In pictures: snapshots from a news editing week

Some people believe journalists live hugely glamourous lives, getting free clothes, tickets to all the latest events and bylines on the cover of Vanity Fair every day. I guess it's like that in the films (see How to Lose a Guy in Ten Days, The Devil Wears Prada etc), but in real life, not so much. Here's a little taste of reality, with some pictures of life as a news editor of a weekly paper in London.

Thursday
The diary for the week includes a visit to a school to talk about a project my company has launched - I may be a grown woman, but speaking in front of teenagers still terrifies me. Meanwhile, reporters cover court on both Thursday and Friday, and usually come back with some decent stories, which readers love.

A meeting between news editors and photographers in the afternoon gives both sides a chance to air any problems or issues - both sides have plenty.

Sometimes life on a weekly is glamourous (rarely though), and you get to go to the launch of London Fashion Weekend and get a goodie bag - never underestimate the pull of free stuff for journalists. It's just a pity there were no pens in the bag.

 

 

Friday

Plans for the week's paper start off largely blank, and get filled with ads as we go, so trying to anticipate how much space I'll have for stories is often a guessing game - one that I succeed at only 50 per cent of the time. By the way - ROP=run of paper.

A visit to the local MP's office always results in some interesting stories. Thursdays and Fridays are a good chance for me to get out of the office and get writing, as after the weekend I'm chained to the desk trying to meet deadlines. Seeing one of our local MPs is also a chance to see her office cat, which is always asleep whenever I visit. Must be a Friday afternoon thing - I know plenty of journalists who wish they had the same luxury.
 

I spend a lot of time in my car, commuting between home and work or travelling between the office and patch. Luckily, my car is cute, of a colour that's not easy to miss in a car park, and full of everything I need - shoes for any occasion, a collection of music and a good heating system for when I'm stuck in the cold on the motorway.

A colleague on a sister paper makes a heated point about old style telephones and 999. I believed her, and you've got to admire her conviction, even if a quick search on Google shows she was wrong.

It's rare, but we do manage to escape the office for lunch at times. When the day is getting stressful, Turkish food is the only thing that helps. There's really no need to see the menu though, a lahmacun (Turkish pizza) is always the way to go.
 

Saturday/Sunday 
I've yet to go to a film premiere, but I do get plenty of screeners for films I've never heard of that I watch at weekends so I can write reviews on them for our what's on guide and for this blog. Surprisingly, this one - Welcome to the Riley's - was actually quite good.

Monday 
Monday mornings, ahead of rapidly looming deadlines, I like to try and ease into the day with breakfast (healthy hot water with lemon, unhealthy pain au chocolat) and a magazine. I believe this issue of Time is about a month old, so I'm playing catch up. And unlike Warren Buffet, optimistic is not how I usually start my week.

Much of Monday is spent putting together the front of the book, reading reporters' copy and placing it on pages. It's a task that can be frustrating due to the system we use, which always seems to go on the blink just as the paper is at the most crucial point. CTRL+S is the most important computer command in my life, and one I use constantly.

Tuesday 
Once the paper has gone to press on Tuesday afternoon, the week starts again. And usually with some meetings that involve me doing some waiting, and staring at my feet.
 

A quote about books to finish the week off. If we're applying this to newspapers, then local newspapers unfortunately probably fall in the first half of the quote.

Reporting tips: photographers and photographs

What's that? You're a reporter and photographs don't concern you? Think again. However great your story is, however many hundreds of words you write, nine times out of 10 a photograph is going to make it better. And the best of those photographs will be taken by the photographers in your newsroom (and not by you on whatever digital the newsroom can afford). Here's a quick guide to ensuring you get the best pictures to accompany your work. This is just from a newsdesk's point of view, so photographers, if you've got something to add leave it in the comments below.

Treat photographers well
This is such a basic rule, but it's so ignored in newsrooms. Photographers are just as essential to the work of a newspaper as reporters. In fact, they're probably slightly more essential, since no one will read a paper devoid of images. Bear that in mind, and make sure you don't make unnecessary demands, are rude or dismissive, and say thank you.

Give a good brief
A photographer turning up to a job blind won't get photos as good as those done by a photographer turning up informed. Photographers don't need to know every word you're writing, but do give them all the information they need to take a photograph that is relevant to your story. 

Think about how many pictures you'll use
Following on from the point above, if you need a page of pictures, ask for a page of pictures. If you need just a couple, ask for a couple. Don't just assume the photographer will know. It's frustrating for you if you were expecting the photographer to come back with eight pictures and they've only come back with one, and frustrating for them if they submit 20 pictures to you and you only ever intended to use one. 

