Hey Scholars,
This is our penultimate blog post 
so be sure to answer it (and please go back and contribute to any posts you haven’t answered yet this summer).
Please share some tips for how you stay organized while reporting a longer enterprise piece — one that perhaps has to be fit in among other assignments.
And, any tips for us on how, when it comes to writing/shooting such a story, you approach the organization?
Thanks — and give these last weeks your best shot!
Coach Col
Emma Carew
07.29.09
This question is essentially the reason I stayed a reporter at my college paper as long as I did. It helped me really develop these kinds of skills over the course of three years in school — rather than my first three years “on the job.” I’m a big projects type person, I do lots of interviews, and I got screwed a LOT of times (early on) because I lost stuff in the shuffle.
I’m big on file folders and big black binder clips to keep all of your notes for one story together. Tear them out of your notebook, print them off your computer. Read them, read them, read them. Know them. I use Post its to flag facts in long reports, highliters of different colors. Oh — and take your file with you the night you file your story. There’s nothing worse than getting a late night call from the copy desk and not having your notes in front of you. It’s late, you’re tired, they’re tired… they don’t want to hear “um, I think so?” from you.
I label my interviews at the top of each page- sometimes a bit over the top — but it helps when you’re flipping through if you have the pages numbered, and can put them all back in order. Who’s quotes are they, when did you do the interview, what’s the best number to follow up with? — all either highlighted or bolded in my notes, so I’m not freaking out looking for that later.
I also occasionally keep folders for different stories on my desktop, or just move documents next to each other. I try to move old interviews and old story copy off my desktop, so I can always see what I’m currently working on. I put all my interview notes for the same story in one big Word document with the slug of the story, to help keep things together.
Never, ever write things (like a source’s cell phone number or the date/time/place of an interview) on a post it note. You’ll probably lose it, spill something on it or accidentally through it away. Write it on your story folder, copy it into your story notes. Put it multiple places. I also tape the appropriate business cards from sources into the story folder or to the back of the interview notes.
I love lists and calendars - I have a list of calls and interviews for the day, things I’ve scheduled and deadlines — I like to be able to look quickly and see what my time looks like in a week, in a month.
Despite all this, my desk still frequently looks like a paper bomb hit it. It’s not perfect, but with big long stories, it definitely helps.
Charles Davis
07.30.09
I’m like a woman at the Victoria’s Secret Semi-Annual Sale.
I get a whole bunch of interviews, lay them down on the computer, then pick and choose what I want to keep and what I’m tossing back in the pink and red tub.
Reading over what I have and seeing what’s missing is key. Do I need a word-on-the-street opinion? Do I need the latest study figures? Do I need an expert?
I try to touch back in and fill gaps when I have time and stay informed on if the issue is changing. Because it can be in a different stage than it was when I started. For example, on a teen pregnancy story, I got stats on services in the area two weeks before the story ran. But when I found when it would run, I called back to see if figures had changed and they had. I gave the reader the latest numbers, not the ones from two weeks ago.
Matching tops to bottoms isn’t my strong suit so I obviously struggle with organization. Someone recenlty told me to read every story out loud to see if it flows nicely. If not, you may want to change some things. While reading, you may find you want to know something sooner, or conversely, you could stand for some info to wait.
And I always remember not to mix plaids with stripes.
colleen
07.31.09
Hey Gang,
Thanks for the insight Emma and Charles!
Here’s my two (three) cents:
As CQ Coach Mary Ann Hogan says in a column that can be found in the archives, there are no right and wrong ways to organize stories. And you can use different approaches, depending on story type, topic, length, and your style. Here are a few approaches:
– Approach 1: A FORK, from Mary Ann: http://www.chipsquinn.org/skills/ask/ask.aspx?id=569
– Approach 2: Generally keep “like” information together in a story. If you’re writing about an issue and its pros and cons, group the pros together and the cons together and link them with a transition sentence or graph or two. Or let’s say you’re writing about someone’s appointment to head up a local org or agency and the appointment is controversial. Think about the story in chunks: person’s background and qualifications; what the critics say; what the supporters say; what the person’s plans are for the agency; info about the agency itself (budget, employees, etc.) Write your lead, then see how it makes sense to arrange the chunks, paying attention, of course, to your transitions.
– Approach 3: Figure out what your focus/lead (including off-lead, if there is one) is. Write it. Read it and ask yourself: What’s the most urgent, immediate question that this sentence raises? The answer to that question will be your next sentence. Then read what you’ve written and ask: What question does this new sentence (or combination of sentences) raise? Lay down the answer as your next sentence, etc. This method not only helps the story unfold in a logical way, it also can result in good strong transitions between sentences and paragraphs.
Hope this helps, Coach Col
Chris Ramirez
08.01.09
I’m under the belief that in order to do a large project or enterprise piece well, you need to be organized. For the most recent centerpiece story I wrote I went to great lengths to make sure all the information I collected went to the same place. The same notebook, the same Word doc, etc. Then on top of that I grouped notes and quotes into sections when typing them out in a file.
A story like this is constantly on my mind, even while I’m working on smaller things, so it’s imperative that when I need to look up something or begin to piece it all together in my head and on the screen that I can find what I need quickly so I don’t let one of my rare moments of genius go to waste.
Writing out a detailed outline, down to even where I think certain topics of discussion and quotes would fit well, is something I also do from time to time if it’s a story that has a lot of moving parts or little details I want to make sure to include.
Carolyn Chin
08.01.09
Well, since I am writing for AAJA’s Boston convention, I an actually throw in my two cents on this one! I have a few stories that are taking me longer than expected. It’s definitely not the way I expected it to turn out, but here goes it:
To stay organized when working with an on-going story, I always make a “to-do list” of what I’ve done so far, who I’ve talked to, what quotes I need to add in, what I’m missing, how I need to refocus the story, etc. This has really helped me to stay focused on moving the story forward. I’ve noticed that when I don’t keep the list updated, I immediately start to feel lost and confused as far as where I need to be with the story and where it needs to end.
Carolyn Chin
08.01.09
And by the way, Charles, I LOVED the analogy!
andrea
08.04.09
Even though I’m not as disciplined, I feel that without fundamental principles of organization, its easy to drown quickly in a project. As far as gathering information, I try and keep it all in the same pile, in the same bag I might be lugging around that particular month. Same notebook, if I’m lucky. While my aspirations lie in being someone with a neat and tidy binder containing all my notes and annotated interview transcriptions, that doesn’t seem to be the way I function.
It also seems that its best for me to try and digest the information as I go along and read what I have so far so as to engage my analytical thought. This makes the process of bringing it all together in the end much easier.
Unfortunately, that really becomes difficult for me when I’m working on other things and having to do daily stuff. It’s a constant struggle for me to accept that the more organized I set out to be, the less stress I will have when trying to tell a story clearly. There’s nothing graceful about mentally floundering in the wads of disorganized information.
Aaron Montoya
10.06.09
I’m actually working on a piece now that’s going to take me a couple months, so I’m glad to be reading some of these.
So far, I’ve been pretty religious about typing up all my notes (for clarity’s sake — my handwriting’s terrible!) and labeling them with the date and setting of the interview. I’m also keeping a running log of questions I have.
When working with photo stories, the process is similar. Every time I shoot, I make sure to file those photographs and review them. The step by step information gathering then logging is great for avoiding a huge project at the end — much more manageable.
I also find that talking about your story with someone else (editor, fellow reporter, friend, etc.) helps with my focus. When I attempt to explain the story to someone, I realize which information is essential and which may not be.