Whats the best general career advice you can give a daily newspaper reporter?
I already said that I don’t do advice that well, and I’ve already offered more than I should have. So I’ll pass on two of the best tips I’ve ever heard, both from other journalists. You should attribute the tips to them. First, Tom Heslin, at The Providence Journal, told a group of us on our first day of work in Rhode Island something I try to remember every shift. He said, and I’m paraphrasing, “there’s this thing that you need to do between reporting and writing. It’s called ‘thinking.'” The second tip comes from Jeffrey Fleishman, of the L.A. Times, who had advice on where to find the best stories in a crowded beat. He said, “always zag.” A lot of us wish we lived up to that one better. I know I do. Steven Ward is a staff writer at The (Baton Rouge, La.) Advocate where he covers general assignment news in the paper’s river parishes bureau. An Operation Desert Storm veteran of the U.S. Navy, Ward also freelances for magazines and webzines.
