Tony Collins Talks Investigative Journalism
I’m at our second Elevenses event at RBI. [Tony Collins](http://www.computerweekly.com/blogs/tony_collins/) is talking about investigative journalism. Some key points to follow:- You have to build trust with contacts – and that can mean not running stories instially to build the relationship
- It’s not a 9 to 5 job – contacts will often need to talk to you out of hours – and beware phone records that can expose your relationship
- Keep close to the subs working on your story – don’t let them rewrite in a way that removes vital nuances.
- Don’t overstate the case – and beware of coming over as the journalist stereotypes, as that can undermine your credibility in readers’ eyes
- His blog is invaluable – the number of tip-offs he gets as a result exceeds his ability to cope with them
- Forums can be an invaluable source of stories or information from them – and you can ask for information
- Don’t be a repositary for secrets – we’re paid to write not to know things. Persuade them – work with them – to get their permission to publish
Only a taster of course. I’m not giving away everything Tony had to say. 🙂
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Some Good Reading About The Future of News Paid Members Public
Good stuff I’ve read recently, haven’t linked to yet, but don’t have much to add to right now: * The Nichepaper Manifesto [http://blogs.harvardbusiness.org/haque/2009/07/the_nichepaper_manifesto.html] – an articulate and well argued guide to how niche publishing might looks going forwards. * Media