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12. Three-A-Day Plan
Read at least three newspapers a day, every day: your local paper(s) as well as at least two national papers (New York Times, USA Today, Wall Street Journal, Christian Science Monitor, etc.) Search for varied political and cultural points of view. See the world from as many different angles as possible.
11. Mine New Sources Every Day
Whether you are on a specific beat or you are a general assignment reporter, you need to know the people who know what is going on. Consider anybody and everybody a potential source, and get to know them and what they know.
10. Be Conversational and Authoritative
We want to be liked and we want to be respected.
Don't talk down to or talk up to your audience. Be conversational (so they listen!)
and be confident and assertive (so they will trust you!)
9. Do Your Homework
Know as much about your story as you can before you embark on your journey.
Two or three angles of a story not only makes it more fair,
but more compelling.
8. Everybody Needs an Editor!
Rewrite your rewrite - and always have others look at your work before it airs.
7. Understand Your Audience
Know what it important to them; know the issues, the biases
and be cognizant of your demographics.
6. Respect Your Craft
Broadcast Journalism is a craft. If you respect it, it will treat you well and reward you.
Work to get better every day. Learn from your mistakes
and be humble about your successes.
You are never as bad as you think you are and never as good as you want to be.
5. History is Important
Journalists come and go - we move from job to job, from town to town,
from neighborhood to neighborhood.
Your audience lives and works here. Know the history of a story, know the history
of your town and your beat.
4. Perspective Matters
Find it and write with it. Stories are told with context. If you have done your homework and told a story from two or three angles, and taken history into account, you will have perspective. Don't tilt the story, don't editorialize, don't judge.
Find perspective.
3. No Substitute for Hard Work
We're all well educated, we're all ambitious, we're all intelligent - those who succeed work a little bit harder than the rest of the crowd!
2. Know Your Role
Television is a team sport. If each person does the job individually, on a daily basis, as well as he or she can, we have a good product. A good product every day means a better working atmosphere and most likely better ratings. We may not always like what we're asked to do every single day, but do it happily and well and everybody wins.
1. HAVE FUN!
This is the most fascinating and rewarding profession. You meet interesting people every single day and no two days are ever alike. The audience responds very well to people who seem to like what they're doing and who exude it.
Enjoy the Ride!
For more information on how
JOHN SHRADER
can help you
and your news department write to:
John
Shrader Media
PO Box 53778
San Jose, CA 95153
Email: john@johnshradermedia.com
Web site: www.johnshradermedia.com
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