'Reporter Embarrasses Self, Profession of Journalism, Humanity'

Report, confirm. Report, confirm. The more diverse a body of sources you talk to for any given story, the more likely you are to write a good story that triangulates on something like truth and balance. After a semester of Public Affairs Reporting, these basics should be part of your journalistic psyche. I remind you of them because I hope you never do the things that set you up for this kind of criticism.

Alex Tizon: Talk to an ace reporter Dec. 2

Alex Tizon is coming to interview for a job at the J school. He's been a reporter for the Seattle Times and the Seattle bureau chief for the LA Times. Along the way, his writing and reporting have won a passel of prizes, including a Pulitzer in 1997 for exposing fraud in an American Indian housing program.

He's done some fantastic work, evidence of his ability to create opportunities, to know when they present themselves, and to be ready to seize it however it is that opportunity comes calling.

Online, he's fond of saying, "Most big achievements happen when great effort intersects with good luck. I've worked hard, and I've been lucky, which is another way of saying that I've been blessed."

Other bits of advice I find attributed to Tizon may reveal a bit about the personality behind the practice of being blessed:

"Go into dark places and write about them." He made a name for himself covering gangs, race and ethnicity, immigrants and immigration and Native American issues.

"Relax. Don't be a perfectionist." This may be something every person who imagines perfection has to be told from time to time. Chip Scanlon wrote about Tizon's report on the mood of America after 9/11. What may interest you most is Tizon's technique: He gave himself about eight hours to arrive in a town, find, report and write a story. Every day, for two weeks.

"Read, read, read. Think, think, think. Write, write, write." These are things all reporters must do to be ready to do their job. Things that too many fail to take the time for.

Alex Tizon is scheduled to meet with journalism students at 2:15 on Tues. Dec. 2. Probably in 401. Please make it a point to come talk with a great journalist, one who might just be teaching here next year.

What's it take to be a good reporter?

Please, pleeeeze pay attention to Deborah Howell when she says:

What makes a good reporter? Endless curiosity and a deep need to know what is happening. Then, the ability to hear a small clue and follow it.

All of style-book savvy, turns of phrase and feature-finding finesse in the world can't take you to the stories that curiosity and energy can unearth. Go. Read her column. Have a great Thanksgiving.

It is, might be, was. Who said? Oh yeah?

Maybe you all remember, back in the doughnut-filled haze of the day after Election Day, that I said to watch for a surge in the use of unnamed sources as news outlets scramble to be the first to name Obama's cabinet and varsity transition team members. The New York Observer tracked the odd unspooling of the news -- the rumor -- the news that Hillary Clinton was -- is, has been, has accepted -- offered the Secretary of State job.

And the future is ...

Young journalists in San Diego get props for kickin it and taking names. And they're not working for the local newspaper, TV or radio station. Could an enterprise like this be in your future?

Tweep2Tweep: Continuing the conversation

I'm glad Cameron is checking out the Facebook-Twitter relationship. While a few of you may have run screaming from our Twittering experiment, I encourage you to maintain your ties with your Tweeps.

There has been some reluctance to believe that Twittering may be an attractive skill to your next news employer. Don't just take my word for it. Poynter says so. Graphicdesigner tracks the trend as newspapers flock to the tiny updates, and flock they do.

Meanwhile, why wait for newspapers to get your breaking news. Or blogs, or broadcast. First word on the earthquake in China? Tweets.

Report peers into poverty's future

Kids Count is perhaps the most complete long-term study of the quality of life for American kids. It comes out every year. This weekend, Jennifer McKee in Helena reported on the 2007 data, which found among other things:

• The percentage of children living in moderate to severe poverty fell 7 points from 2000 to 2007, down from 49 percent seven years ago.

• The number of children in extreme poverty has almost doubled since 2000, up to 7 percent in 2007, from 4 percent.

Think about the stories begging to be told behind these numbers. What do these numbers tell us about the lives of many Montana children today -- and what do those stories foretell for Montana a decade from now?

Reading this type of data with an open, inquisitive mind can lead to valuable story telling that informs public policy decision making while the process is still malleable, before it devolves into NIMBYisms and city council-style polarity.

