JOUR 3410 Lecture 4 Outline of Last Lecture I. Interviewing Outline of Current Lecture II. Mastering A BeatCurrent Lecture Beats Organize the World Journalists tend to see the world as tied to big, gray buildings (city halls, courthouse, etc.) This is both a strength and weakness of the beat system Strength—you can become specialized in your aspect/become expert in what you’re covering Outside the beat system are the GA reporters (general assignment or enterprise) who develop their own ideas or are ready to be tossed into any emerging story. These are often plum jobs.  Journalists build the beat system so nothing falls through the cracks  So we have the beat reporters and then the general assignment reporters  There is a hierarchy of beats (ex. The White House beat Plan Your Beat Identify any possible conflicts such as family working for organization you may cover *The perception of a conflict is as much a problem as conflict itself  What are the priorities? How much will be daily news, how much will be enterprise recording? Learn The Territory  Debrief your predecessor  Ask lots of dumb questions  Confess your ignorance  Learn the geography  Learn the jargon  Learn the law Be curious  Read everything Check the clips These notes represent a detailed interpretation of the professor’s lecture. GradeBuddy is best used as a supplement to your own notes, not as a substitute. Search the web Develop your own files  Get To Work  Get to work right when you walk into the beat. You should… Find stories to work on NOW  Use each story as a chance to learn  Write for your READERS, not the one being written about  But don’t forget your SOURCES Check agendas, public records  Parachute journalism: when you drop into a story, gives you certain freedom, you can burn your sources, beat reporters don’t have that luxury Connect with sources Prospect regularly Work the public Diversify your sources If you make a mistake, correct it Find outside sources, experts  Identify the gatekeepers (who hold access) Get contact info In the magazine world, beats are a different beast. Magazines have fewer staff and often usefreelance material  In magazine, a “beat” might be a staffer in charge of certain topics, or selections of “the book” as it is sometimes