Reporting for beginners. 44. Finding people in the real world (part 3).

In the previous posts we looked at what factors to take in with names and use of search engines when trying to trace someone. In this one we are going to look at gathering the information - in the real world.

First off don't ignore the obvious no matter how unlikely it may be. I once tracked down a Duke by calling directory enquiries. It can still happen, although it is increasingly rare.

Again much of this depends on how much time you have and how desperate you are to find someone.

But always keep in mind many of the people you want to track down have good reasons for not wanting to be found. We also live in a very transitory age. People can move not from street to street but county to county.

Again as part of our information gathering we need to look in many different places.

At the scene of an accident look for memorials. People will go there to lay floral tributes and leave messages. Keep in mind my earlier tips regarding death knocks which can be found here and here.

The same basic rules apply. In this case give the person time and only approach when they have begun walking away. Try not to hover too closely, so keep a respectful distance but not so far that you won't be able to catch up with them once they go.

You yourself should read through the messages. Look for any clues, obviously names and nicknames, as we will see in a later post even a first name is worth checking. But keep a note also of relationships ie aunts and uncles and make a note of their details, it may come in handy later when trying to track down family members.

Bear in mind that you can't ask people if they want to talk to you if you can't find them - and they not know or even think about the newspaper being interested in their story.

Check also local businesses and nearby homes as the person may live locally and be known. Keep a note of which properties you've tried and their response - if you need to go back at a later stage it will stop knocking on the same doors.

It is also worth checking with the police although don't rely on this unless you have a very good relationship with them, thesedays there is an almost automatic assumption that the family of the deceased or a person involved in an accident will not want to talk with you and they will refuse to ask on your behalf.

Many will also be fearful that you will get in the way of any subsequent investigation, forgeting that libel and subjudice laws will still apply in the event of any criminal action.

If the person has died speak with the coroner's office. If the inquest has been opened (albeit and adjourned) the details are a matter of public record and should be available to you.

It is also worth checking the local newspaper...even if you work for it. The BMDs (Birth, Marriage, Death or Hatched, Matched and Dispatched as it is also known) column can already have a notice in it.

Knowing the timing of an accident also helps. People generally follow the same patterns returning to a scene at about the same time may help you find someone who was around and may have witnessed it.

But it is not all about trying to find the relatives of people who have died. Journalists are always trying to track people down for all sorts of reasons for good as well as for ill.

The best way to find them is to keep a good contacts book. Having their number in the first place it certainly the quickest and easiest which is why having a good, up-to-date contacts book is worth its weight in gold.

However we can't have everyone's number but we can use what we have. A good relationship with councillors, who because of their role in the community will have their ear to the ground, will help if you know the rough area the person lives in.

Also try chairmen/women of residents and tenants associations. If they do not know ask them for any long term residents who may be living in the area.

Don't be put off if someone says they moved out some years ago. Keep asking for specifics: When did they move? Any idea where they moved to? What was their job? Married, divorced, single? Any known relatives/friends? Where did they live previously? Every scrap of information helps.

If you are after a particular expert try other people in their field or call magazines/websites that deal with their specialism and ask them. They are usually very helpful.

In smaller communities ring anyone whose number you find and ask if they can help. You would be surprised how many are still willing to put you in touch or contact the person on your behalf.

If you believe they have a business try rivals or better still go to the Companies House website and check for directorships.

As always, the more detail you can collect the easier it will be. Constant cross-referencing helps narrow down searches all the time. But, as always, there are no guarantees.

To keep up to date with future tips follow @journalismtips on Twitter.

41. Getting a job in journalism: How to make the most of work experience

Even the smallest of weekly newspapers can get inundated with requests for work experience. It means that in any given year 10 or 20 - perhaps even more on the bigger papers - wannabe reporters are coming through their doors.

Contrary to what you may be thinking (but not always) it is not purely an exercise in free labour. Believe me having dealt with the trail of destruction some trainees can leave behind it is often easier to do without them.

On the most part work experience is given for four reasons:

1. Almost everyone offering it will have done it themselves. It is the tried and tested method and they like to impart some of their own experience to the next generation.

