Five Tips for New Blogger/Beat

Ryan Singel – “San Francisco based blogger and journalist covering tech business, tech policy, civil liberty and privacy issues.” (Wikpedia), shared some tips for beginning bloggers and journalists with City College of San Francisco Journalism students Tuesday, March 25, 2014.

(From https://twitter.com/rsingel)

 

Select his recommendations:

1.   a)  Be “edgy” and the first      
      b)  Rewrite tidbits and ideas from other writers
      c)  Go out and get new facts

 2.   a)  Ignorance of your topic makes you a “fresh” new voice

       b)  Sincere writing and good graphics make good impressions

       c)  Learning the background and context of a beat is a must 

3.    a)  Calling someone directly is the always the best approach

       b)  Most people won’t take a call from a stranger

       c)  Emailing is better than actually calling a source

4.    a)  Ask, “Can you say some more, or Explain that again?”

       b)  It's good to nod to a speaker while they're talking

       c)  Write down everything and look for quotes later

5.    a)  Keeping matters formal and professional sustains credibility

       b)  People like to talk about what they do

       c)  Public figures will talk only in per-arranged interview situations

(Wikimedia.org)

Answers:

1c:  A credible blog is enhanced by new information to readers.  Rehashing opinions of others or putting your own unique "spin" cannot replace the power of new and accurate information.

 2c:  Not knowing the background of your beat hurts your credibility and accurate understanding of issues when talking with people and, ultimately, your reader.

3a:  Call people directly.  Emailing is cowardly as people will surprise you by taking your call and talking with you.

4a:  People will often be happy to explain or elaborate on a point.  Don't fake you understand when you don't.  Speakers want you to be accurate and to understand their perspective in your reporting.

5b:  Never underestimate a person's willingness to talk about what they think is important or what they have put a lot of time and energy into.  Listening more than you talking helps you learn more information and to identify meaningful follow-up questions. (A skill acquired with experience.)