less weighty by having only five people present instead of 50, and it is up to your local newspaper to report those actions to those who can’t be there themselves.

A 7 a.m. school board meeting draws even fewer attendees, but your local newspaper will have someone there to hold your elected officials accountable for your tax dollars.

When others stop caring, your reporter will care – about the big stories and the small ones. Not just because it’s our job and we have to, but because it’s our life.

We work long hours to put information in your hands that will empower you to remain involved in this democratic government that allows its citizens to help shape policies.

I didn’t come to this conclusion alone. The readers and residents in my coverage areas taught me, as some demonstrated what could be done, and others resigned themselves, thinking they could do nothing.

Regardless of your agreement or disagreement with perceived positions in a newspaper or on a television station, remember it is dedicated to preserving your freedoms by giving you information. It is up to you what to do with it, but we would fail miserably at our jobs if we did not at least supply it.

“Knowledge is power,” the cliché goes, but I think John Peter Zenger, a father of the American free press, phrased it more eloquently when he said, "No nation, ancient or modern, ever lost the liberty of speaking freely, writing, or publishing their sentiments, but forthwith lost their liberty in general and became slaves.”

Salary Cuts: The Least Unsavory Option

Yesterday, our company's board of directors announced they would be cutting salaries by 10 percent across the board, effective next month. The news was sad, but given the employee-generated speculations about possible bureau closings or layoffs, most of us were relieved to receive the cuts instead.

"Everybody still has a job," our managing editor said as a preface to the bad news.

As a small paper committed to hyper-local coverage (for us, this is not just a buzz word; it's what we do), we were disappointed that, along with countless papers and news publications across the country, we had lost enough advertising revenue to make such dramatic measures necessary. Because of the nature of our business, it can sometimes take a little longer for us to feel the impact of a recessed economy, but we finally did. Many business closings in the area have had a direct effect on our advertising sales, and as the remaining ones cinch their belts, so do we.

The news came as a blow to me, who as a fresh-out-of-college cub reporter has nearly every dollar budgeted for specific and necessary purposes. Reporters don't make that much. Cub reporters make less. Cub reporters in an ailing economy make even less.

That said, I applaud my company for choosing salary cuts rather than layoffs. It would be at best difficult to manage on a staff any smaller than the one we already have. Although everyone here is bummed about smaller paychecks, we still feel like a team who can and will pull through this tough time together, instead of a decimated staff whose members pick up the slack for those laid off and wonder, "am I next?"

Of all the options a company could choose to mitigate lost revenue, I think a salary cut is the least unsavory. After all, we could have each taken five weeks of furlough, or been out a job entirely.

Follow-Through on Developing Stories

In my 11 months here, perhaps one of the most valuable lessons I've learned is that of the importance to follow through on ongoing, developing stories.

Even in a small town, most events signify a series of smaller events leading up to them. For example, a community-wide Thanksgiving dinner is not just a dinner; it's supported by weeks and even months of planning, fundraising, advertising, organizing and volunteering. Each of those aspects can represent its own story -- or stories.

In my coverage area, the arrival of a new Veterans Administration community-based outpatient clinic was newsworthy enough to garner months of attention in the form of stories on the negotiating and construction processes. The day the clinic opened was only one news story among a long series of them leading up to its ribbon-cutting. Three reporters cycled through that beat between the planning stage and the clinic's completion, but we all recognized the imperative to continue covering its progress. And now I plan to follow up with more pieces outlining the impact it has on the veterans community, new employees and local area.

Another story on my beat that has required proactive and consistent follow-through has been the Tony Martin Jr. shooting, which occurred in October. Since then, I have written no fewer than 12 stories about the investigation process, public officials withholding documents pertaining to the case, attorneys' statements and plans, case filings and court hearings.

The benefit to following these stories through is not only that you as a reporter will produce more (and more interesting) copy, but that each story will be placed in a wide context, giving readers a deeper and broader perspective on their community and the persons in it.

