Associated Press Reporting Handbook

1. Associated Press Reporting Handbook Changing Media and Media Careers Chapter 24

2. Converging Media • Convergence has been the buzzword of the past decade. • Newspapers, magazines, radio, television and Internet try to incorporate a little of each into their presentations. • New Media was only a cliché for a new way to sell the same old media, but convergence is different.

3. Versatile People • A reporter will have to write a story for a newspaper or a magazine and then turn around and write a script because the story is going on TV in 10 minutes. • Then, do it for the Web. • Then, do it for a radio (split) broadcast.

4. Maturity, not Perfection • Maturing in each phase of information gathering and presentation impresses employers. • You are not omniscient, omnipotent nor omnipresent. Perfection is not the question. • You may not be a “great” photographer, but you can take a “decent” photograph.

5. You are NOT Alone • The “lone wolves,” and “solitary investigators” will have to adjust to a more collaborative way of working, joining with others to produce multimedia presentations. • This can be terrifying to some people, especially those who have not developed skills or their attitude.

6. Content is King • Newspapers, news services, radio, television and dot-coms are all looking for content. • James M. Donna, AP VP for human resources: “Everybody’s looking for content, and content is words … somebody’s got to write those words.”

7. The Competition • U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics says job growth for reporters will be higher for online positions. • In 1998, out of 67,000 reporting jobs, only 10 percent were in magazines and news services. • 60 percent were in newspapers and 30 percent were in radio and television.

8. The Outlook • U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics says job growth for reporters will increase from 78,000 in 2000 to 80,000 by 2010. • Consider that these are 2,000 new jobs. Statistics do not anticipate attrition, such as death and retirement. • Donna says compensation ranges from $15,000 at small-town papers to more than $100,000 for veterans in metropolitan areas.

9. Not Bad • U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics shows median income currently at $29,110. • More applicants have degrees in other fields: History, Political Science, Economics. • AP Applicants have included a person with a medical degree and several with law degrees. • These people will certainly earn less in journalism than they might as executives in other businesses.

10. The Calling • People come into this business because of passion. • They could be making a lot of money … but they are “working in journalism making fifty to sixty thousand dollars a year working nights and weekends.” • “It’s all right … because it’s a great story. They feel compelled to tell the world what’s going on. This is their calling.”

11. The Journalist: And the Changing Face of the News

12. Journalist’s Roles • Watchdogs • Ombudsmen • Critics • Provide a Forum • Journalists do enjoy privileges not allowed to all citizens -- not legally, but in fact

13. Changes in Public Affairs Reporting • Street Reporter • Persuader • Crusader • Investigator • Exploiter • Entertainer • War Correspondent • Broadcast Journalist

14. Looking Beyond Government • Branching out from “traditional public affairs” or “government meetings,” journalists realized from fees paid by the little league ballpark, school employee screening programs and sexual abuse by priests , the public wants to know who is responsible -- accountable?

15. New Beats, New Viewpoints • Social, economic and technological changes have shifted our news coverage and altered the beat system. • Racial and Ethnic issues • Energy crises • Internet • The Environment

16. Limits of Traditional News Gathering • Cause/Effect • Event-Oriented • Newsworthy • timeliness • effect • proximity • conflict • prominence • uniqueness

17. News From the Top • Avoid the Spin • Officials are Setting the Agenda • manipulative • self-serving • Reach beyond Officialdom • Crime reports • Watch the Statistics

18. The Myth of Objectivity • We can’t just regurgitate information • Let the reader decide • Important background • Reporter’s knowledge • Interpretive journalism • Fairness and Balance • Diverse Perspectives

19. Models of Reporting • Interpretive Reporting • Help public understand meaning and effect of events • Humanistic Reporting • How issues and events effect the public • Explanatory Reporting • Why and how events occurred

20. A Reporter’s Training • Strong liberal arts training • Write and communicate well • General knowledge of economics, psychology, history, political science, literature and sociology • Training can begin in college, but it never stops

21. Getting it Right • The overriding compulsion to get things right should guide every reporter’s training. • If you don’t have time to get it right the first time, you won’t have time to do it twice. • Corrections -- complacency

22. Understandingthe System • Each level of government has unique functions, procedures and terminology. • Professions have their jargon • Your contacts and your understanding of your beat can save you grief. • Who has what kind of information, in what format -- who do I have to see? How do I get that information?

23. Putting Theoriesto Work • Checks and balances • Reporters need to understand the principles and purposes of government and their roots. • Combine skills, knowledge, academics, training, ideals, ethics, voracious appetite for information.

24. Associated Press Reporting Handbook What is News? Chapter 2

25. News? • It is tomorrow’s history. The news you write will define your town, city or community for years to come. It defines you. Is it accurate? • It is of local importance, sometimes state, national and international importance. • Fortunately, or unfortunately, news is what you say it is! • Reporter, Editor, Wire Editor decide at different levels.

26. Coverage • In the book’s example, Ron Harrist has six reporters to cover an entire state. How does that work? • Harrist has air traffic controller syndrome. • Controlled by the clock … The publishing cycle. • Your audience, to a degree, determines what is news.

27. Reporting • AP reporting is no longer at the local level. Precinct reporting is out for wire services. • Your audience does not necessarily want a verbatim account of what happened in court. • Louis D. Boccardi, AP president and CEO: “What the times demand is helping the reader cope with this flow of information which is beyond anybody’s capacity to deal with.”

28. Contributions • AP receives thousands of stories every day produced by individual papers, according to that paper’s standards. These are not always in good AP style. • AP makes mistakes, too: Examples of the 1935 Hauptmann trial verdict … 1884 Election … • 2000 election: AP held firm and did not call the election.

29. Accuracy • “… if it isn’t accurate, it isn’t news. It’s fiction.” • “… if it isn’t accurate, it isn’t news. It’s fiction.” • “… if it isn’t accurate, it isn’t news. It’s fiction.” • “… if it isn’t accurate, it isn’t news. It’s fiction.” • “… if it isn’t accurate, it isn’t news. It’s fiction.” • “… if it isn’t accurate, it isn’t news. It’s fiction.” • “… if it isn’t accurate, it isn’t news. It’s fiction.”

30. The End