Developing Stories

As reporters and anchors become known and respected by their audience, they receive telephone calls, work emails, messages from Facebook and Instagram, and Twitter tweets about a variety of subjects. Some are notes of praise, while some are complaints. Also included among those calls and letters are news tips. A number of the most important stories aired on radio and TV stations come from tipsters. Others come from sources cultivated at public agencies and insiders at corporations and other institutions. Regardless of the genesis of the idea, once the reporter starts to craft the story they should be concerned with two aspects of broadcast reporting: Advancing the story and avoiding the pack. This chapter discusses both of these techniques before illustrating how to create ongoing sources for news stories.