associatedpressreportinghandbook.pptVIP

Associated PressReporting Handbook General Assignment or Specialization Chapter 8 General Assignment? Larry McShane: Helped cover the trial of Sean “Puffy” Combs Winter weather stories Mayor Rudolph Giuliani He went to Boston to write about fugitive mobster James “Whitey” Bulger. McShane is a general assignment reporter in the AP’s New York City bureau. Specialization? Marcia Dunn Wrote stories about the space shuttle The international space station A rich American’s efforts to buy a seat on the shuttle She went to Russia to cover a launch Marcia Dunn has been the AP’s aerospace writer since 1990. Dunn: “I really had a desire to make contacts and follow something thoroughly.” “There’s such satisfaction in that. I really had the urge to become a so-called expert in one area and just write the heck out of it.” “There’s always something new.” “Always a new angle.” “Every day you can’t anticipate what this day will bring.” McShane says what appeals to him about general assignment is, “coming in to do something different every day.” He prefers “a nice mix.” He has developed some area of expertise, like organized crime -- and “humor.” “If you know the right people to talk to, or you can find out relatively quickly it really doesn’t matter what you’re writing about.” AP President Lou Boccardi says: Beat reporting brings “an expertise to your subject …” that helps people understand. Imagine sending a general assignment reporter to write a story on the national budget. Boccardi: “The phrase I like to use is to ‘report with authority.’” And, write without veering off into opinion. Boccardi on general assignment: There will always be a need for general assignment reporters. The ideal, now and in the future, is a reporter with a literate liberal arts background along with some specialized expertise acquired in or out of school. “I think one of the things that some people find interesting in journalists is that they can talk about anything for four minutes. And maybe that’s not