Correct! All of these can help you learn more and follow the money while covering the manufacturing beat.

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Correct! Finding people to interview at a factory without a union can be difficult, but that doesn’t mean you give up. Search social media sites for people in your area that have the company in their profiles. Ask your friends and professional contacts whom they know. Then try the old-fashioned way: go to the bar, coffee shop, or cafe near the factory and have plenty of business cards handy.

Correct! Resist the urge to follow the pack. The story you don’t do often says more about your news organization than the one you do.

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Correct! As with any industry, manufacturing has its own language, and understanding it will help you get the most out of your sources.

Correct! Broad economic measurements have a direct impact on manufacturing. For example, the automobile industry closely tracks what happens with employment, consumer confidence, and housing, since a car is the second-biggest purchase consumers can make, after a home.

Correct! Factories exist throughout the country in small and large cities alike. In fact, some areas are so dominated by their manufacturers that they become company towns – a place where practically all stores and housing are owned by a single company that is also the main employer.

Correct! While NAM is understandably pro-manufacturing, it’s worth checking out the data on its site.

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