online resource for Illinois broadcast news managers, reporters, producers, photographers and students
Ask yourself five questions about the most obvious, dull and well worn story and see if something is being overlooked because it’s in plain sight. Just because everyone knows about an issue or the “way it is” in politics, doesn’t mean there’s not a fresh angle, or a follow-up or unasked question. More
This week’s tip actually isn’t about an interviewing skill. It is about asking people who are likely in the know what is under-reported.
Next time you are chatting with the secretary at the school board office or a mid-level administrator in the courthouse, tell them you are doing an informal survey. More
When you hit the summer news doldrums its an opportunity to look back in time to get some fresh news. One of those basic principles that many of us never have time to do is the “followup!”
Pick a random week from a year ago and look through the stories your newsroom covered at the time. More
This week’s tip might seem basic, but it’s always important, as someone once said, “to be brilliant on the basics.” A good infielder takes a lot of ground balls in practice.
When you are wrapping up an interview or background conversation with someone, always remember to ask them “Is there anything else you would like to add?”. More
This tip comes from the American Press Institute. It asks What Journalists Can Learn From Their Local TV Weather Forecast. It points out that if you follow the template of TV weather folks for your own news stories you will be doing good journalism plus you will get what they call an “organic” More
Tim Wieland of KCNC in Denver has some guidelines if you are a reporter who REALLY wants to report political stories in your market.
He has these five tips on pitching political stories:
Taking some extra time when writing can allow you to take what you considered throw away b-roll to actually help tell and improve your story.
At his recent appearance at IBA’s convention in Normal, Poynter Institute’s Al Tompkins was helping reporters make their writing more interesting. Al says you “explain the video, More
This week’s tip comes from Pro Publica Illinois. It’s a great way to find a trove of information that’s available to you.
Pick from the buffet of records: Many public agencies are required to keep what they call record retention schedules. That means you could ask for this list of all data an agency collects and then specify exactly what you need in your request. More