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Writing begins with an idea. During a trip to the ocean, a writer is fascinated with the porpoises that periodically surface and roll as they travel offshore. She wants to write about porpoises. But she needs more than just her observa- tions to write a factual, accurate, complete, and entertaining article. She must learn more.

Gathering information is like detective work. As a sleuth, you start with a clue. Step by step you add pieces until you have enough information to recon- struct events and solve the case. As a writer, you add to your knowledge until you can create an accurate and complete summary of the topic.

Writers, like detectives, gather information from research, interviews, and observations. Also, like detectives, writers gather a broad array of informa- tion to ensure their searches are objective. Such work is called reporting. Research—or reporting—allows writers to study what others have already found out. That information might be in books, magazines, letters, statistical abstracts, encyclopedias, databases, blogs, or any number of other print or electronic sources. Writers can access thousands of documents using online Web search engines or commercial databases. More and more information is added to the free, easy-to-use Web every day. But it’s important to remember that much of the best information in databases can’t be found on the Web. Reporters often team with news librarians who have information-tracking skills to develop breaking news and long investigative pieces.

Armed with facts retrieved in research, writers can continue reporting by interviewing expert and relevant sources who add personal comment on the topic. Personal reflections give context and interest to facts, and interviews can confirm or verify online or library research. Interviewing, quotes, and attribu- tion are discussed in Chapter 10.

Research and Observation

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Writers also take time to note their observations as part of their reporting. Student writers are sometimes reluctant to include their impressions for fear they will appear too subjective. They must overcome that fear. In the porpoise story, the writer would be remiss not to describe the rolling action of the sleek, gray mammals as they break water a hundred yards off the beach. Audiences want to know what the animals look like and how thrilled the author is at seeing a school of several dozen porpoises dotting the waves as they surface for air.

In this chapter, you will learn

■ how to develop search strategies that will mine print and online resources, ■ what specific sources to consider, ■ the plusses and minuses in online and other research, and ■ how observation is a part of gathering information.

Getting Started

Writers start out as generalists; they know a little about a lot of subjects. Some develop specialties or subject areas they prefer. Whether they are newspaper or electronic media reporters, public relations practitioners, or advertising copywriters—whether they cover general assignment topics or special beats, such as business, medicine, sports, or environment—writers need to do research as the first step in reporting. A medical writer may know medical terminology, but if he wants to write about autism he must become knowledgeable about the topic. A government reporter must learn about the newly elected members of Congress before she goes to the opening session.

Writers need to find information that is accurate, relevant, and up to date. Time is their greatest enemy. Most writers have deadlines and limited time to devote to research, particularly if they write for daily publications. So they need to find information quickly and efficiently.

Librarians can save you time, develop search strategies, and expand source lists. As the librarian at the School of Journalism and Mass Communication at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, Barbara Semonche developed a dozen guides for students in the quest to find information. She notes:

You can be certain of two things: either you will find useful information efficiently or you will not. You will find too much information or too little. Your success will depend, to a certain extent, upon the quality of your search strategies. The other part is finding the best reference sources.

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For UNC–Chapel Hill students, Semonche wrote a “first steps in basic research” handout that cautions:

The resources available to students, scholars, journalists, and the general public

are staggering in variety and amount. Nevertheless, not every question has a

simple, direct, fast, comprehensive and/or accurate answer. Further, different

reference books and resources offer differing responses, accounts, and statistics

for the same or similar queries. . . . It is essential that students develop a growing

and diverse repertoire of reference/research sources and information strategies.

She recommends that students build their own personal set of reference mate- rials. On her list are a dictionary (“the best you can afford”); a thesaurus; several style and usage manuals; the current year of Statistical Abstract of the United States; the current year of The World Almanac of Facts; the current year of The Almanac of American Politics; several books of quotations; a good atlas or gazetteer; and a good math textbook, “preferably one that does math the ‘old’ way.” Students should also get into what she calls the “browse habit” and seek new, unfamiliar references.

Developing a Strategy

To be successful in research, you need a strategy to find information. Once you have defined your topic, you must make a list of questions, identify obvious sources, conduct searches for additional sources, review those sources for additional leads, refine your questions, and then interview.

Let’s say you are a medical reporter and want to write a story on child- hood immunizations. You first must make a list of the information you need to know, such as the following questions:

Initial Question List for Story on Childhood Immunizations

Who has to be immunized? What are the state laws? What shots do children have to have? At what ages do children get which shots? Are there any reactions to the shots? How much do the shots cost at a doctor’s office? Can children get shots at public health clinics? How much do they cost?

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Where are the clinics here? What are the hours for immunizations? How many local children register for school and aren’t immunized? Is this a problem locally? Have any other diseases surfaced locally? Why are children not immunized?

