Research Tips for Writers and Beginner Journalists
Research for news or feature stories is very different to
academic study. Time limits or 'deadlines' are usually more
critical and the depth of information required is much less. In
journalism, research will be for background information and for
the purposes of finding people you can interview for expert
comment or analysis. These are called 'sources'. In news
journalism, a single source is often used in an article but
feature writers use several sources.
Most organisations have designated employees who deal with media
enquiries. They are usually called a press officer and work in
the press office. But they may be a marketing person or even
staff at a public relations company. The press office will
supply you with news releases, brochures and leaflets, known as
'hand-out' material. Press officers are usually helpful, all too
aware that today's journalism student or writing enthusiast may
be tomorrow's Fleet Street staffer. They will answer your
questions and may assist you to arrange an interview with a
source which, in television, is called unflatteringly a 'talking
head'. Adding your contact details to a press officer's mailing
list can result in invitations to potentially valuable sources
of stories like product launches and news conferences. Potential
interviewees can be found using publications including:
* The Directory of British Associations, available in most
reference libraries. * The Hollis Press and Public Relations
Annual * The Writers and Artists Yearbook * The Guardian Media
Guide which lists a range of media contacts and the names,
telephone numbers and websites for local councils, government
departments, hospitals, police services, courts, prisons,
museums, theatres and embassies.
A good reference library will have a variety of specialist
directories as well CD-ROMS containing back issues of newspapers
and journals. It is worthwhile joining as more than one library.
London has a number of these, for instance Westminster Reference
Library, the British Library and the Royal Institute for
International Affairs, which researchers can use by prior
appointment.
The internet is now an easy and standard source for research.
There are a number of major search engines on the net and a few
like Ask Jeeves at askjeeves.co.uk and Answers.com are
particularly user-friendly because you can enter a question. All
the major newspapers have searchable archives, for example
guardianunlimited.co.uk. Though the internet is a great
resource, for accuracy, be careful to use authoritative sites
and double check facts when not doing this. For example, though
the online encyclopaedic resource wikipaedia.org is a boon,
remember that it is written by volunteers who are not
necessarily experts (anybody who wants to contribute can) and
therefore information on it needs to be cross-referenced with
other sources.
It is not uncommon for people who are new to journalism to spend
an inordinate amount of effort on research and then leave little
time for the writing of an article. The important consideration
in the first stage of constructing your piece is the topicality
of the story, its relevance to a target audience and interesting
angle. This will provide the necessary focus for your research,
saving precious time and labour. The UK's citizen journalism
website the-latest.com has a useful section on resources for
would-be journalists.