In my former life as an investigative producer for NBC news in South Carolina I didn't enjoy the luxuries of a full-time producer to help me enterprise and properly research my stories. Our newsroom budget was too small for that, as was the Charleston market. Working in Houston however, as a special projects producer for a number of local stations, I relished the short weeks and high pay I enjoyed helping the "big-market" reporters complete their stories. Well, those days are gone for all but the network investigative journalists. Even top five media markets have pared their newsroom budgets down razor-thin.
Why should you care? Because this is the perfect opportunity to put your reporter hat on and build a story with more editorial influence than ever before! When we first started helping reporters in Houston with story ideas a few years back- all we had to offer was the story angle and a lawyer's name. These days reporters call us all the time with a simple but desperate question, "What's going on?". Reporters are expected to bring at least two story ideas to the news director's morning and afternoon meeting every day. Turning stories on their own with no help from producers and enterprising story ideas is hard work! Reporters demand more now than story ideas and lawyer names. Reporters want a victim that will speak, data, websites for reference, visual opportunities and background. If you can offer all of this you can get a story out that reflects your side. Put your pieces together and call a reporter!
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