Additional Questions after Research

What are the risks to children who aren’t immunized? Do children ever die from immunizations? What are the reactions parents can expect after a child gets a shot? How many children in the state aren’t immunized properly when they start school? How many immunizations are given each year in the state? In our county? What childhood diseases are appearing again? How much of the cost of immunizations does the government pay? Do we consider some diseases eradicated? Fifty years ago, children suffered from mumps, measles, and even polio. Now children can be protected against even chicken pox. Are we too complacent about a resurgence of diseases? Are there any diseases left that children need to be protected from? If a certain number of children are immunized, does that protect other children, as in the herd effect? What factors prevent parents from having children immunized at the proper time? What immunizations do college students need?

The obvious sources for answers to these questions would be newspaper and journal indexes, articles and information at online health sites, pediatricians, and local health department and school officials. You would also interview experts and agency officials.

Eventually your source list grows to include state health officials, state statutes that stipulate which immunizations children must have to enter school, officials at the Centers for Disease Control, legislators who allocate funds for immunizations, parents, and even children. You refine your list of questions for each source and prepare to interview your sources.

Your search strategy is similar if you are writing a story for your alumni magazine on a graduate whose first novel has been published. She is an

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assistant professor at a college in another state. Before the interview, you need to find information on the author. Most students and writers today go to the Internet first and use a search engine to find information. Such a search might reveal biographical information on her publisher’s Web site. Check your library for Contemporary Authors, a biographical guide to current writers in fiction, journalism, film, television, and other fields.

If you can find no accessible biographical history, you will have to rely on a strategy that includes interviewing former professors, roommates, colleagues, friends, and family members. You might have to call the English department where she teaches and have someone fax her curriculum vitae. You might have to consult newspaper indexes in public libraries in her home state to find specific articles about her. If one source indicates an organization to which she belongs, you might need to look for references with that organization. Articles about the organization could include material about your up-and-coming author.

Basic References

As you search for information, your journey might include online searching as well as a trip to a special collections library to pore through historical docu- ments. Many basic print sources are available online. You can find out which ones by exploring virtual libraries, such as the Librarians’ Internet Index at http://lii.org. Librarian Barbara Semonche’s basic reference list mentioned earlier in this chapter is an excellent starting point. Writers should always remember basic sources such as telephone books, city directories, and collec- tions of people by occupation, political affiliation, or other activities. From there, more specialized references can tell you the meaning of certain acronyms, such as MASH for Mobile Army Surgical Hospital, or even real estate terms, such as escrow.

Today’s researchers and writers use hundreds of sources and always must be sure sources are credible and updated. Listed here are some types of publi- cations that writers traditionally have relied on for information. Remember: Most publications have Web sites.

Biographical Sources. Biographical references contain information about well-known people. Some are specific, such as Who’s Who in American Politics. The information will include date of birth, parents’ names, education, career, awards and achievements, and family data. Among other biographical sources are Who’s Who, Webster’s Biographical Dictionary, Current Biography, Who’s Who

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among African Americans, and Who’s Who among Hispanic Americans. More than 100 biographical dictionaries exist, each focusing on a special group or profession.

Statistical Information. Statistical Abstract of the United States is one of the most widely used reference books and is online. It provides information from the number of police officers in Albuquerque, New Mexico, to the number of houses with indoor plumbing in Lincoln, Nebraska. Data are based on in- formation collected by the federal government and other sources. The Census of Population of the United States is published every 10 years. Census informa- tion is available on the Internet at www.census.gov. Editor and Publisher Market Guide contains data on cities, such as a city’s shopping malls and whether its water is fluoridated. Most states compile statistical books, partic- ularly those dealing with vital statistics: births, deaths, marriages, and divorces. Writers can find information on states, counties, cities, and even sections within cities that is especially helpful if they are looking for the local angle on a story. For international information, writers can consult the United Nations Demographic Yearbook.

Political and Government Information. The U.S. Government Manual con- tains information on departments and agencies in the executive branch. Congressional Quarterly publishes a weekly report that catalogues the voting records of Congress and major political speeches. States annually publish man- uals that contain information about branches of government and legislatures, summaries of the state history, the state constitution, and biographies of major state officials. Information on foreign governments and leaders can be found in reference books, such as The Statesman’s Yearbook 2008: Politics, Cultures and Economies of the World and other publications that focus on world leaders. Remember to check for online sites, too.

Geographic Data. Writers might need to check on the locations of cities, towns, and countries. They can refer to local maps or the Times Atlas of the World and Rand McNally Commercial Atlas and Marketing Guide. Online sites, such as mapquest.com, will guide writers to locations and even provide maps and directions to get there. Writers can find up-to-date maps of continents and regions at sites such as World Sites Atlas at www.sitesatlas.com or National Geographic at www.nationalgeographic.com.

