News-Gathering
Developing a Story
Finding Sources
As soon as I open up a fresh Google Doc for a new story, I begin listing potential sources to contact.
The main goal is diversity; I look for a mix of teachers and students as well as grade, gender, ethnicity and experience.
After interviewing a source, I will write in that it has been completed. If a source doesn't respond or didn't give great quotes, I'll also make sure I note that.
To the left is my source list for a feature article I wrote about the experiences of minority students and teachers.
Asking Questions
The top priority of sourcing and research is always asking the right questions.
That's why I take time to sit down and brainstorm questions for my sources that will really produce the best and most revealing responses.
Despite all my preparations, I can never predict exactly what the responses will be. That's why I always prepare to ask any kind of follow-up question to get clarification or more detail on something that a source mentioned.
For stories like my Evolution of Remote learning feature (interview questions from this story are shown on the right), I came up with many questions beforehand. For other pieces, such as my feature about East Leyden students coming to our school for a shadowing program from last year, I was short on time and had to think of some questions to ask the students on the fly before they had to go back to their school.
In both instances, I gained development of a similar skill: the ability to ask the right questions at the right times to yield great responses.
Transcribing & Looking for More
After interviewing a source, I begin the tedious transcription process. Still, it's always worth the time. Many of my features have over 20 pages of quotes. I use my phone to record interviews and always go back over a quote or phrase multiple times to make sure I get exactly what was said.
I like to paraphrase when sources explain the logistics of an event or process just because I would never quote a source in a story saying something that I, or anyone, could research myself.
Still, I make sure I write down everything that is said because looking into references can be a great way to dig deeper into a story and find out more.
On the left is an example of this; I interviewed my principal for a story, making sure to emphasize other sources she mentioned for further investigation.
Following Up
For any extra items that sources mention, I then make sure I follow up and request access.
Quotes are good, but being able to pair them with a visual representation of what the source was referring to is even better.
On the right is an example of this, when I contacted a source for access to a presentation he was referring to.
Keeping it Organized
After writing every story, especially the longer and more research-heavy ones, I make sure I add a comment right at the top for editors and for myself. I outline all the sources that are mentioned and write in possible visuals, pictures, or graphics that can go with the story.
This type of organization is so key for me, but I didn't always do this. For the first year and a half of my journalistic career, I barely had any organizational tactics when developing a story. It was only after I wrote my first long-form article that I learned how damaging it can be to the efficiency of my research and writing to not be organized.
Since then, my organization has improved dramatically. For every story I write, I make a document and keep everything clean and organized so I don't miss, forget, or mix up anything, especially when dealing with stories that include lots of sources and data.
Board Meeting Notes
The slideshow to the left shows the average amount of notes I took at a Board of Education meeting.
By the next day, these notes had been compressed into a few paragraphs for the student body to easily digest.
I avoided taking notes on things the Board discusses such as budgeting and taxes because I know it wasn't relevant to students.
During the Board meetings, I made sure I asked clarifying questions for anything I missed or was confused about in order to present information in my articles in the clearest way possible.
The day after Board meetings, I presented my notes to the class and lead a brainstorming of story ideas based on the items presented. Usually, we generated about two or three ideas per session.
Depending on the topic, I kept the article in list format so that it might be easier to follow, but most of the time I turned these notes into full paragraphs that gave a summary of what was discussed.
Oftentimes, I emailed the Superintendent afterward for any follow-up questions about any items from the meeting.
