Sourcing from Scratch

By Kelly Carr

Beginning a new assignment, a fresh beat filled with endless story possibilities, can be exhilarating. But it also means facing an empty rolodex.

Gone is the public relations officer who would grab an official at a moment’s notice for an interview with you. The locals with endless story tips are in a completely different town, far away from the new company you’ve been assigned to cover. And if that’s not enough to shake your confidence, you realize people don’t yet trust you. It takes longer to get simple questions answered. It’s a struggle to find unique stories.

After I switched beats, I re-evaluated how I had built sources and credibility in the past. I quickly realized that the way I had approached this challenge before, as a young reporter fresh out of college, was much more effective than the comfort zone I had slipped into.

As a cub reporter, I was always scouring the city, dropping business cards everywhere and stopping to have conversations with garbage men, construction workers and anyone else who would listen.  

But after I built up my sources, after I knew my beat well, I didn’t continue using those techniques as much as I should have. Now with my sources stripped away, I had to begin again. It was time to go back to the basics.

Here are a few methods I’ve found useful when trying to build sources and credibility on a new business beat. If you practice these regularly, I promise, your source list will continue to grow.

Charting and Observing – After you are assigned your new beat, take a day to map it out. If it’s a company, dissect the inside of the building. Identify who works on each floor. Pay attention to where employees go to lunch and get their morning coffee. Sit quietly and observe the new area or topic you’ve been assigned to from different viewpoints: in the early morning, afternoon and at night. Chart what people look like, what they wear and how they interact. Treat your new beat as a research project, listing all the areas and people you must make contact with and pay attention to. And don’t forget the fringe areas of your beat, pay close attention to areas that might not seem as obvious, they are often a goldmine for sources.

Business Cards and Meetings – After you’ve combed through your beat’s infrastructure, hit the streets with your business cards. Make yourself this promise -- each day you will give out at least 10 business cards. And don’t just save your cards for executives or other powerful people you’ve marked as important. Hang them on bulletin boards and hand them to residents walking down the street, to maintenance workers; put them in the palms of coffee shop workers nearby the businesses you cover. As you give away cards, schedule as many “meet and greet” meetings as you can.

Hanging Out - To develop sources hang out on your beat even if you’re not pursing a story. Get out of the office and browse through stores. Eat lunch where business men and company executives dine. If you have mail to drop off or grocery shopping to do, hit the places in close proximity to your coverage area.  You don’t always have to be “on the job.” Relax, put your notebook away and conversations with strangers will come with ease.  Lane DeGregory, a reporter for the St. Petersburg Times, once explained to a group of reporters that she finds most of her stories in the bars on her beat.  She takes time to sit in watering holes talking to people. Undoubtedly many become sources, leading her to under-the-radar stories.

Following Up – A reporter I used to work with has been reassigned so many times, she’s become an expert on re-establishing sources. Her advice: at the end of every interview ask,  “What else is going on that’s not being covered?” Even if a story doesn’t come out exactly when you ask, the source will realize that you care and when something does break, they’ll remember you. Also, call people on your beat to talk, even when you don’t specifically need something for a story. The more conversations, the more people will see that you care and the more relaxed they will feel talking to you.

No Burning, Accuracy and Fairness - Veteran reporters, the ones with rolodexes packed full of sources, will tell you they’ve kept their contacts because they’ve maintained honest relationships. If you allow someone to share tips with you off-the-record, keep your promise. Let people know they can call and share information, snippets that you will listen to without always immediately publishing a story. On the flip side, remind your sources that while you may build a relationship, ultimately it’s not a friendship, you’re a reporter. Sometimes sticky situations arise and the best way to maintain trust is to let people know what you’re intentions are and to stick to your word. And above all, be accurate and fair. That’s the quickest way to gain trust. 

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