persistence | 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.

Continue reading →

Apple alone on bare tree. Image by Rodger Evans — Tenacity image by Rodger Evans

In the third of a series of post on seven habits often associated with good journalism I look at how persistence and tenacity can be taught in journalism training — and why it should be.

One of the earliest skills that broadcast journalists learn is how to conduct a vox pop. The vox pop is an attempt to ‘take the pulse’ of the public on a topical issue: the journalist will stand in a busy public place and ask passers-by to share their thoughts on the issue of the day.

The results will typically be used as part of a news package (not, it should be pointed out, as a standalone story), particularly when the news story in question doesn’t have many other interviews or visuals to draw on. Most are quickly forgotten. Continue reading →