Share your ideas 
Photographers are the experts when it comes to visuals, but if you've got an idea in mind don't be afraid to share it. Discuss any ideas for visuals to accompany a story with the photographer, and chances are they'll be able to work with that and come up with something even better incorporating your ideas.

Think about stock pics
There are certain people you're going to need to use photographs of often - police officers, councillors etc. Plan in advance and ask for a range of stock pics of these people. Ask photographers to get pictures of people behind their desk, on the phone, at the computer, outside their office building, by a police car (if they're in the police) etc. In the long run this saves the photographer from having to keep going back to get pictures of these people, prevents the paper from having to use the same picture every time, and also saves time for the person who is in the picture, as you'll only have to take up their time once.

Don't expect miracles
Sometimes it rains, or the subject isn't comfortable being photographed, or something else goes wrong. In the same way jobs will change on photographers despite the best intentions of reporters when they're booking something, photographers won't always be able to get the photographs you want because circumstances dictate it to be so. 

Communicate
If you feel you're not getting the photographs you want, take a look at yourself and check whether you're doing all the right things when booking a job (see all the points above). If you are and the photos are still not what you want, sit down and talk to the photographer and see if there's a better way the two of you can do things. In a similar way, if you see something you really like that the photographer has done, let them know. Everyone likes to know they're appreciated now and then.

In memory of Marie Colvin

Journalism has a bad reputation, but one look at Marie Colvin and her work and anyone can see that it can be a honourable profession. I have a huge respect for war reporters, and for Marie, who put herself in danger time and time again, until it eventually cost her her life.

Today journalism lost Marie, who was more than just a war reporter. She was a reporter on the human condition, and her reporting brought home to the privileged and the free how others in the world were suffering.

In a speech two years ago about the importance of war reporting (full text here), she said:

Covering a war means going to places torn by chaos, destruction and death, and trying to bear witness. It means trying to find the truth in a sandstorm of propaganda when armies, tribes or terrorists clash. And yes, it means taking risks, not just for yourself but often for the people who work closely with you.

And:

We go to remote war zones to report what is happening. The public have a right to know what our government, and our armed forces, are doing in our name. Our mission is to speak the truth to power. We send home that first rough draft of history. We can and do make a difference in exposing the horrors of war and especially the atrocities that befall civilians.

She bore witness, and exposed the truth, and there will be people out there who will get away with things now that she is no longer here to shine a light on the injustices they are taking part in.

In one of her final posts from Baba Amr in Syria she wrote:

Sickening, cannot understand how the world can stand by and I should be hardened by now. Watched a baby die today. Shrapnel, doctors could do nothing. His little tummy just heaved and heaved until he stopped. Feeling helpless. As well as cold! Will keep trying to get out the information.

Marie was not the only person to die in the attack in Syria. Photographer Remi Ochlik was also killed, and dozens of others died as Syria continued its bombardment in Homs, while masses more have been killed over the past months. I never met Marie, but from everything of hers that I have read and heard and seen, she would want those who died in Syria to be remembered just as much as she is.

So, we must ask ourselves, in memory of Marie Colvin and because she no longer can, how can we stand by and watch as injustice rages across the world?

Reporting tips: making contacts

In the world of journalism - local, national or international - contacts are how you bring in the good, sometimes great, off-diary stories. Contacts, who come in many different forms, like to feel like they matter, and because they're the ones providing you with stories, they should matter to you. Just like any relationship in your life, you need to nurture it so that both parties are getting the best out of it. There's no substitute for hard work when it comes to making contacts, but here's a few tips to help smooth the way.

Keep in touch
Don't just call contacts when you're desperate or when you need them for a comment. Make sure you give them a ring every so often just to check in and see how they're doing, or go out for coffee with them. If you're in regular contact, they're more likely to remember you when a story does come up, and they'll give you a call. And if you're speaking to them on the phone often, then sometimes they'll mention something they might not see as a story, but you do. 

Everyone is a contact
At journalism school (a bit like Hogwarts without magic) I was taught to put everyone I ever spoke to into my contacts book. It might seem a bit odd, but it's very, very useful. Always try and put as many details as possible about them in, like where they live and work, as well as contact numbers. That way, if something happens in the area they live or work, you've got someone you can ring to try and get some information from. 

Never miss an opportunity
One of the best stories I ever did came about because I once gave a talk to a bunch of junior school kids about journalism. At the end, despite the fact that they were 11, I gave them my business card. Lo and behold, a year later I got a call from one of their mother's, telling me she had a story and that her daughter had my card and liked me, and they wanted to tell me about it. And that story was picked up nationally. It's highly unlikely I'll get a story that way again, but it taught me to never underestimate where a contact can come from. 

