McPaul’s advice for covering beats
Be visible
Go on-site, if not daily, almost daily.
Be there. Be seen.
Develop sources:
Be a people-watcher.
Talk to people – Make friends. Even a caretaker or janitor has a tip now and then.
Develop a relationship with “the little people” - secretaries, office workers, techies, delivery personnel
guards, receptionists. These folk know the scuttlebutt better than anyone.
Buy a guy lunch once in a while. Pour the coffee for the secretary.
Hang out in the basement, records office, lounge or mailroom and shoot the bull with employees.
Get to know how people you cover live their lives. What do they do at home? Where do they live? How many kids do they
have? What are their names? Spouses? Do they beat their dog?
Understand the temperament of each individual you speak to and word questions accordingly.
Master the lingo.
Give up a few tidbits about yourself when appropriate – but only a few and only when it’s appropriate to
further information gathering. Remember, you are covering them, not the other way around.
Personal qualities
Admit misgivings or lack of knowledge about subject matter – it often
opens the door to better information in the long run.
Listen. Let subjects do the talking. Let them think you care, even if they
bore you.
Be organized.
Be honest.
If you take a comment off the record, you better keep it out of the paper,
or risk losing a source.
Be firm, but fair. Don’t be afraid to ask tough questions or write
the truth.
Be human; be personable.
Admit mistakes.
Collect a list of phone numbers
*** and
never toss them out. Years later, you may need a favor. ***
Offices (with extensions)
Cell phones
Homes
Weekend homes
After hours
Babysitters
Master office and building layouts
Know
how to enter and exit back doors, where corridors lead, where executive and back parking lots are, where bathrooms are. Find
the escape routes. Know how to get there faster than they do.
Use “B..-speak.”
“That won’t fly with my editor”
“Give me a pearl of wisdom for tomorrow’s paper.”
“I need an on-the-record comment.”
“What do you think about this?...
“What did you hear?
Give a little up to get a lot – but don’t give away the farm on a scoop.
“I heard this…what do you know?”