2. It is part of the paper's "community remit". With budgets slashed to nothing it is a way of offering something extra to the people they serve.

3. They are looking for talent. That's right, they can even be looking for bright young journos (such as yourself).

If we are going to be cynical it can also be:

4. They need someone to churn out a dozen nibs, make tea and generally be a dog's body for a week.

Now reasons 1, 2 and 4 are all very laudable. It's No. 3 that we need to concern ourselves with. Bearing in mind a news editor can see so many trainees you will need to stand out from the crowd (let's call them people who haven't read this blog).

Newsrooms are usually much much smaller

So how do you do that? The answer is pretty simple... Make the news/editor's life easier. If you've been following this from the start you will have read tips 1 and 2 (I'm sure you can look them up yourself without need of a link).

If you've read the paper for a few weeks you should have a pretty good idea about what's going on in the local area, the topics they are interested in and gaps that aren't being filled.

The next thing to start doing is finding those stories - and that's before you go in. If you've never been in a real life newsroom before they can be daunting. The chances are you will start on a Monday and finish on a Friday. So far so normal. But unless you are working on a daily or a weekly that comes out at the end of the week you will get a rather disjointed view. 

For a start if the paper comes out on a Wednesday the reporters will be working to deadline. You won't see the process gearing up... it will be geared up. They will be busy trying to find a splash (front page) or chasing around after last minute quotes or trying to make the dang fool of an editor's "great" campaign - thought up over a tea and a biscuit 20 minutes before - become a reality. 

Sure they will try and throw you some stuff and take time out to go through it (if you are lucky) but, on the whole, they simply won't have time. You will certainly not their main priority.

This might be an altogether different story if come day one you walk in with that page 3 story that everyone was looking for two hours before.

If not, sit in a corner and expect to be largely ignored. Until Wednesday, with deadline passed the collective sigh of relief let's everyone relax for five minutes and even get around to asking you your name.

But that's only half the story. You may finish your week, if you are lucky, with experience of a newsroom, a couple of bylines, a notepad filled with squiggles purporting to be 15 words a minute shorthand and little else. 

Your week is up and you never see anyone in that newsroom ever again. That, after all, is what most people do.

Now think about it differently. This is the first stage of getting a job. Perhaps not this week, nor next month, maybe not even next year but you are feeling for an opening.

Firstly, you will know who to speak to when pitching a story. Secondly, you will have a good idea of when the news editor is busy (not a good time) and when it is quieter (a good time) to speak to them. Thirdly, you will have direct contact numbers for the people involved. Finally, they will have an idea of who you are when you are talking to them - and will give you some time.

For every story that makes the news editor will look kindly upon you, shine a little light in your direction, offer you more work experience and at some time in the future will advise you on any jobs that may be coming up ahead of the crowd. And if you are very useful may even give the editor a nod in your direction.

So instead of treating a week's worth of experience as a one off look at it instead as the start of a new and useful relationship with a newsroom.

After all the whole point of being a journalism student is to get a job in the trade. That is unless you really have more money than sense.

To keep up to date with future tips follow @journalismtips on Twitter.

How to be a journalist 40. The death knock (Part Two)

In my last post I dealt with how reporters should deal with a death knock. As always there is nothing - or at least very much - revelatory for experienced journalists. But then these tips are aimed at juniors and trainees who may yet have covered one. Again this is not an exhaustive list and all comments, suggestions and observations are welcome.

This latest posting concentrates on how to build up a picture of a person's life in a few questions. Again every circumstance is different so while this tries to cover everything you will still need to think on your feet and listen to the answers given.

You will also need to be aware of any on-going police action and/or the potential to libel. It will be part of your job to explain why you won't be able to include all their quotes. You could not for example quote a claim that a widow that a driver involved in a death crash was not paying attention. That is up to a coroner/court to decide. If at all possible steer them to something that will make a more general point without being unusable.

All of this said you are still looking for a line. This is not about simply writing a formulaic story along the lines of:

A family last night paid tribute to....

We could/do all write this a hundred times over. Sometimes the tragedy in and of itself is simply enough but keep in mind the family details are not revealed straight away in most cases. It could come an edition or two after the original story.

