passion | Online Journalism Blog

Freedom of Information (FOI) requests are not only one of the best ways to get original and exclusive stories that set your reporting apart — they’re also a good way to develop core journalism habits like curiosity, scepticism, and creativity. Here are some tips on how to get started with FOI while developing those qualities.

Being curious: how often is this happening? How much has it increased?

Headlines:
Rising numbers of hospital patients so fed up they discharge themselves
Figures reveal how many lives firefighters have saved
Welsh parents owe thousands in school dinner debts — All these stories involve asking the question “how much” or “how many” about an issue or event

Headlines:
How the cost of paying up is sending bailiffs' diaries wild
Council use of bailiffs to chase debts jumps 16% in two years
Acid attack hospital admissions have almost doubled
Student Loans Company overcharges 78,000 graduates
Schools converting to academies cost councils £30m — All these stories involve asking the question “how much” or “how many” about an issue or event

Curiosity is the first quality I identified in my series on the 7 habits of successful journalists — and FOI is a great way to hone that.

One good way to get started with FOI is to identify an event or problem that you’ve read about, and get curious about it: how many times is that event happening? How much is that problem costing? These are perfect questions for FOI.

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Most journalists are restless voyeurs who see the warts on the world, the imperfections in people and places. . . . gloom is their game, the spectacle their passion, normality their nemesis.

Over the last few weeks I’ve been exploring the habits of successful journalists that are often described as being “innate” or “unteachable”: from curiosity and scepticism, persistence and empathy, to creativity and discipline. In this final post I look at a quality underpinning them all: passion.

Are journalists only ever born with a passion for their craft — or is it something that can be taught?

Of all the seven habits that have been explored in this series, passion is perhaps the one that seems most innate — a quality that you “either have or don’t have”.

Can we teach passion? Well, we can provide the reasons why someone might be passionate about their craft — we can inspire passion and we can create opportunities to experience the things that have stimulated passion in others. Continue reading →