The Universal Journalist

David Randall, Jemma Crew

• Publisher: Pluto Press
• Year: 2021
• ISBN:
  9780745343273
• Edition: 6
• Topic: Languages & Linguistics
• Subtopic: Journalism
• Index: Languages & Linguistics

'Easily the best introduction to being a reporter' - Press Association

This is the only 'how to' book on journalism written by writers and editors who have operated at the top level in national news. It has long been the go-to book of advice for young reporters.

This edition includes a chapter on social media and is extensively updated throughout, with new content from Jemma Crew, an award-winning national news journalist. The book emphasises that good journalism must involve the acquisition of a range of skills that will empower trainees to operate in an industry where ownership, technology and information are constantly changing.

This handbook includes tips and tricks learned from working at the very top of the business, and is an invaluable guide to the 'universals' of good journalistic practice for professional and trainee journalists worldwide.

1

Journalism in an Age of Social Media

Innovations in everyday technology have always changed how the job of reporting is done. The telephone, once it was widely adopted (and that took decades), meant you no longer had to leave the office to speak to a source. The car gave reporters the ability to cover a lot more ground when out on a story. The personal computer made writing much quicker – you could cut, paste and delete without having to retype. The mobile phone allowed you to call people wherever there was a signal and, more importantly, catch potential sources wherever they were. And then came the internet: billions of web pages brimming with information, email, video, podcasts, social media and, of course, large dollops of misleading nonsense.

For all the obvious advantages these technologies brought, each had unforeseeable effects. The phone meant face-to-face chats with sources became less common; reporters in a car were less likely to have chance encounters; computers, with their speed of writing, deleting and shunting text around, made unwary writers more verbose than with pen or typewriter (which is why several leading novelists hand-write a novel’s draft before committing it to a screen); and mobile phones have meant reporters are always contactable by the office (and couldn’t, as they used to do, go AWOL for several hours, or even, in the case of foreign correspondents, several days). And the internet – quite apart from its devastating effects on newspaper sales, revenues and staffing levels – has had impacts on how reporting is done that were not immediately apparent. And that is what this chapter is about.

I was always an early adopter, getting a personal computer soon after they came on the market, and plunging into the online world when it was in its infancy. So, whatever faults I may – and do – have, I always knew that getting to grips with new technologies and skills was an essential part of being a good reporter. And being, for the past few years, less a reporter than a media columnist (for Italian news magazine Internazionale), I’ve had to think more deeply about the implications of each new part of online communications as they arrived. And one of the things I thought was that, to inform this chapter, I needed the views and experiences of reporters much younger than myself. So I recruited a panel of four national newspaper or press agency journalists: a political reporter for a quality title, a tabloid feature writer, an agency foreign correspondent and an agency news reporter. I sent them a questionnaire, and then interviewed them. So they could speak freely, I guaranteed anonymity. Their responses give a varied picture of how younger top journalists use – or are expected to use – social media.

Journalism and social media: the reality

What social media do you look at to find stories?

The panel all cited Twitter, Facebook and Instagram as potential sources – with the former being used, in the words of the political reporter, ‘to keep abreast of live/breaking developments’. The agency foreign correspondent said: ‘Almost entirely Twitter and Instagram. I work in showbiz, and celebrities now use their social media feeds as basically an avenue to share press releases. When I worked in local news, Facebook was much more important as “normal” people are more likely to share things there.’

The agency reporter, who has a specific field to cover, said: ‘WhatsApp messages are encrypted and I am increasingly finding sources are more likely to share tips and off the record guidance on this than over email. WhatsApp groups can also be a good source of stories, but as they are private this requires someone inside the group to leak its contents to you.’

What social media do you use to promote your stories?

They all said Twitter and Facebook; and occasionally Instagram. The political reporter added – and it’s a valuable point – ‘I enjoy doing punditry on TV, for which you need to build a bit of a “brand” on social media – that is where producers look you up. Increasingly it looks a bit odd to have no profile on social media as a journalist.’ The agency reporter echoed this and said she would sometimes share a story she was particularly proud of on LinkedIn.

