Juggling a jumble of on-the-job stories:

Fast pace of the newspaper chase

Gaston de ROSAYRO

In the world of journalism, a great amount of learning happens on the job: out in the field and in the newsroom itself. Simply because you might have passed through the doors of academia does not mean you can be a better journalist than the one who has not done so.

Remember a tertiary education mostly helps you hone your academic and perhaps your’ writing skills. Be aware that the pace of the newspaper chase is a totally different ball game from the paper chase.

Neither qualifications nor degrees - although they do come in useful at times - have ever been much of an asset to a journalist trying to beat a deadline. Hard work, intensive reading and the ability to analyse and think fast are some of the attributes that lead to creative brilliance in writing, particularly in the field of journalism.

Some of the best and most successful newspapermen I have known never possessed a bachelors or masters degree. But they could write the pants off most of their colleagues or subordinates who possessed a tertiary education. So those who imagine they could enter the profession with some degree of condescension, just because they do, and display disdain towards their colleagues who do not would be fools of the first degree (all puns intended).

That is because when suddenly thrust into the newsroom, however, they might find it difficult to pinpoint the basic practical skills that are required of them. And, with newsrooms not as well-resourced as they once were, news editors might lack the time to coach and mentor junior journalists who sometimes make up the bulk of the reporting pool.

The more fortunate greenhorns would be those who come under the tutelage of veteran gurus who know the entire gamut of the newspaper game and are willing to share their knowledge. That is because their heads are packed with concise information, and they are there to assist you throughout the process. Meaning they have the experience and ability to guide you from coming up with a story idea, to gathering news, to finding an angle and writing an introduction, to structuring a story that is well researched and of sound ethics.

As journalism is a constant on-the-job learning process it would be helpful for seasoned reporters too to refresh their minds and go back to basics. There is always room for professional development, and for exploring new paths that lie outside one’s usual methodology.

After a while you must make sure you understand what type of story your news editor is looking for, and discuss it further with him or her. This sometimes changes during the course of gathering news and writing. You might, for example, be working on a breaking news story when suddenly online media or a radio station breaks the story before you do. You could also be working on a feature when you stumble on some information that would make a good front page news piece. This means you need to be flexible. Some stories might require you to write several pieces across genres.

In journalistic jargon there is a jumble of stories that have to be juggled with precision and different methodology. Today you will be introduced to the more common among them.

Journalists are always galvanized into action by what is often referred to as ‘breaking news’. Such news usually involves a ‘big’, sensational story that has just begun. It is something that has just happened, and has significant implications for many readers. This is where you have to get straight to the point in your introduction and the rest of the story should be precise and clear with an indication of what the possible outcomes or follow-ups might be. In all such cases it would be practical sense to fall back on the essentials and rely on the traditional ‘inverted pyramid,’ (discussed in an earlier article) which is always often useful as a structure.

Then one is also confronted with ‘hard news’ which is similar to breaking news, but is not as dramatic. Hard news is usually an event that has just happened, and could also be grist for a follow-up to another news piece. Here again, your style should be precise and clear as you guide readers as to why it is important. A summary of information from previous related stories should be included in case readers have not yet been following the story or have forgotten. It must be kept brief and simple, because the purpose of the rest of the story will be to elaborate on this lead. Keep the writing clean and uncluttered. Most importantly, give the readers the information they need.

Perhaps the most laborious and challenging part of journalism is ‘investigative reporting’ This type of journalism requires determination, and often courage too, as it entails uncovering a truth that someone might want to keep hidden from public view. You need to believe that it is in the public’s interest to find out about it. But be warned, because as an investigative sleuth you have to tread with utmost caution in this type of work as it may place both you and your source/s in a vulnerable position.

Depending on its importance, your editor will usually run it as a breaking news story which is then cross-referenced to another page where there is more space for spelling out the more elaborate details.

There are also the ‘profile cameos’ mostly that deal with a personality rather than an event. Because they are not just a factual account, the journalist should display a flair for writing rather than just reporting.

And we come to the ‘news feature’. These are longer pieces which delve behind the scenes of the news of the day. They deal with heavier topics but do not appear on the front page. They are usually time-bound human interest pieces. They need to be crafted very carefully to retain the readers’ attention. A news feature essentially takes one step back from the headlines. It explores an issue.