Be interested
Contacts have lives of their own - they're not simply there to provide you with stories. Remember little details about their lives, and ask them how they're getting on. It'll make them like you and want to talk to you when they've got something newsworthy. 

Show off the paper
At my first paper we used to go to court every week on the morning the paper came out. We'd take along copies of the paper for the security staff at the courthouse, and for the court clerks. The papers would get passed round so everyone (solicitors included) could see what was going on that week, and could see what cases we'd put in. Giving away a few papers that would otherwise languish in the office meant the court staff liked us all, and were easy to deal with when it came to getting court lists etc. 

Put in the time
Sometimes contacts don't work the same hours as you, in fact, a lot of the time they don't. And while it's not ideal, occasionally you will need to put in unsocial hours to make contacts. I can't count the number of parish council meetings I went to when I started at my first paper, but sitting through numerous discussions on street furniture and the like meant I was not only trusted by councillors and was their first port of call when a story occurred, but I was also trusted by people living in those areas, because they could see I'd put the time in.

Reporting tips: how to get the best from press officers

In season five of The West Wing, there's an episode titled Access, where a camera crew follows White House press secretary CJ Cregg around. When asked what she thinks her job is, she struggles to come up with an exact answer, but all her replies go something like this: "I am here to articulate the President's message and to honestly inform the press, and through them the public, about what is happening on any given day."

And that's the dilemma for press officers. They serve two masters - reporters, and whoever pays their wages at the end of the month.

The relationship between press officers and reporters is probably never going to be as smooth as silk, but reporters should be able to respect what press officers do, and vice versa. Here's some basic tips, gleaned from experience working in a council press office and for newspapers, on how journalists can build a good relationship with press officers.

Get to know each other
It can be all too easy to be just a voice on the other end of the phone to a press officer, and for them to be the same to you. That might work, but meeting face to face is always more conducive to building up a relationship with each other. Take the press officers you have the most contact with (police, council etc) out for coffee. Meet on neutral territory and make it a regular thing so you can get to know each other. People are always more willing to help those they know, rather than those who just call up every so often demanding answers.

Don't shout or be rude
This is a general lesson for life as well as for when talking to press officers. Yes, it's frustrating when it's taking ages to answer a query, but shouting is not going to get anything done faster. In fact, it's just going to slow things down. If you're frustrated as to why a query is taking so long to answer, explain your dissatisfaction in a calm manner, and lay out your points as to why an answer should be forthcoming as quickly as possible one by one and in a logical way. 

Submit full queries
During my brief stint working in a council press office before my journalism training, I took a call from a journalist about an event the council was staging. The journalist asked me a few questions, I found out the relevant answers and called him back. Only by that time he'd come up with a few more questions. So I found out the answers, and I called him back, and he'd come up with some more questions. We went back and forth about five times during the day, which was incredibly frustrating. Lesson - try and ask all the questions you want answers to in one go. Yes, sometimes an answer the press office gives you will lead to another question, but more often than not you should be able to ask all your questions in one go, saving your time and the press officer's.

Make sure the press office knows your deadlines
As soon as you put a query in, give the press officer a deadline. This saves any confusion later on. With weekly papers, some press offices like to know a paper's general deadlines. When giving press officers these, make it clear those are your deadlines, not theirs. Just because your print deadline is 2.30pm on a Wednesday doesn't mean the press office has until 2.15pm on a Wednesday to get back to you. Responses don't magically appear on a page - copy needs to be written, news edited, subbed and placed on a page, so make sure you leave yourself plenty of time for that. It's your responsibility to make sure the press office knows when you need responses by.

Always tell press officers the full story
This is especially true if your story is negative on the company the press officer works for. Don't give them half the story to respond to, because you'll only get an angry call on publication day, asking why the press office wasn't given a chance to respond to all the criticisms in your story.

Find the best way to contact your press officer
Some people like to be called, some like to be emailed. Some press officers are also more readily available by mobile, as their jobs see them moving around. Find out which they like, and which works for you as well. Personally, I prefer putting in a call to the press office, then emailing my query just to be on the safe side. Other reporters may like doing it differently. Make sure you know ask the best way to reach a press officer (and tell them how best to reach you), so you'll have the right contact details handy when you really need them.

Always keep a record
Keep your emails to press officers, and keep their responses, particularly in the case of any controversial stories. It's always good to have a paper trail just in case anything goes wrong. And remember to keep any shorthand notes of conversations. 

Ask for a heads up
Sometimes press officers aren't able to get you an answer to a complicated query in the time period you want. In that case, ask if the press officer can ring you and give you an indication of what the response will be so you can plan your story. Or just ask them to keep you updated on how getting a response is going, so you can plan your time.