By then the immediate family will be aware, so too many of the extended family and friends as well, possibly even wider still. Or it has been revealed by a rival news organisation. All of which means that sticking to the formula is no good and why you need another line.

So assuming that you have managed to get a chat with the family and have checked relationships of the people you are talking to and double checked the details given to you what should you be asking:

1. Establish all the immediate family members and their relationships. You need names and ages. Don't assume this is all the family. You will also need to establish length of relationship to a partner. If their parents are still alive, any other family. If they are young you want to know about boyfriends or girlfriends has the family spoken to them? You want to get the general reaction from the family. I try to avoid asking "How do you feel?" and try, "I can't imagine how you feel, how would you describe it?".

2. Can you describe their personality? This isn't all about facts, it's about pure emotion. It covers a great deal of very personal information and what you are trying to do is convey their life in a few words. This is a catch-all question it allows the bereaved to talk in an open-ended manner about the deceased.

3. What were their hobbies/interests? Again this is detail that fleshes out a life. It also, as with many of the questions, can provide fresh avenues to chase. Most of the time this will simply not be necessary but never rule it out entirely. It may be worth asking if there is anyone else they think it is worth talking to.

4. What did they do for a living? And previously? Again this is about establishing the person's existence. Not everyone is defined by their work but some are and - for good or for ill - many people will be able to create an image of that person based on their work. Did they go to university? Previous employment etc. It's a sad but usually true that if the deceased is young, public school educated and went to Oxford or Cambridge the story is more likely to be picked up by nationals. For older men (born before 1945) it's worth considering if they conscripted into National Service. For children you will want to be establishing the school and favourite subjects.

5. Were there ever any worries about the situation in which they died? Does the family think they will take any action - legal/civil - in regards to the death? For example, a cyclist may have always been concerned about the particular junction in which the accident happened and had voiced those fears. Or perhaps they had had several near misses over the years or been involved in a non-fatal accident not so long ago.

6. Were they from the area the family home is in? Essentially this is about establishing their deep background. They may have moved there for work, or an immigrant looking for a better life, or to study or any other of thousands of other reasons. If so how long had they lived there for? Or they may simply have lived there all their lives. In the case of children why did their parents move there.

7. What were their hopes and dreams? This is about showing 'a life interrupted' a life that could have been if it had not been struck by tragedy. This is particularly poignant of younger lives that have yet to reach full potential. If not married consider asking if marriage plans had been discussed.

8. Have they ever previously appeared in the news before? We're back to catch all questions but remember the person you are interviewing has been through a great shock. Without knowing anything about the deceased you have to cover as much ground as you can in as few questions as possible.

9. Can I have a photo? Preferably one with the family and ideally one of them looking smart.

10. And finally. Is there anything I have missed that was important to their life that you would like to get across? Personally I also add if they would mind me calling again and always ask for a mobile number. This is where explaining that if you can check back the details with them can be useful.

I think I have covered most of the important elements, as always, I may have missed something crucial and would appreciate any comments adding to this list.

To keep up to date with future tips follow @journalismtips on Twitter.

How to be a journalist 39. The death knock (Part One)

Without doubt one of the hardest, most emotionally draining jobs for the average reporter is the death knock. It is not, as many critics of the Press will have you believe, a simple act of voyeurism into grief. If you believe that you are in the wrong job - many do and many leave.
And if you find it is not emotionally draining than you ought to see someone about it. I've yet to meet anyone who doesn't feel that way.

The fact is we do an awful lot of these and you never quite get used to them. Not once. So why do we do them? A successful death knock will stop a death becoming just another statistic. It's much harder for those in authority to dismiss numbers than it is to ignore individuals. Bland excuses can be made, figures fudged, the truth bent, things swept under the carpet. Try doing that with a real person - an individual who has experienced pain.

It can also act as an obituary, sometimes but not always, something the family will want to hold on to as a keepsake.

And in the meantime, you as a reporter, will be accused of all manner of despicable behaviour. You will, for your efforts, be accused of intrusion, of being scum, of being a vulture, of preying on grief, of only being interested in selling papers, of being uncaring, of being these and many, many more things.

