Chasing to No End

via isaiahhankel.com

I don’t know how many mornings I’ve spent chasing stories down and getting barely any information for a story.

It’s happened more than I’d like to admit and it’s just the way things go sometimes.

My editors understand that. It depends on what the situation is and who is in charge of the incident, accident, fire or whatever it is. That’s a huge factor in this.

Most of the time it won’t be your fault.

Being a morning paper, we are at a disadvantage because we have such an early deadline, when you compare it to other papers. It leaves us with less time, which means less of an opportunity to let the news unfold as it happens.

It can be frustrating at times, but you can’t change the deadlines. That’s just now how it works.

You have to chase whatever “leads” you have and go with it. If you thought the story was going to be 14″ and you only have 10″ that’s just the way it’s going to be. Everyone in editorial will know that you tried and the information either hasn’t been released yet or that’s just all that’s out there.

It’s a learning process.

Chasing to no end is exhausting, though. For me, it’s exciting and insanely nerve-racking. No matter what the story is, I’m in it 100 percent. You have to be.

Any detail in your story, which the competition doesn’t have, is a feather in your cap. If it means calling an extra 10 people, so be it. This is about informing the readers with the best, most current story that’s available on deadline. That’s all you can hope for and you should certainly strive for it.

It’s not always fun, since the stories will most likely be much more serious than the average town council story, but, as I said before, it’s about informing the readers.

If you have to do a followup story, that’s fine. Let your editor know and start working on it after deadline. That’s all anyone can ask for.

Jonathan