Tuesday, December 6, 2016

Let the Beat Go On
Let the Beat Go On (Photo credit: Wikipedia)
Your Final Beat Memo 


List important sources contacted during the semester and their areas of expertise. Give specific advice on contacting and handling the most important of these sources. In other words, provide tips on the best way to work your top sources. Which sources were the most valuable to you, balancing accessibility and cooperation with depth of expertise? With whom would you advise anyone following you on this beat to start?

List any secondary sources that proved particularly valuable during the semester. In other words, who were your “paper men” and what did they provide that enabled you to use your reporting time more efficiently?

Assume this memo will be passed on to a reporter who succeeds you on this beat. List stories that you would encourage them to pursue that you did not have time to explore. Mark each story one-star, two-star or three-star. In each case, include the rationale – remember our news values – for pursuing each story.

In general, what did you learn about working a beat during this semester?



Here's a link to a final beat memo from Toan Lam many years ago.


And here's a link to On the Media's interview with Jorge Ramossometimes called the leading Hispanic TV journalist in the U.S. What he says about how a news source should bring value to its particular viewers is useful.