Past The 'Keeper

Find your niche.

A big part of Grant Paulsen’s speech in class today was to find a niche for what you love to do. If you love the Washington Redskins for example — like he does — you should find a specific aspect of the team that you enjoy following. That way you will be “a little bit different than everyone else.”

The things that Grant say should stick in any young journalists mind. Why? Just check out who he really is.

As a reporter, you must be credible. That is the real difference between a reporter and an opinionated talk show host. They could talk all day long, but it is only their personal opinion.  It is not anything that is 100% factual.

The bottom line — you cannot be wrong as a reporter. You must accurately report every single story you break to the world — and there should be a lot in order to be credible.

“I’d rather get it best than get it first.” <<< That is a great quote to live by as a reporter.

You don’t just want to be the first to break a story. You want to be right, even if it is later than the other reporter who made something of the same story before you.

• DON’T BE WRONG.

Another good point: Be versatile with how you break stories. The quickest way to reach out to an audience is to go straight to the internet. Putting the story in the newspaper, a magazine, etc. is great — but it won’t give you the credibility you deserve for getting the story out quickest and accurate.