Which is why you have to believe in what you are doing, in why you believe their story could make a difference. Not only for the family, in the short and medium term, but for others in the long run. And it can make a difference. And, no, I do not believe I am self-deluding. I genuinely believe - as you should - that as reporters what we do is important and can make a difference. Of course I am not saying it will prevent all future deaths of a similar nature; but in some cases it may help highlight and focus energy on a particular area, ie a rat run, a cycling accident at a junction, an industrial accident, a murder.

Also don't go making assumptions, that too is a very bad idea. Being sensitive is essential. Firstly, in order to show you are a member of the human race but also to win over a family's confidence.

Despite all of this we are still there to tell a person's story. If the door is slammed in your face you have failed. I say this because, hard as it is, you should do the knock. Simply not bothering or relying on social media is a disgrace to yourself and your trade.

So hopefully I've established why they are necessary. Many may well disagree, that is their prerogative.

DON'T:
1. Make assumptions. Each death should be treated purely on its own merits.
2. Ever say, 'I know how it must feel'. Unless you can back that statement up by talking about the death of one of your own loved ones and feel it may help in making a connection. In general avoid meaningless platitudes.
3. Rely entirely on social media UNLESS there is no other possible way of doing it. Even then ask to speak to family members in person or by phone.
4. Lack confidence. Yes, it is a nerve wracking experience for the reporter but a polite, professional manner is better than a stammering bunch of nerves, which will only make you sound shifty and not inspire confidence that you will be able to tell the family's story in a way they would want. Indeed a bad approach can and will engender distrust.
5. Be scruffy. Again, you are knocking on a door unannounced, this is about showing you are a professional.
6. Go mob handed to a doorstep. If several newspaper reporters, agency reporters, photographers, camera crews and radio journalists turn up at once send two trusted representatives who can then share the information. There is nothing like an undignified scrabble to upset the family. But trust in your fellow reporters is key.
7. Rush. If a family is good enough to talk to you give them the time they need to tell their story. If you have a deadline looming do explain you have to file but be prepared to stay longer.
8. Ever offer money for someone's story.

DO:
1. Apologise for disturbing them. This is your acknowledgment that you are an outsider at an intensely personal time but avoids the impersonal platitudes (I'm sorry for your loss etc) which the family may well find odd coming from a total stranger.
2. Follow the family's wishes. But if they ask you to go away do remember to ask if it would be possible to come back at some later stage. Ask when that would be convenient.
3. Check everything you've been told by the authorities. Including the spellings of the deceased's name and age. Police and coroners can make mistakes. If this is for print then errors cannot be easily rectified. That in itself can be very upsetting. Indeed even if a family say no to an interview it is still worth asking if you can double check the details.
4. Work out what you are going to say beforehand. It will allow you to make the key points as to why you believe their story is important and will, hopefully, reduce your nervousness.
5. Establish you are speaking to an adult and, where possible, their relationship to the deceased.
6. Remember a person did not become important the moment they died. They were important to their friends and family in life. Build up a picture of that life as best you can.
7. Ask for a photograph that best sums up their life. Preferably with their family.
8. Consider asking the family would they like to be read out any tribute piece. This is controversial in newspapers so check with your newsdesk and it's certainly not something that is advisable in every circumstance but I've rarely - if ever - found it to be a problem. A brief run through ensures there are no misunderstandings; that the details are correct; that you or the family have not left out something that is important; and it helps build up trust with the family. (You must explain it may be edited before going in the paper.)

NEXT: Building up a picture of someone's life on a death knock.

For further reading see Jackie Newton excellent blog here on death knocks.

And here's the Press Gazette report on her research. (I see that many of the negative comments have been removed.)

And here's a personal and view from Australian journalist Sarah Harris on why they are important.

And here's Roy Greenslade offering another view - note he didn't speak to the newspaper he was referring to in the story.

And another Roy Greenslade piece an extract fromThe phone hacking scandal: journalism on trial is by Jackie Newton and Sallyanne Duncan.

To keep up to date with future tips follow @journalismtips on Twitter.

25. If in doubt ASK. But don’t over do it. If you want to know if a word is hyphened look in a dictionary or online.

As journalists we are expected to ask questions — sometimes even pretty dumb ones..