Does your organisation insist you post on social media?

The agency and quality reporters all said no, but the agency reporter added: ‘It would be frowned upon if I didn’t have a Twitter account. The unspoken expectation where I work is for journalists to use Twitter to promote their work and to help them report. So much now is announced on Twitter (out-of-hours police press officers will often refer a journalist to their social media platforms for updates) that not having an account or access to an account would be problematic in a breaking news situation.’

The feature writer said: ‘I was asked to set up a work Facebook page and regularly post my articles. I was also asked to become verified/blue ticked on Twitter (which lets viewers know the account is authentic), and we are asked to post stories, retweet and quote articles from my paper, directing traffic there where possible. We’ve had training on best hashtags etc.’ These, obviously, depend on what kind of stories you write, and the title you work for.

Does your editor stipulate a minimum number of posts per story, per day?

All the panel said no. The feature writer: ‘No stipulations or minimums, just encouragement to post in general and advice on what times of day work best. Until recently my paper sent a Twitter leaderboard around the entire company once a week.’ She was the only one required to post on social media. The agency reporter said the social team is required to tweet every news alert and top story.

Are you required to tweet while out covering stories?

Most said they were not, but the agency reporter said: ‘I would be expected to tweet anything interesting and any colour. But it’s always been made clear to me that the news wire comes first, anything posted on social media must come after.’

All had some reservations about this, pointing out, as the agency reporter put it: ‘The immediacy that social media demands can result in inaccuracy.’ And the feature writer added: ‘You’re encouraged to tweet coverage, although on features often I’m asked not to in case it reveals our plans for exclusives later on.’

Are you required to film and edit video while out covering stories?

Some mass-market reporters are expected to do this, as well as agency reporters. One said: ‘I am, but the editing is done back in the office by a separate video team. I would usually film on my work iPhone but I am trained to use proper cameras.’ The political reporter said: ‘Video appeared a bigger deal several years ago. Many newsrooms appear to be scaling back on it. That may have something to do with the fact that if the quality isn’t fantastic, it looks rubbish and not in keeping with aesthetic of well-designed, sleek websites.’

Does this affect your research and ability to observe?

The foreign correspondent (who specialises in celebrity and movie stories) said: ‘Yes, massively. An example is I was recently sent abroad on a job but had to bring my camera with me. The camera and tripod immediately creates a barrier between you and the public, especially in an area where the press – in this instance the paparazzi – had made themselves persona non grata.’ The agency reporter said: ‘A video camera limits your mobility. For instance, it would make it harder to report on a protest march. You can’t be taking notes while you film.’

Are you required to take pictures for publication?

Most said no or that this was rare, but the feature writer said: ‘Occasionally I have to take a photo of me with the person I’ve interviewed. My desk would book a photographer for anything more involved than that.’ The agency reporter said: ‘Usually, I would take one or two pictures to put on social media anyway, regardless of whether a photographer is there.’

Do you need to upload stories to the web, or know how to do animated graphics etc.?

All the panel have been trained to upload stories, but none on how to do the more technically (and artistically) demanding creation of animated graphics etc.

The foreign correspondent said of uploading: ‘I did this in a previous job. It’s not something I enjoyed. I’d be sent agency copy then told to upload it with my by-line. I found myself worrying more about picture captions and bullet points than the copy itself, as editors were more likely to spot an error in those than the story. It also made me feel like I was working in a warehouse, not a newsroom.’ He doesn’t ever have to deal with animated graphics, nor does he want to: ‘Take on too many things and you become less a reporter and more a production manager.’

Has the pressure to post a story before others ever caused you to be inaccurate, or convey a false impression of a story?