Don't expect miracles
Press officers can't just come with answers out of thin air. They have to talk to the relevant people, formulate a response, get it approved and then give it to you. And sometimes the people press officers have to get answers from aren't always cooperative or don't see the press as a priority (there's a council where this is apparently rife - no names). Don't give press officers unreasonable deadlines they can't meet. Telling them you want an answer in 15 minutes isn't acceptable, unless it's a big, breaking news story. 

Plan
Sometimes you'll have a couple of stories that need responses from press offices. Try and plan it so that you put in all the queries as early as possible. Don't leave putting in a query until you sit down to write copy, it gives the press officer less time to get back to you, and slows you down because you can't finish writing until you have a response.

And one last piece of advice you will hardly ever need, but worth bearing in mind just in case:

Go higher 
There will be the occasional press officer you encounter who will be obstructive, who will answer every query with: "Are you sure that's a story?" and who will take weeks getting back to you in the hope that you forget about the story or just give up. Thankfully, these kinds of press officers are a rarity, but if you are unlucky enough to encounter one, remember they have a boss. If you've done everything in your power to be reasonable, made your queries clear, given deadlines and been polite, and they're still not getting back to you, then go to their boss and ask for your query to be answers.

This is by no means an exhaustive list, but following these points should make life easier for you and for the press officers you speak to. If you have any other tips, leave them in the comments below.

Reporting tips: how to make the newsdesk put you on its A team

A former journalism tutor of mine told me that all newsdesks split reporters into A team reporters and B team reporters. A team reporters - nothing to do with Face or Mr T - are the ones who can be relied upon, the ones the newsdesk will turn to when a big story comes in. B team reporters, well, they're the other guys. On local newspapers, where resources are stretched, you can follow these simple steps to ensure the newsdesk will always see you as part of the A team.

Proofread
Everyone makes the odd typo, and they can generally be forgiven. But there are few things more frustrating for the newsdesk than reading copy that is littered with mistakes, from missing commas and speech marks to misspelled words to repetition. Simply proofreading copy right before filing will mean you catch a lot of those mistakes and save the newsdesk, and yourself, from a lot of headaches. Tips to ensure you make fewer mistakes include reading your copy out loud and reading from the last word to the first so you see the actual words and not what you want to see.

Read/refer to the style guide
Every paper has its own style guide and it's important to refer to it. Style guides can be long (the one I currently use runs to more than 100 pages) so no one expects you to memorise them, but scanning them every so often can ensure the most important things get noted. Common things you'll need to look in the style guide for include police and military ranks, how to write dates and times, and what the policy on writing numbers is. If you're ever unsure on something, refer to the style guide. If it's not in there, then ask the newsdesk. Don't just write what you want only to discover later that it's wrong. 

Come up with your own ideas
Newsdesks have enough to do without having to spoonfeed stories to reporters. Take the initiative and find your own stories, whether they be follow-ups, features, community stories or unusual takes on diary events.

Read the paper
It's such a simple thing, but so many reporters don't read their own papers. On the day your paper comes out take 15 minutes when you get in to take a look at what's in there. Reading the paper is also important so you can see how your copy has been changed. 

Remember the story is more than the copy
Yes, you may have crafted 350 words of pure genius, but slapping those on a page do not a story make. What pictures are you going to use? Does the story need a graphic? Have you got any ideas for sidebars? Have you got an image in your head for the way it can be laid out? You may not always get your own way, but thinking about the story as it looks on the page, and not just the words, will show you understand there's a bigger picture. 

Learn to multitask
Papers are making do with less reporters than they ever have, which means everyone needs to do more, even though that's not ideal. As a reporter, multitasking is important. Don't just concentrate on one story at a time. Make sure you've put the calls in for the next story you're going to write, so that by the time you get round to writing it you've got the responses you need and can finish the piece.

Remember the small stuff
Everyone loves getting their name on the front page, even if they deny it, but newspapers are more than page leads. It's impossible to finish pages without picture stories, downpage leads and nibs. Make sure you file things in addition to leads, unless you want the newsdesk screaming at you for nibs every single day. 

File copy on time
What the newsdesk needs most from reporters is to see copy filed. Without copy, nothing can happen. No stories can be assigned, no pages can be designed, no copy can be subbed. Voila, before you know it, it's 10pm on a Tuesday night and you're still in the office because the newsdesk refuses to let you go because there's not enough filed to meet deadline. 

Talk to the newsdesk
Never be afraid to just ask if you're unsure about something or want some advice. Obviously, don't do it two minutes from deadline when everyone is panicking, but every other time is fair game. The newsdesk is there to help you become a better reporter, and you can only do that by talking stories through, getting feedback and bouncing ideas off other people.