Keeping Pace with 'Round-the-Clock Business Coverage

Once upon a time, business journalists were typically of one stripe or another. If you were a wire service reporter, you kept an eye focused upon your keyboard furiously typing out the latest economic report or Financial Services Committee testimony while the other was fixed upon the clock. Timely filing was everything and you could update later. If you were a daily newspaper reporter, you had most of the day to make calls and scour documents, and you got busy in late afternoon writing for the evening deadline, but you only had one shot at the story, so you'd better work on the angle. And if you were one of the truly fortunate ones, a writer for a weekly or monthly business magazine, you had plenty of time to conduct lengthy interviews, cajole sources and write beautiful prose.

Now, many business journalists find themselves playing all of these roles -- often in the same day or week. That is because electronic journalism -- which nearly all media outlets now practice -- have made speed and agility and "real-time filing" a requirement, even for those business journalists who still write for daily newspapers or weekly or even monthly magazines. Having a continually updated Web site is a must for nearly all publications and the economic strains that most media outlets are facing have caused them to turn to their current staffs and ask for more.

Though this has led to no small amount of grumbling among writers and the editors who must move all this copy, there are some ways to cope, and even to make this work for you. The old saying goes that a daily newspaper story is a first draft of history. Well, the Web filings on the way to that story are an even earlier draft -- and can help you make later drafts that much more rich and compelling.

But first....

THE REALITY
It's happening. If you aren't already a wire service reporter or editor at some point in the cycle, you will be soon. Mainstream media outlets like newspapers are marketing their Web sites to subscribers, non-subscribers and advertisers as niche products -- having something that others don't have. With local news, that means being first on the story as well as complete at some point. And it means targeting areas of coverage that other media outlets -- especially TV -- may not be covering, and that means business news. Sometimes local business reporters will be competing with national news outlets to be "first" on a local business story, other times you will be updating a national business or economic story (stock market tumult, Fed rates, national white-collar conviction) with a local angle to give your Web site something unique.

For other publications, such as my employer, Congressional Quarterly, it means further "building out" areas of coverage that subscribers are willing to pay handsomely for because they need it to do their work. The latest congressional hearing testimony or markup activity, with amendments and what's-next-in-the-other-chamber analysis, is real-time news that subscribers -- and advertisers -- will pay for, meaning it will be added to our to-do list in terms of coverage.

And wire service or real-time correspondent are not the only hats that business journalists are adding to their collection. We're becoming instant analysts for radio, TV and Web casts, in this era of branding -- getting our publications' names out there on the screen -- be it CNN, CNBC, or Marketplace radio or CBSMarketwatch.com, all of who use business journalists from other publications to offer commentary and provide their version of the story. This sometimes means doing additional research for the particular medium, but more often than not it requires the skill of distilling what you're writing about in print and online and making it smart and compelling in just the few minutes you'll have.

In some places, business journalists are becoming their own broadcast units -- taking video cameras to breaking events and sending back video so that it can be uploaded. More often, business reporters are sending real-time alerts and feeds via Blackberries and other devices to allow Web producers back in the office to alert (often paying) subscribers to breaking events via their electronic devices. These headlines are then sent out before a longer story can be sent over the Web or broadcast.

THE CHALLENGE
Sometimes this is a bit dizzying. In one recent busy legislative day at CQ (with "dual-chamber" action on both the war-spending appropriations bill and the fiscal 2008 budget resolution, as well as some markups in the financial services committees) I moved six alerts, four Web stories from legislative action, two of which were updated several times through the day, four stories for the next day's daily publication, and later in the week based on this action, four magazine stories off these events. That's a lot of copy. And the reporters were having to update as they moved through the day, meaning we had to be in constant contact about what was next.

Obviously, the potential for errors and misrepresentations increases with the speed and amount of copy being moved off the business desk. It's important to put into effect -- and hire more folks if necessary -- the same procedures you have for double-checking facts and figures, and careful word and fact editing and copy-editing, that you do for regular copy. That can be challenging when everything is moving fast. Just like with the AP, where one continually sees "second-lede writethrough" and subbing of paragraphs, you'll need to stay in touch with reporters who are moving copy to send through updates, clarifications and sometimes corrections. The good news is that it's easy to update things on the Web and real-time; though it's best to be updating with additional information, rather than to be taking down stories or changing whole sections of pieces because everyone was too rushed.