(My favourite is to wait for an expert to finish some particularly complicated explanation before adding: "Yes, I get it. But how would you explain that to the layman?" Often mumbling something about wanting it in their own words. However the stupid question is often necessary to extract the raw emotion of the situation. You may see the emotions etched on the faces of, say, a family who has lost a loved one but still need to ask how they are feeling to get the quote.)

No, dumb questions are sometimes required.

Except in the office. And certainly not from the workie who wants to become a journalist.

So keep your questions to a minimum (except the best ones such as: "Would you like tea or coffee?").

A personal favourite was told to me by a friend. A secretary was escorting a potential trainee out of the office when he asked if the paper he had just been interviewed for was a daily or a weekly.

(He didn't get the job...but he's probably now editing something on the web.)

Write everything you are told down, few things rile people more than having to keep telling a student journalist the same thing over and over again.

Remember you have a huge dictionary, atlas, encyclopaedia, gazetteer sitting on your desk - and hopefully you will have been able to switch it on - all by yourself. (Actually it is amazing the number of workies who can't...instead they sit there waiting for the news editor to crawl on their knees to get to the on button - once you've established it's your desk for the week please feel free to switch the bloody thing on.)


So don't go asking how do you spell something like onomatopoeia - check it quietly to yourself online (like I've just had to - having missed the fourth "o"). Actually, if ever tempted to use the word onomatopoeia, don't.

Also don't use the word psephologists (which I can spell and which I did once) it's flash and an unnecessary technical term...I'll let you look it up.

Certainly don't ask things like is the local MP Conservative or Labour - especially if doing work experience in, say, the U.S., Australia or Scotland.

Just be careful not show off your ignorance. If you can possibly avoid it. Here's another from an agency news editor: "I had to tell a new junior who Belinda Carlisle was the other day."

Don't ask. Just nod, make sure you get the name right and then check it online as soon as you can.

You should also pick your time to ask questions. When you see everyone getting stressed, staring intently at screens and barking down the phone with a little bit more intensity than they were four hours before is NOT a time to start asking dumb questions...

Btw if anyone can put this clip onto YouTube I'd be able to upload it onto here. Thanks.
http://www.metacafe.com/watch/an-WQEVJ7b7nhbbYt/the_paper_1994_racing_towards_deadline/

Oh and if you find this useful - please RT.

21. Journalism is not a 9–5 job. If you think it is work in another office, don't sit around clock watching. It's annoying.

In an ideal world we all finish work dead-on 5pm. But it is not an ideal world.

Journalism and newspapers should be about passion. (Admittedly it is also about low staff numbers and a management that squeezes every last ounce of good will and morale out of its dedicated team.)

These are the contradictions of the modern newspaper office...and quite honestly probably the old newspaper office as well.

Working time directive? Beats me.

One news editor on a national would wait for the first reporter to leave the office on a Friday evening and then call them to send them to some far flung job.

A tad vindictive but he had his staff on hand until at least 7.30pm when eventually a mass exodus meant everyone was taking their chances - to be called back and sent on some pointless task was the equivalent of being shot during a jail breakout. Everyone knew the risks but it outweighed the time served.

However such things are unlikely to be much of an issue on a local newspaper.

The issue there is more likely to be about you. For the more you put into your work, the more you get out.

You spend hours at tedious council meetings, you will get the contacts and the better stories. And the quicker you can build up a great portfolio the quicker you can get out of that paper.

And when you do you will earn more money, you will work on bigger and better stories and you will be more attractive to people. (Obviously that last one is a lie the bigger the paper the more repellent you become to the outside world - but don't let that put you off. You will get more respect whatever the local MP and your editor may say to convince you otherwise.)

But anyway the irony is that the more contacts you build the easier the job becomes - because the people are at hand.

Plus look around you. What are your colleagues doing? Reporters who swan off on time or sit there and claim back every last minute of overtime in lieu are not appreciated.

Because those pages still need filling and if you aren't part of the solution to that - you are taking the space of someone who is. And nowadays editors are reluctant to get rid of staff because they will probably not get someone to replace them.