Furthermore, this practice gives you an opportunity to develop a sweet rapport with your sources, who will begin calling you with new information before you have to ask.

late blossoms

red all over

Now is as good a time as any to admit I've been branching out a little bit into photojournalism. Unlike many who pick up a camera in order to make themselves more marketable in the new media world, I picked up my Canon Rebel XT because I have always loved photography and the stories pictures can tell.

I haven't quite figured out the relationship between my writing and my photography yet (I'm discouraged from taking my own photos for my stories, so I am mostly a hobby photographer at the moment), but I do enjoy both and can only hope one day they will be inextricable from one another and from my identity as a journalist.

They say about newspapers that they're black and white and re(a)d all over. The building behind our bureau is red all over, and I thought this somewhat fitting to the newspaper theme.

And so it goes: Another one bites the dust

Instead of growing more apathetic and desensitized to the demise of my fellow newspapers all over the country, each paper fold cuts my heart more deeply to the core. Today Hearst announced the Seattle Post-Intelligencer (P-I, as we call it in the journo world and in the NW region) is putting its last paper to bed tonight.

Thankfully, unlike the Rocky, the P-I will be staying in business in a fully-digital format.

What that means for the staff: reduction from 150+ employees to around 20. I can't help wondering what it would feel like to be one of the 20. I'd be relieved, but I imagine the object of much envy and bitterness. It would suck.

My Seattle Courant contact wrote about it from the unique perspective of an already online-exclusive news source in the same city.

Tweeted:

“Seattlepi.com isn't a newspaper online—it’s an effort to craft a...dig biz w/a robust, comm. news & inf. Web site at its core.” --Swartz.

RT @moniguzman Mng. Ed. McCumber at last P-I budget meeting: "We're gonna put out a great @$#% newspaper today. Any questions?"

---

It is not the end of the world as we know it, but it makes a lot of us wonder where we're heading and how long we'll have jobs. The bread-and-butter of newspapering is disappearing, and so those of us trained in the great news reporting tradition feel our skills becoming obsolete.

Oddly, in the midst of all this horror, the local community newspaper seems to be doing well in comparison with the corporate-owned larger city and national newspapers. But how long will that last? Do enough citizens out there care anymore that their most effective mediator to the government is being slain? And not in the dark of the night, but in front of their very eyes in the broadest of daylight?

Do they realize that when the newspaper as such is gone, so is their freedom of speech and their ability to participate in democracy? Who will inform them, when this bloodbath is finished?

What does your local newspaper mean to you and your community?
Does it effectively fill its role as a public watchdog?
Does it seem to be surviving?
Are you reading it?
How could it better meet your community's needs?

Please share thoughts. I particularly want to hear from the readers.

Final salute to The Rocky Mountain News

The Rocky Mountain News announced today it is printing its final edition Friday (tomorrow) -- two weeks shy of its would-have-been 150th anniversary.

This is a sad day for newspapers everywhere.

"It's strange to cover your own funeral," the RMN Twitterfeed read a few minutes ago.

And earlier, I shuddered at this: "Temple tells reporters that a lot of stories they've been working on will not see the light of day."

My grief is especially acute over this newspaper fold, over all other folds and staff cuts announced in the last year. I am not sure exactly why, but maybe because of the examples used in my journalism classes from that paper. It was a model for doing many things the right way. I grew attached to it early in my journalism career, before I was even a full-fledged cub reporter.

A lump formed in my throat as these Tweets came through:

"In news meeting, puffy-eyed Managing Editor is handing out assignments. The conference room is quiet but everyone is engaged."

"People are worried about their futures but the focus is still on the paper and web site."

"Newsroom atmosphere: Designers are huddled around white boards, looking at story assignments. Editors are huddled with reporters."

In honor of the paper's last day, and in memory of its longstanding status as Colorado's oldest newspaper, I share with you one of my favorite special reports, ever. And it just happened to be published at The Rocky Mountain News.

Apropos of this occasion, the special report is entited "Final Salute." Pull out your hankie, and enjoy.

