Looking back, there are a lot of things I would change if I had the chance. But since no one has invented the time machine yet and every misstep is a learning experience, I figured it would be more beneficial if I just posted them here. At the very least, I'll have a set of guidelines for starting out in an unfamiliar world saved somewhere for wherever my career takes me next.
1) Meet everybody that has anything to do with your beat.
I think this applies universally, no matter what your beat actually includes. Coming to Salem I only met the local fire and police chiefs, the town manager and a couple of librarians. Retrospectively, I should have gone out of my way to introduce myself to all of the selectmen, school board members, education officials, town department heads, local citizens groups and anyone else I could think of. As a result of not doing that, I still have trouble getting in touch with important individuals when I need to. Nothing like leaving messages at three different places while sweating under a deadline and wishing you had a selectman's cell phone number.
2) Never generalize.
Which I also learned to my detriment after I told a police chief that Pelham seemed to be a "quiet little town."
"Let me give you some advice," he said, cutting me off. "Get to know a town before you say things like that. Maybe you ought to spend some more time in Pelham."
Since then, I've learned that Pelham has a darker side, mostly dealing with drugs coming up across the Massachusetts border. People don't like it when you pigeon-hole their community, profession or opinions.
3) The devil's in the details.
Specifics make or break a story and while it can seem easier to gloss over information you don't have when you're writing on deadline, it's important to remember that the more specific you get the better the article comes out. Making a habit of asking a specific set of biographical questions when I interview people (age, profession, home, etc.) has definitely made my descriptions of interviewees better. Even when doing those man-on-the-street interviews a good journalist covers all the usual bases.
4) Don't burn bridges...
...Unless you have to. Writing an "investigative-type" piece on something that doesn't deserve the scrutiny will blow up in your lap. As will overly dramatizing a piece of news that is straight forward. Sure, it might make for a better read, but if you annoy your contacts to the point where they won't speak with you anymore you're pretty much screwed. I haven't fallen into that problem yet, but I can see where it would come up. One such incident involved an local crime piece that the home office covered by a staff writer. A day later I got called up by the local press liaison at the police station wanting to know if I could pass along a message to the staffer that basically read "off the record means off the record." It was a little awkward after that.
5) Secretaries are key...
...To getting hold of anybody important. Get in good with the secretaries and you're set. Otherwise, there's always that chance that they might lose that message you left. Or stonewall you with "he's in an important meeting" every time you call.
6) Features will put you in like Flynn.
One of best contacts is just that because I wrote a feature on his son's return from Afghanistan. Was it hard news? Was it an investigative piece of work? Did it involve a lot of leg work? No, but it did help me ingratiate myself with a couple key members of town hall. Now they're always willing to help me with a story. Soft news stories can lead to good contacts with a high level of respect for you.
7) Play fair.
People will respect you if you record their opinions and adequately explain their positions on key issues. When the time comes that you have to play hardball or grill someone with a couple of tough questions, they're more likely to be on board.
8) Follow up.
I can't list how many times I've missed a good story because I failed to follow up. Though it is tougher to remember everything that's going on when you're responsible for four different towns, a little organization goes a long way. Sticking a "save the date" note on my calendar for various arraignment dates and important meetings would have helped a lot, especially in the beginning.
9) Speaking of meetings...
...They're all important. Every single one. Even that budget committee meeting that goes until midnight. Government meetings are always a source for stories, whether you're looking for a feature on some prominent local benefactor, a story on an interesting project organized by a citizens group, school issues or small town political spats. I leave every meeting with a list of things I can look into throughout the next week.
10) Become embedded in the community.
People are a lot more apt to trust you if they recognize you, respect you and realize that you understand the issues completely. This might seem like a combination of some of the earlier lessons (meet everybody, features, play fair), but being recognized as a member of the community first and a reporter second has helped me in the past. During December's ice storm, Windham's fire chief let me use his fire station as a base of operations. I sat in on emergency meetings, hung out with firefighters, charged up my equipment and even dictated stories from their emergency operations center. Knowing that I was a Windham resident myself, and without power, people ended up treating me like a fellow human rather than a reporter (the two can get confused at times).
There will always be more lessons to come and I look forward to each of them individually as I continue to grow and learn as a reporter. They don't call cub reporters "cub reporters" without reason. While it doesn't take a lot of sophisticated training to become a reporter, a good reporter rolls with the punches. At least, that's how I'm interpreting it.
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