The main ways the Investigative Team at NBC obtains story ideas
are through viewer calls and emails. As an intern, one of my
responsibilities is picking out potentially good tips, and then researching the
issue and following up with the tipster for more information before pitching it
to my producer. On my first day, I asked how I would I know if a tip is
worthwhile. Although I received a few general helpful pointers, I was told that
eventually I’ll “just know.” At the time, I did not know what to make of
that answer. With each day, I am gaining a better understanding, but it
has been one of my biggest challenges to do so.
Somewhere in the process of a tip piquing my interest, to
researching and following-up on the issue, many of these potential stories
never manifest. I’ll spend hours researching policies about a particular
issue, reading about similar complaints, and further questioning the tipster,
only to discover a reason why the story cannot be produced. For every
story that airs on TV, there are roughly 5-10 others that didn’t make the
cut. Sometimes stories are not pursued because we discover the tipster
was misunderstood about the situation, the issue does not impact a wide enough
audience, or the situation was a one-time incident, just to name a few
reasons. It can be difficult to foresee these reasons during initial communication with a tipster, because they often see and portray their issue as newsworthy.
Although
it is frustrating when I hear a potential story I have invested a significant
amount of time in cannot be produced, each time I am learning how to “just
know.” In reality, “just knowing” is about having good news judgment, or
the ability to spot the right stories. It takes the experience of working
through all these cases to accumulate very specific and nuanced points about
what makes for a compelling investigative piece. As a result, I am
becoming more efficient in how I invest my efforts in the pre-production
process and will be watching a story I contributed towards investigating very
soon!
Natalie, this sounds really interesting! I totally agree that some things can't be taught from one person to another. Sometimes, you just have to learn by doing, and it sounds like you have experienced that. I have experienced quite similar situations at my internship, most of it dealing with how to talk with clients while convincing them to come out to a soccer game. There is no one right answer to do this.
ReplyDeleteWill the stories you choose be shown on national TV? If so, I can't wait to hear about them.
Natalie, I totally get what you're saying -- It's really hard to distinguish what is news worthy versus what isn't, and I find that that's made more difficult by being in an area that you aren't totally familiar with. I do think though that with practice you will just know. But I totally understand that it's hard when you've put effort into something only to get it shot down. Hopefully you learn how to 'Just know'! Good luck.
ReplyDeleteNatalie, your internship sounds really interesting! Although it sounds like you have had a few setbacks it sounds like you had a great experience anyways. Im sure you will continue to have great experiences for the rest of your internship and you will learn as you move forward how to handle these setbacks. Good luck!
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