This guide is so witty that you almost forget how insightful it is.
Here are my highlights:
(for complete guide visit NYU Professor Jay Rosen’s blog post)
We only do something if we can do it better than anyone or if no one else is doing it.
* We must add value. We must be unique.
Three things to remember for each story:
* Context
* Authority
* Not just what is happening, but what it means
There is no such thing as objectivity.
* There is such thing as fairness.
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* We are guided by an ability to be transparent and independent, to clearly assess what’s going on in our community and have the courage to plainly state the truth.
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Be the expert.
* Write with authority. You earn the right to write with authority by reporting and working hard.
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* The day we write a headline that says: “Proposal has pros, cons” is the day we start dying.
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* We’re not someone’s goddamn transcription service.
Tell the truth.
… * Don’t go quote-hunting for something you know to be true and can say yourself. Don’t hide your opinion in the last quote of a story.
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If you can’t find a good answer any of these three questions, drop the story:
* Why did I choose this story?
* Why will people care? (Not why should they care, but why will they care.)
* Why will people remember this story?
Avoid ‘churnalism’
* It’s not your job to have everything on your beat. It’s your job to have the best things.
* Don’t worry about getting scooped. Worry about not consistently making an impact.
* Love the title of this Columbia Journalism Review story: “The Hamster Wheel: Why running as fast as we can is getting us nowhere.”
* A quote: “The Hamster Wheel isn’t speed; it’s motion for motion’s sake. The Hamster Wheel is volume without thought. It is news panic, a lack of discipline, an inability to say no.”
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Don’t be boring. People don’t spend their free time on boring things.
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Have fun! Be creative! Push the envelope!
* You don’t do this for the money. So let’s have some fun.
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