The foreign correspondent said: ‘Thankfully no. My organisation prizes accuracy above all else. Though I have worked in places where everything – including the truth – plays second fiddle to being first. I’ve seen first-hand instances where editors have knowingly published false information in order to be first.’ Quality paper reporters seem unaffected, but the feature writer said: ‘I haven’t experienced this, but I think it’s a huge pressure for the online team.’ The agency reporter said: ‘I’d rather be admonished by my news desk for being slow than put something out that is wrong. I have editors who truly value accuracy, which doesn’t seem to always be the case elsewhere.’

She went on: ‘Sometimes with breaking news you need to get something filed sharpish but you don’t have all the information or need aspects clarified. In that situation you often have to get something running that is accurate based on what you have and fill in the gaps later. The beauty of online is you can keep adding bits in.’

Is ‘clickbait’ a sensible concept, since all journalism is designed, presumably, to be widely read and shared?

The political reporter said: ‘There is a particular online site whose journalists there have been very dismayed at news editors changing copy, or refusing to correct false and untrue headlines, because they are scoring well on SEO [search engine optimisation].’ The feature writer said: ‘Clickbaits are a lazy way to make a reader click on the article for the one-line answer to a posed question. We are encouraged by the company not to do this when putting our articles online, although I’ve definitely seen it on our online edition.’ However, the foreign correspondent said: ‘Clickbait as a term is used incorrectly in about 99 per cent of cases. I hardly ever see headlines promising something that the story hiding behind it completely fails to deliver on.’

Do editors place too much importance on ‘most read stories’ lists?

The foreign correspondent said: ‘I would say so. I’m fortunate where I work but in previous places there was an attitude of “do it to death” once a certain subject proved popular.’ The feature writer said: ‘The paper’s editors don’t, but online editors do. I understand this is how they measure the online traffic, but I don’t think it gives a complete picture. The digital editor tells the editor in morning conference which stories had the most hits.’ The political reporter on a quality title (which has a paywall and sells subscriptions) said more subtle standards are at work: ‘In my newsroom, engagement is the key metric. That takes into account not just the number of page views but also how long readers stayed on the page, whether they commented etc.’

Have technologies changed the essentials of the job?

Most agreed on a no answer to this question. As the feature writer said: ‘The essentials remain good interview, research and investigative skills, good communication etc.’ The foreign correspondent said: ‘I think too much emphasis is placed on being able to set up social media searches or such like. It would only take a day-long crash course to get up to speed, whereas the other essentials of the job – writing, building contacts, etc. – take years and years of hard work.’

The agency reporter thought social media had brought some subtle changes. ‘It has helped bring more transparency to some sources and interviewees. It’s much easier and quicker to research the person you are dealing with, look at their online history and gauge their reliability.’ She added: ‘Mining social media is essentially democratic – everyone has access to the same posts. In this scenario moving fast is key. It’s a race to produce the story before someone else spots it.’ The political reporter said: ‘For me the essence of my job is to break exclusives, which mainly stem from talking to people. Turning in fast, clean copy about the affairs of the day is essential, but insufficient to being a senior reporter at a national paper.’

(The panel members were also asked if they ever do interviews by email. This is covered in a separate section in Chapter 8.)

Has social media made it easier to produce good work?

The foreign correspondent said: ‘An example would be on a big breaking news event – say a terror attack at a pop concert. Using social media tools you could immediately get a list of people there, see what pictures/tweets/info they’re sharing and get a better idea of what’s going on.’ The feature writer said: ‘Tech like the internet and social media makes it easier to find info more quickly and research or source stories faster and in a different way.’ Everyone echoed this, yet the political reporter added: ‘But they’ve also made it easier for news outlets to rely on bad work – generating overhyped row stories from a few random comments on social media.’

The agency reporter said social media also increases the pressure on reporters beyond the need for speed: she said: ‘It adds an extra level of accountability to fact check, because a story with inaccuracies can be immediately and publicly torn apart by any experts who see it online.’

How long did it take you to learn how to use social media and apps?

The feature writer...