The Student Newspaper Survival Guide:Covering a Beat

RACHELE KANIGEL

Why have beats?

Beats help reporters focus their reporting

Beats help sources know who to contact with story ideas & concerns

Beats help keep reporters from stepping on each other’s toes

Professional news organizations want to see prospective reporters can cover a beat

Steps to covering a beat

1 Identify your beat – what does it include?

2 Develop sources – people who are knowledgeable about your beat

3 Identify resources – publications, websites, data sources

4 Use social media tools to expand your network

5 Hunt for story ideas

Identify your beat

Ask yourself: What does this beat encompass? What do I need to learn about this beat? Who are the major players on the beat –

faculty, administrators, students, staff, leaders of organizations?

What are the major issues/problems/conflicts on your beat?

Develop sources

Consider everyone – classmates, professors, janitors, the baristas at the local coffeehouse – a source

Compile a list of potential sources, including titles, phone numbers, email addresses

Introduce yourself to sources – set up appointments for coffee, drop in on professors’ offices

Tell people what you’re looking for – story ideas, problems, issues, frustrations

Identify resources

Look for publications, websites, blogs related to your beat – follow them

Look for data sources – police logs, reports, audits

Set up a Google news alert for topics related to your beat

Employ social media

Find and follow sources on Twitter Follow discussions on Twitter,

Facebook & Google+ Don’t just lurk; ask questions, seek

sources, invite discussion

Hunt for story ideas

Read other news outlets Look for changes – new businesses,

new employees, administrative changes, new policies

Scan bulletin boards Talk to people – ask what’s new,

what bothers them

For more information

Read The Student Newspaper Survival Guide, Second Edition

Order a copy athttp://www.wiley.com/WileyCDA/WileyTitle/productCd-1444332384.html