RIP, Rocky

Uncover hidden racial biases

So, there's been a lot of talk about racism this Black History Month. Aside from the New York Post snafu, it's been a pretty good one, says opinionator Charles Blow at the NYTimes.

He wrote a column you should read.

As encouragement to have more frank dialogue about the still-not-dead racism in America, he suggests readers take this Implicit racial bias test for themselves, to see what, if any subconscious racial biases they might have. It's rather cool, and only takes about 10 minutes of your time. Prepare to be surprised, and don't get offended. Read Blow's column first, to understand the importance of uncovering these hidden prejudices.

The Race ('Black - White' IAT) is the one everybody's been taking. Including me.

In defense of Twitter

It's high time I put forth an official endorsement for Twitter.

WHY

Before you stop reading, and before you hurl assumptions at me about it being "just another facebook-like status update forum," please pause and consider the following:

• The dirty secret to using Twitter successfully is NOT to answer the question, "What are you doing?"
• It has a number of uses, depending on your communication style and your purpose in using it: Journalists, entrepeneurs, public relations specialists, marketing directors, family members, bartenders and techies alike join in the conversation and enjoy it.
• Its 140-character posting limits require conciseness heretofore foreign to the blogging world.
• You can easily find and follow people in your career field, sharing tips and information.
• It's a great networking tool, especially for job seekers.
• It's all about who you follow. Sure, if you follow mostly your friends, it's likely not going to be all that enlightening or exciting. I recommend sticking with only your closest friends, and following mostly those in your field who rock at what they do. They've got the winning tips for you.
• Own a business? Work for one? Two words: viral marketing.
• Lots and lots of supporting apps: everything from Twitterific to your cell phone's text messaging feature to TweetDeck. You can Tweet from just about anywhere in the world.
• Sharing. information. in its truest form, sans accompaniment of long-winded third-party opinions.

So learn stuff.

Widen your network.

Listen in on the thoughts of experts. Interact and converse with them.

Spread the word. Share the love. Pass on information. Start a buzz. Stay in the loop.

HOW

A number of blogs list the unspoken rules of Twitter, and I've found Jeff Blankenburg's most helpful for new users of all types.

My personal experience with Twitter has definitely been a journey. I started in late summer last year just following a few people I knew, and quickly grew bored with it (since I could read their statuses on Facebook if I was really that interested).

I honestly don't remember what drew me back in, but it was probably all the encouragement from Poynter and the Society of Professional Journalists, since most journos are doing a lot of their communicating via Twitter -- even live Tweetcasts from, say, WH press conferences (loved reading those).

I got lucky and stumbled on a couple of high-energy journalists who enthusiastically kept recommending and "retweeting" (taking a Tweet from another Tweeter and passing it along, with credit, to your "followers," who are the ones reading your Tweets) other leading names in the field who in turn posted helpful links, thoughts and advice. Ever since, I've begun increasing the number and quality of people I follow, discovering masters of my field I had never even heard of. I have thus ended up reading far more interesting, varied and in-depth coverage of both headline and off-beat news, as well as insider news and analysis.

(My favorites to follow, for the record, are @jayrosen_NYU, @problogger, @suzanneyada, @jemimakiss, @Poynter, @jiconoclast.and @jeffjarvis.)

I took the leap this week in unlocking my Twitter feed, which has increased my following exponentially. Leading journos from all over the world are now reading my feed, and mostly just because I'm following awesome people and sharing the love; the educational value of the information we're all passing along through our network is priceless.

The key, I have found, is in finding the people worth following, and doing just that. Don't join Twitter just to broadcast your daily activities and thoughts or rants. Read. Listen. Think. Share.

Twitter, for me, is like a many-faceted newsfeed, almost like watching stories stream in on the AP wire. Only it's more diverse, it's more personal, it's more tailorable and it's quicker.

