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Take Newsy Notes
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Sep19

Take Newsy Notes

posted by Indrani Sen

The best reporters return from every assignment with a notebook stuffed with quotes, information and sensory detail — the raw material we need to build a story. But how do we fill those notebooks? One of the most difficult skills for new reporters to pick up is also one of the most basic — note-taking. Every reporter has his or her own systems for note-taking, which start with some nuts-and-bolts decisions: Reporter’s notebook or steno pad? Ballpoint or roller ball? Shorthand or cursive? To record or not? Try a few combinations and figure out what feels most comfortable for you over a long day of reporting. In 2007, I asked some professional journalists to explain their note-taking systems and offer tips. Please add your own in the comments below! Taking Notes: A selection of tips and advice from working journalists (Compiled by Indrani Sen in 2007) Ann Givens, Newsday reporter: A journalism professor of mine once gave me this tip, and I’ve used it here and there: Before you go out on an interview, prepare a handful of throwaway questions in addition to your good ones. Then, when you’re behind in your note taking, toss out a throwaway question and just let the person talk while you’re finishing up writing. But I think the REAL skill that everyone develops over time is just the ability to know a great quote when a person says it, and then just tune everything else out while you get it down. I think we all tend to feel like we need a zillion quotes when we’re out in the field, but when we get back and write, we realize we only need 2-3 for most stories. So the trick is catching the great ones, and then not worrying...

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