InvestigativeIndepth Reporting

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Investigative/In-depthReporting
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When is it needed?

• when complex issues or situations are being
  discussed and written about
• may require a greater commitment of resources
• greater need for understanding on all sides of
  the issue
• teams may be assembled
• time may pass before story is written

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Forms

• single page of coverage in newspaper
• series of articles published over time
• package of content taking up a majority of
  space of a page in a specialized presentation
• yearbook broadens the depth of reporting and
  allows the publication to break the pace of
  presentation

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Topics

• controversial, sensitive
• appropriate for school community
• discuss carefully among staff members
• neutral reporting methods may offer more
  sensitive coverage
• your job is to cover topics responsibly
• look at concerns of individual readers

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Possible Areas (Beats)

• School Boards affects every student, attend
  board meetings
• Athletics talk frequently to coaches and
  athletic directors
• Curricular Areas maintain contact w/ heads of
  curricular programs
• Extracurricular Areas changes in clubs,
  organizations and student activities

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• Beyond the School community changes that affect
  the school
• Localizing National Trends changing times and
  trends
• readers forums for discussion of complex issues
• report from readers point of view
• discuss the relevance
• Good journalists listen, observe, hear and bring
  observations to the public arena

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How to get started?

• requires far more time than traditional story
  reporting
• research thoroughly before interviewing
• use background information only, do not repeat
  quotes from other sources
• decide space commitment
• talk w/team about research and reporting

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Layout Assistance

• Identifying story as a special report, in-depth
  report or other such label
• jump coverage starting story on front page
  and continuing it inside the publication (alerts
  reader of special content)

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Full-Page Coverage

• can adequately cover a topic
• discuss storys angles w/photographer or visual
  thinker
• well-written, detailed headlines
• visuals
• w/ long article, layout should offer visual text
  relief (text heads, drop caps, pull quotes)

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Double Trucks

• a center spread
• 2 facing pages printed on one sheet of paper
• multiple visuals
• variety of story-telling forms

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Beyond the Double Truck

• Series reporting stories broken into parts
  presented over a course of several issues
• logically presented
• visual device (logo) helps readers identify
• less effective in publication printed monthly or
  less frequently
• should recap previous reports

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Special Issues

• story w/ strong timeliness factor
• event occurs between publications publishing
  deadlines
• cooperative publishing efforts between different
  schools
• obtaining copies of visuals or pictures from
  local media is another possibility

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Yearbook

• helps change pace of storytelling
• amplifies coverage
• help date the year
• significant school events, personal profiles,
  special coverage to teams who have won
  championships, changes in policy procedure, etc.

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Writing

• traditional news story forms rarely work
• build the story around the info.
• talk through the story w/other team members
• lead needs to grab the readers attention make
  the storys importance clear

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• deadline pressure wont usually apply
• more flexibility
• have interesting anecdotes illustrations,
  effective transitions, tighter writing and
  stronger emphasis on relevance of topic
• organization must be clear logical
• keep multiple sources straight

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Anonymous Sources

• be sensitive to the need to protect identity when
  story is sensitive or controversial
• publication should have a policy in place for
  dealing w/ anonymous sources
• for example change students names

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Layering Information

• headline understand storys intent, where it is
  heading what details it will provide
• lead interesting relevant
• visuals add to the information
• alternative story forms (sidebars, quotes boxes,
  etc.) amplify the information
• complicated stats alternative story format

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Need for Accuracy

• find meaning in numbers, examine public records
  or edit a lot of info.
• numbers dates should be checked and rechecked
• complex quotes should be simplified
• running quotes should be an option

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Quick Activity

• Make a list of possible topics for in-depth
  coverage in your newspaper or yearbook.
• Divide the list into beat areas.
• We will discuss the various lists as a class in
  10 minutes.