Compare Jennifer's version of the story with the AP's. Each interprets the data a bit differently and underscores different social aspects of the study. The AP reports, for instance, that

• The percentage of children living in poverty was unchanged in Montana at 17 percent during both 2000 and 2006. Nationally the rate rose to 18 percent, up 1 percentage point.

I'd argue Jennifer's more nuanced reporting is more valuable in the glimpse it gives behind the numbers. That doesn't mean the AP's version is wrong. It's worth browsing through the data and thinking about the stories the numbers beg you to tell.

Ethics Week Continues: The problems with kids these days (... as sources)

When is it OK to use young people as sources in a story, and when isn't it? The New York Times public editor tackled this question after one reporter queried 15 and 16year old students via Facebook for a story on what kind of person the famously media shy Cindy McCain is, and another reporter used a 12-year-old's account of witnessing alleged police brutality.

Editing II? Glad you asked.

I got the skinny on the Editing 2 situation. The new requirement is that you take a visual literacy class. It could still be J381 Editing 2, that's a news page design class. Or Jour227, intro photo journalism. Or R-TV 151, which is intro to TV production aka video editing. Those of you who have taken photo journalism should consider R-TV 151. The basics of still photography will serve you well as you move to video, and video will serve you well in any Online newsroom opportunities.

Numbers Stories: Get those wheels turning

I saw a lot of blank stares out there when I mentioned the numbers stories. Let's extend that first deadline -- I don't want to be reading a bunch of stories crying out for "just a couple more days!" Your first draft, worth 60 percent of the grade for this piece, is due by noon on Friday the 21st. I will get them back to you by class on Monday. The final draft, then, is still due Dec. 3, which shifts the burden onto your Thanksgiving holiday, something I tried to avoid. If you want to turn your first drafts in early, feel free, just make sure they are complete.

That said, I'd like to see a fairly robust sharing of ideas in the comments to this post. Share your ideas, give feedback on others', help each other refine the best story idea you can. These stories should follow data, or money, to tell a story of change over time. A story, I hope, with a news hook and an impact.

Here are some links to reports that take their inspiration in whole or part from numbers that tell a story. I'm not suggesting you tackle stories this complex in the next two weeks. I am suggesting you open your mind and explore your beat with an eye to what data is available and the stories that data might tell.

• From the public health and safety beat: Chris Halsne of KIRO in Seattle focused on fatal crashes involving high-end recreation vehicles. He used a variety of investigative techniques, including tapping into federal safety data.
• From the education beat: Education funding fraud was the focus of reporting by Thomas Hargrove and Gavin Off who followed the money to find millions of dollars being paid to private charter schools for students who rarely, or never, showed up.
• From the crime beat: Federal funding for rape kit analysis is being withdrawn from strapped police departments nationwide because they haven't spent money from past years and the backlog of analysis just grows and grows. In practical terms, a bureacratic log jam appears to mean that lots of bad guys are going free for want of evidence.

And now that you've made it this far, Swivel's blog is devoted almost entirely to the stories numbers tell.

Nasty ham, ethics and the National Organization of Women

When is it right to include obcenities or vulgarities in a news story? When should a reporter remove themselves from covering a story? This case study, as promised, covers both of these questions.

WTF?

What's the Future of Journalism? Several of you have asked, but why should you listen to me when you can tune into a national forum on this question and even send you questions to the panel in real time.

This NPC Centennial Forum on The First Amendment, Freedom of the Press and the Future of Journalism will feature top national journalists leading the discussion. It will be Webcast from the National Press Club in Washington, D.C. on Monday, Nov. 10 at 4:30 p.m. in Anderson 316. If you want to cover this as your Twitter story, you may.

Panelists will include:
Donna Leinwand, national correspondent for USA Today and Club vice president;
Ed Henry, White House correspondent for CNN
James Kotecki, video blogger for Politico.com
Mark Jurkowski, associate director of the Project for Excellence in Journalism.

It will be moderated by Gil Klein, a veteran national correspondent, former National Press Club president and director of the Club’s Centennial Forums program.

Viewers will be able to ask questions of the panelists in real time by sending them to NPCforum@gmail.com. Who knows, maybe you can send question tweets as well.

The forum is part of a nationwide conversation the National Press Club is holding during its 100th anniversary to look at where the news business is going and what news consumers should be demanding.

Questions: Call Clem Work at 243-2160 or email clem.work@umontana.edu