THE OPPORTUNITY
For business journalists, this is a chance to get the facts of your story to readers via real-time updates and use this as "starter dough" for your next day's story or longer-term piece. Earlier in the day, you've already reported the boiler-plate earnings information, with a quote and a bit of instant analysis. For the next day, you can build on that to move the story forward, with more analysis and context, and more detailed information once you've been able to get some experts on the phone. The initial "what am I going to say?" jitters are gone, you already have the outline of your story written. And, as a bonus, it's already been edited once and been through the copy desk -- so you don't have to rework everything and look up the numbers again; you're free to concentrate on the bigger picture, and polishing your piece for the next day.

Another bonus is that once your story is posted, you may get calls or attention from those who have seen it and want to comment. Once of the benefits of "instant news" is that sources see what you've posted, know you're working on the piece and may have more of a reason to return your calls. This is especially helpful for long-term pieces, where the source can see that you're committed to this coverage, and they have a chance to see what you're writing as you go along.

Regarding commentary on radio and TV, this is a way not only to trumpet the name of your news organization and enjoy a few minutes in the spotlight, but given the breveity these spots force upon typically wordy print journalists, to learn to find the essence of your story. This can help you become a tighter writer for print and the Web. It also causes sources to come out of the woodwork.

AND FIVE TIPS FOR MAKING THIS WORK FOR YOU AS A BUSINESS JOURNALIST
Here's five ways to try to keep yourself and for editors, the business journalists on your staff, from being swallowed up by the 24-hour biz journalism cycle.

1) Be realistic and don't sacrifice quality for timeliness and quantity. Be clear with your editors and with others in the newsroom responsible for 24-hour news -- such as Web producers -- about how much time you need to write even a short breaking news story for electronic publication. See if a Web producer can write the first take off the basic news to have something posted right away (often possible with legislative information) and then send an update as soon as you're able. And if you have to write a story for the next day's paper, be clear about when you need to start turning to the overnight story and will have to stop updating to give you time for that. (Web readership of many news sites, like CQ and business sites readers use for their jobs, often drops off precipitously when the workday ends, so there may be diminishing returns to doing more updates after a certain hour.)

2) Seek clear priorities for news production. Get clear direction when an alert and Web story is necessary, and when it is optional. Make clear when decisions may have to be made about production -- if you're writing Web stories for three days in a row, you may not be able to finish that complicated weekender -- and when you may need help from others. See how important being on radio and TV is to your editors and find ways for them to help you manage these priorities.

3) View the real-time updates as "starter dough." Don't reinvent the wheel and start from scratch, use what you've already posted (it is your material after all and again, it's edited) as the basis for a more contextual piece. This way you're building upon what you've already done, and nothing goes to waste. Editors can use this as a management tool as well, encouraging that very early draft of history.

4) Get the electronic equipment you need. If you're constantly filing alerts, demand a Blackberry or other instant messaging device. If you are often being asked to do live broadcast feeds, talk to your IT department about getting a newsroom camera station with instant feeds to select broadcast outlets. And seek training on these devices, especially broadcast equipment that may be unfamiliar to print journalists. If your newsroom doesn't have the proper training, ask to go outside to get it.

5) Make the most of this. Though it can be a dizzying ride, it's a lot of fun, too, and can pay dividends for your career. Blogs get noticed and can help make you a star. TV appearances can give you an air of authority and help with sources. And sometimes, it's not worth your time to write a long piece on a business topic, but putting together a Web update to stay up to date with the competition and to fill out your knowledge a bit on a specific topic may be all that's needed. It's exciting that business journalism has become part of the 24-hour-news culture; finding your niche in electronic publishing can make you a better-rounded business journalist and can open up career opportunities both within your newsroom and outside it.

Copyright © 2008 Donald W. Reynolds National Center for Business Journalism