Reporter's notebook: covering the automotive industry

Sarah Webster has been covering the automotive industry for the Detroit Free Press for almost six years.
Covering companies that include Ford in a state that relies so heavily on the industry is intense and challenging. It requires a reporter who can develop good sources and one who stays on top of daily breaking news.
Within the last month alone, Sarah has tackled stories about Ford reporting a loss of $2.7 billion in 2007, the launch of the new F-150 and about the buyout packages the company is offering its employees.
And just today, her newspaper ran a story detailing Ford's plans to possibly build their new subcompact car, the Verve, in Mexico.
"With all its complexities, the automotive beat in Detroit can be absolutely unrelenting in its challenges and twists and turns," Sarah said. "One day, you could be writing about a new product. And on any another, you could be covering a labor dispute, a massive layoff, the recall of a truck, a major shift in corporate strategy or examining whether a company has the cash it needs to get through the year."
Sarah's beat sometimes has her covering major global stories. She's also competing with other major news outlets like The Wall Street Journal and The New York Times.
For well-reported stories, Sarah must ask executives tough questions and work with public relations departments who are paid big money to protect their companies' reputations.
"The automotive industry, and the three automakers based in Detroit, are truly global in nature," Sarah said. "Given that fact, and the importance of the automakers to Michigan’s economy, there is a high level of importance and allure to covering the industry. You’re competing against the best of the best -- not just in Detroit, but nationwide and, really, around the world."
Sarah says to succeed as an automotive reporter you must be confident, resilient and savvy. She found this out quickly after moving from the health care beat in 2002.
Now she has photos of herself asking questions of Ford CEO Alan Mulally, United Auto Workers President Ron Gettelfinger and former Chrysler CEO Wolfgang Bernhard.
"Developing the right sources is only one small part of the equation in Detroit," she said. "You have to be able to read people, observe, think and find a way to get the information you need, even from people who don’t want to give it to you.
To read some of Sarah's recent stories click here.