It has made me a faster reader, a better sharer; it's opened my eyes to trends and encouraged me in my professionalism and continuing education; it's given me a plethora of news reporting resources I never would have heard of otherwise. It has finally, but not least of all, connected me with people who can help me do anything from getting driving directions; to landing a new job; to discovering keyboard shortcuts for a task I want to do more quickly; to finding a helpful article about any topic I can dream up.

Stephen Baker at BusinessWeek wrote more than nine months ago in awe of the Twitter phenomenon:

"Businesses such as H&R Block (HRB) and Zappos are now using Twitter to respond to customer queries. Market researchers look to it to scope out minute-by-minute trends. Media groups are focusing on Twitterers as first-to-the-scene reporters. (They were on top of the May 12 China earthquake within minutes.) Loads of new applications and services are growing around the Twitter platform, leading some to suggest that the microblogging service could become a powerhouse in social media."

It is a powerhouse now.

It's viral.

It's Twitter.

How news outlets can survive: dispelling myths about newspaper revenue

This is the part where I explain that people are wrong when they look at me enviously and say, "You're so lucky, working in news, because you know your job is safe."

Nuh-uh. I am not safe.

Gannett's approximately 40,000 reporters, editors, techies and other news support employees nationwide have been ordered to participate in a companywide weeklong furlough.

Story here.

I know several Gannett employees, and this is kind of lame for them, but it's a reasonable short-term solution to the pinch all of us news outlets are feeling due to the archaic business model our publishing companies cling to so tenaciously. Anyway, a furlough is better than a permanent layoff, any day.

Inside my company, we have faced a salary freeze, and our Christmas bonuses were reduced from previous years.

These are not acceptable long-term solutions, however. Long-term solutions will be far more revolutionary, and will require a better understanding of where our revenue comes from.

Most people assume these penny-pinching moves mean fewer people are reading the news, because they believe news outlets make money from circulation and subscriptions. This is absolutely not true -- if it were, how would you explain, say, network news' income?

Another common myth is that newspaper subscriptions ought naturally to increase during times of recession, because "people are looking for job listings, right?" Wrong.

First of all, it's a lot easier to look for and apply for jobs online, these days, than to read the Classifieds.

Second, news outlets make money in advertising -- not subscriptions. Approximately 10 percent of our revenue comes from subscriptions. The other 90 percent? You guessed it: our advertisers.

So, naturally, when the economy is in a recession and businesses are closing and cutting expenses, newspapers suffer. We have fewer advertisers, and the ones we are able to retain purchase smaller and fewer ads. The number of our pages is reduced, therefore the need for copy is reduced, so the need to employ as many people to produce, edit and print the copy is also reduced. You see?

That does not, however, mean fewer people are reading the news. They ARE reading the news, just in a more convenient and cheaper format: the Internet.

A good way to respond to our hurting economy is to make ads cheaper, so more businesses are able to afford them. The best way to do this is to reduce overhead, and we could do that by transitioning to the Internet and reducing paper/ink use.

A great way to make those ads even more appealing is to ensure they will have a larger audience. We can do THAT by offering more and better content on the Internet, augmenting what we have in print. Continuous updates throughout the day, multimedia packaging (slide shows, video, audio, etc), blogs, etc.

There are a lot of ongoing discussions here among paper editors about utilizing the Internet more effectively (we could use it, for sure). Our ads people are the biggest opponents, ironically.

Wish they realized, if they don't jump on board and make this new model work, there won't BE a news outlet anymore, much less ads to sell for it.

Sorry to say it, but our aging population in this area will soon be gone, and at that point, we will be contending for the attention of two generations who rely almost exclusively on the Internet for their news, shopping and networking (among countless other things). They will not be reading the paper, and our advertisers will not be willing to pay for ads in a paper nobody reads.

This sounds fatalistic, but I firmly believe this situation can be improved by letting go of the traditional media business model and leaping into the 21st Century with the rest of the world. Reporters and news outlets are not a dying breed, their job descriptions are merely changing. Their bosses just need to accept this and accommodate it.