Day 4 - Choosing a sector

McDaniel College Budapest
ENG 1103 Introduction to Journalism
Spring 2007

Instructor: Jacob Doyle
Email: Jacob@bbj.hu
Mobile: 06 30 233 5318

Day 4 - Choosing a sector

Why Specialise?

1. Reflect on your own interests and on what you wish to learn more about
• Your favorite conspiracy theory
o Water power
o Genetically modified food
2. Get familiar with topics covered regularly by the media

• Arts
• Books
• Combat
• Companies
• Crime
• Defense
• Diplomacy
• Economy
• Education
• Energy
• Environment
• Finance
• Film
• Fitness
• Gaming
• Health
• Information Technology
• Insurance
• Labor
• Manufacturing
• Politics
• Pharmaceuticals
• Real Estate
• Science
• Sport(s)
• Telecommunications
• Others?


3. Follow some writers on various subjects, get familiar with the issues they cover
4. Study the hand that feeds you:
• Familiarize yourself with the topics covered by the publications your read and may be able to write for
• Get to know their readers and their advertisers
5. Sort out what issues are most relevant to you and your “space”
• Think about what you liked as a child, what you like as an adult, what has consistently brought you happiness, what gives you a reason to live
• Learn what the public wants to read and what sources are able to deliver
6. Develop a “code of ethics”
• Know what you will do and what you won’t do to get a story
• Don’t compromise your future
• Don’t compromise the safety of others
• Don’t compromise your readers’ access
• Work for the good guys
7. Pitch your first story
8. Build your sources
• The Internet, the mother of all sources
o Read several sites regularly, both general news sites and ones that specialize in your sector
o Develop a flair for the unusual, for the unknown and for the unseen
o Develop a habit of getting curious and satisfying that curiosity: i.e. look for “gaps” and “holes” in stories and search for more . . .
o Develop an online community of sources
• Live sources:
o Develop relationships with your sources, formally and informally
o Foster “marriages of interest”
• Don’t offend, but don’t pamper
o Avoid “conflicts of interest”
• Suppress ulterior motives
• Avoid stepping on toes
9. Keep a “Reporter’s Notebook”
• Organize your notebook topic and date
• Keep a record of all your interviews
• Take notes in your “quite time”
• Keep a running journal of what you learn on your “beat”
10. Sector coverage of Real Estate
• Advantages & Disadvantages
• Sources: agencies, developers, investors, gov’t officials, etc.
• Where to publish
11. Energy sector
• Idealism vs. business practicality
• Readers
• Sources and dangers
12. Check out some sectors you think may like to cover and write a short summary with headline describing that sector.