Writing clearly on deadline
Steve Buttry / NoTrain-NoGain.org
Many journalists boast of thriving on deadlines, except when they’re using deadlines as excuses. We used to lament that our medium lacked the immediacy of broadcasting, but that we provided depth. Now we’re always on deadline. Our online presence gives us the opportunity and responsibility to provide immediacy and depth. When you cover breaking news, your deadline is as soon as you can verify the information and file a bulletin. Even veteran journalists need to update their deadline writing skills.
Know your dual role. Most reporters covering breaking news today serve two masters and two sets of deadlines: online and print editions and deadlines. Know when you need to file for each edition. Know the best way to file for each edition. Know who the editors on duty are and their phone numbers and e-mail addresses.
Get it right. Immediacy and deadlines do not override standards of verification. If you saw something yourself and know it as a fact, of course you report it. If someone tells you, ask how they know. Ask how else they know. Seek verification. Remember the “miracle rescue” stories of the Sago mine disaster and try one more source, make one more call.
Get it first. When news breaks, your first deadline is to be first with the story online. Call or e-mail your web editors right away with a bulletin. This is just a simple sentence that may cover just the first four W’s, if that:
- The Legislature voted unanimously Wednesday to outlaw all abortions in Nebraska.
- Creighton beat Nebraska 72-52 Tuesday night at the Qwest Center in Omaha.
- A federal jury convicted Tony Soprano Friday on two counts of racketeering and four counts of murder.
- Police evacuated the Nebraska State Capitol Thursday after an explosion. Authorities did not know immediately whether anyone was killed, injured or missing.
The bulletin should tell what you know right away, but nothing you don’t know for sure. If you’re dictating, ask the editor to read it back to you, so you can verify what the editor took down.