And don't think people don't notice - we're *ahem* meant to be trained observers. We notice everything.

And anyway news unfortunately doesn't fall into the 9-5 routine. Annoyingly it happens at awkward times - like just as you are about to go home. It's here when instinct should kick in. When your very reason for being a journalist should override everything else.

Another pre-internet example from a local newspaper. Shortly after 5pm on January 28, 2000 a man carrying a samari sword entered the offices of Cheltenham MP Nigel Jones. Within minutes Robert Ashman had killed the MP's aide Andrew Pennington.

All plans for the Friday night were cancelled - no one needed to ask or even say it - reporters and photographers were sent to the scene and relevant addresses.

The library was raided as we put together backgrounders on all three men.

In those antiquated times a new front page was drawn up by the subs, photocopied and then distributed to the newsagents as an extra. It makes me sound like Methuselah.

The next day's edition was a sell-out. Newspaper sales executives (normally a gloomy bunch) were scouring the offices trying to take the reporters' copies of the paper.

No one got out until 10.30pm. Nor did they much the next day or the day after...

OK so it's easy to pick a big story and say you have to work longer hours - you will have to do it anyway even just filling some of the mind-numbing crap editors insist on filling their pages with.

So accept it. You are not going to have the luxury of a 40 hour week. And if that's what you came into the business for you are going to be sorely disappointed.

You can always become a PR (the pay is marginally better too).

Having said all this I don't want it to become a charter for long hours. Appreciate the editor who rolls up his own sleeves and joins with his team to help speed the work along - there aren't many of them.

18. Always dress smartly, you don’t know where you may have to go. Looking like a slob is bad for you and the newspaper.

Information, Broadcasting and Labour Permanent Secretary Amos Malupenga has warned Journalists in the country that they risked being barred from covering functions at State House and any other state function if they continue with their ‘improper’ dressing.

The visibly annoyed Mr. Malupenga was shocked to see some Journalists from named private media houses dressed in dirty jeans, hanging shirt and wearing canvas when they covered President Michael Sata at State House yesterday.

Mr. Malupenga threatened that media personnel who fail to dress properly will would not be allowed to cover the Head of State.

Mr. Malupenga said at a meeting with all media heads at Cabinet Office it was resolved that Journalists covering State functions should be smartly dressed at all times.

ZANIS reports that the Permanent Secretary was addressing Journalists at State House in Lusaka yesterday.

“I had a meeting with your bosses at Cabinet Office and we resolved that action shall be taken with immediate effect on Journalists who opted not to dress smartly and don’t cry foul because we expect you media people to look presentable by dressing in proper attire.

“Don’t accuse us of putting blocks to frustrate your work,” Mr. Malupenga said.

(From Zambian Watchdog)

As a reporter you will rarely know where you are going or who you are meeting from one day to the next. This doesn't apply to everyone who works on papers - some know they will be sitting in the office churning out press releases until their P45 arrives on their desk.

(But since you, dear reader, are checking out jornalismtips let us assume you hope to do rather better than that.)

In an ideal world you will (for chaps at least) wear a suit - but in this age of austerity (as indeed it has been especially for new weekly newspaper reporters in the past 20 years) not always affordable. But you will at least need one for special occasions - such as covering funerals, Remembrance Sunday, royal visits and the like....oh yes and for going to your next interview with another newspaper.

But a smart dress code is essential. At the very least - and it is worth noting what the rest of the news reporters are wearing - smart trousers and a shirt and tie are essential.

Remember you are meeting the public and while you may not agree with a tie the person you are interviewing might. They will look and be judging you and appearance is a part of that.

Plus if you are going to knock on the door of a stranger do you really think jeans and a t-shirt would encourage people to invite you in?

People will take you more seriously if you are smart - particularly (but by no means exclusively) the elderly, and especially that which went through National Service.

More importantly though it is simply polite and professional. Looking like a slob will only confirm some people's already dim view of our occupation.

And on a local you are fighting to be taken seriously. While I agree journalism is more about intelligent questioning and writing every element is important - perhaps some more than others but important nonetheless.

So in a way I can sympathise with Amos Malupenga's view point...but that is a whole different story.