Cultivating Cop Sources

The guarded cop always looks behind both shoulders

especially if they're approached by a reporter. 

One of the toughest challenges for a reporter is cultivating police sources.  And when it comes to breaking through a barrier there is no other government official tougher to win over than a cop.  Journalists, for some ungodly reason, are consumed in small doses by the men in blue.  Other times, journalists are compared to the Bubonic plague, the scum of the earth that needs to be avoided at all costs.  

A Journalist Gets Organized

The scourge for any mobile journalists is disorganization from all spheres, including their own.  Wasted time means wasted work.  And for journalists to efficiently utilize their time, even as they're being stretched thin thanks to a shrinking news staff, they simply need to streamline it by getting organized.  

Off-the-Record Definition Varies

The off-the-record thrill, being lured into a world of mystery.  

But this can get you in trouble. 

So you're having a quick powwow with a contact of yours, one who's been largely open and honest in their role as a tipster, giving you good leads for any investigative pieces you're developing.

Bigfooting in the News Business

I compare bigfooting like the bully threatening you for you 

lunch money.  

Being a team player is a critical, positive trait in news gathering, a core component to all forms of journalism that helps you nail a great story.

Interviewing The Mourning

Be it crafting obituaries of long-lasting people or a teen victim of a stray bullet, a journalists should tread carefully when speaking to mourners.

The departed should be respectfully remembered so it's your job to 

interview the mourning to preserve the victim's memory. 

I've done my share of speaking to families in mourning, people looking to pour their hearts out on the one who've put a smile on their face, shared great memories and died so soon.