Your beat, your new flame

In the event that you want to review my New Beat Love speech for inspiration, here it is. Were the direct quotes you used in your story accurate? Did you figure out that Gay Talese is the most famous master of the art of hanging out (but that he did not write or ever give this speech?) Go here for a list of who is covering what beat.


Love Your New Beat

There is an art to hanging out. In this age of multi-tasking and over- full schedules it sometimes feels like there’s not a moment to spare. But it’s different for a reporter new to a beat – you can’t afford not to spend time with your new infatuation

And it should be an infatuation, this new beat of yours. The more intimately you know it, the more it will reward you. The reporter who knows their beat completely and compassionately will find stories others would miss; will meet sources others would overlook; will have a cell number when others only know the office number.

Treat your new beat as you would a major crush or a new flame: spend time with it; learn about its nightmares and its dreams. History and budgets are the scars and aspirations of a beat.

Find its pulse. Know what it sounds like when its excited, when its sleepy. Know who wields power on your beat – and who feels afflicted by it. Know the rules of your beat. You have to know the usual routine in order to report when the unusual happens.

Anticipate changes in your new beat’s moods. Know the laws and the calendar that governs the rhythms of its life. Know its news. Read coverage from long ago, and from yesterday and today – it’s like thumbing through high school yearbooks together, a window into a time before you.

This new flame isn’t perfect. Flaws and criticism are part of its complexion. Know its wrinkles and listen to its critics. They complain because the beat is a part of their lives, because it affects them or afflicts them.

The powerful, the powerless, the engaged and the merely interested – these people on your beat, they are your own heart, they are your readers. When you neglect your beat, when your attention wanders, when you miss the story or drop the ball – that’s heartbreak.

A beat reporter becomes the never-sleeping eyes and ears for a community with countless distractions. Regardless of what your beat is, the basic expectations are the same: You need to be ready, curious, questioning and, above all, you must be there.

This semester, remember how important it is to just hang out together. With your beat.