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Business Information. Writers might need data on a company or an industry, and students might need information on a potential employer. Today’s competi- tive companies usually have extensive and interactive Web sites. Research on companies could also be found in annual reports, on file in many libraries.

Information on thousands of companies can be found at the Securities Exchange Commission Web site at www.sec.gov. Incorporation records must list officers, addresses, and company descriptions, and these documents are filed with states’ secretary of state offices. Many businesses fall under the purview of state regulatory agencies, such as the state insurance commissioner. Information on companies can also be found in reference books, such as Standard & Poor’s Index. Also, for company information that can lead reporters to sources, check out the American Press Institute’s site for business writers at www.businessjournalism.org.

Professional Sources. In any search for information sources, writers should consider professional organizations such as societies, guilds, and associations. These sources often have links or references to other depositories of informa- tion and can provide updates on media issues, contact names, and historical background and serve as a means to verify facts. Before writing about trends in real estate, reporters will want to look at NationalAssociationOfRealtors.com and at related sites for local and regional Realtors. Similar sites are available on thousands of organizations that serve particular interests such as medicine, law, construction, government workers, architects, and others.

For background on professional issues in journalism and mass communica- tion, some sites worth checking are the Poynter Institute at www.poynter.org; the American Society of Newspaper Editors at www.asne.org; the Inter American Press Association at www.sipiapa.org; Nieman Reports at www.nieman.harvard. edu; Public Relations Society of America at www.prsa.org; American Advertising Federation at www.aaf.org; Association of Electronic Journalists at www.rtnda.org; Investigative Reporters and Editors at www.ire.org; and Society of Professional Journalists at www.spj.org. Journalism organizations and issues also are a focus of UNITY: Journalists of Color at www.unityjournalists.org.

Pitfalls in Research

The hunt for information can be complex. Librarian Barbara Semonche warns that not all information comes in a compact, convenient form. At the start of a search, students may discover people who share the same names as celebrities,

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such as basketball star Michael Jordan, television personality David Letterman, or even McDonald’s mascot Ronald McDonald. Researchers must check to be sure that the person named on records or documents is in fact the same person they seek.

Information may be dated or incomplete. For example, early biogra- phies of actor Brad Pitt would fail to include the correct number and names of his children. Students and other researchers must remember that not every reference includes every individual, and those that do may not have all the facts. Researchers must look at many sources, both print and online, to find complete information. Searching for information is rarely one-stop shopping. Using many sources helps uncover discrepancies and inconsisten- cies about information and ensure that information is as accurate as possible.

Writers should look continually for additional and alternative sources. The research game is a detective hunt. Names or sources mentioned in an article or in references can lead to nuggets of information elsewhere. The only constraints will be time and deadline pressure.

Government Sources

Local, state, and federal governments produce millions of pages of docu- ments every year, ranging from official findings, such as federal Food and Drug Administration studies, to county tax records and the disposition of local traffic cases. Most government documents are open and accessible to the public. Many are free by mail on request, and others are available at the city hall, the county courthouse, a regional federal repository, online, or the Library of Congress. They provide a wealth of information for writers and curious citizens.

Government officials and others have taken advantage of the information age to put reams of material online. Agencies maintain their own Web sites that provide history, facts about elected officials, agendas and minutes of meet- ings, and other relevant data. For information on legislation, try THOMAS, a congressional online system; Congressional Record; congressional legislation digests; and directories of congressional members’ e-mail addresses. Even the White House has its own Web site featuring news releases of the day, speech transcripts, and access to federal agencies. ISB

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Public Records

Routine government documents are considered public. The documents have been created by the government, which is supported by taxpayers’ money. Researchers, writers, and anyone who wants the documents can request to see them or to have copies made. All states have laws that pertain to what is and what is not a public record. The general rule most journalists follow is that any document is considered a public record unless the agency or individual who has the document can cite the section of state or federal law that prevents its disclosure. If the agency cannot, it must relinquish the information.

Media writers should know the open records laws for their particular state. State press associations can provide the law and its exceptions. Publications such as The News Media and the Law, published by the Reporters Committee for Freedom of the Press, can be consulted. The Electronic Frontier Foundation is a valuable resource and can be accessed via the Internet.

Agencies can charge a reasonable fee for photocopying documents. Most states have regulations pertaining to computer storage of public documents and reasonable charges for making copies or providing access to electronic information.

Freedom of Information Act

In 1966, the U.S. Congress passed the federal Freedom of Information Act (FOIA). The act became law in 1967 and has been amended five times. The law is much like state laws regarding public records. Anyone is allowed to make a written request for information from any federal agency, but not all informa- tion is available. The act provides broad exemptions, such as information relat- ing to national defense or foreign policy, internal personnel rules and practices of an agency, personnel and medical files that would constitute an invasion of privacy, information compiled for law enforcement purposes, and geophysical information such as that related to oil well locations.

In 1996 the Electronic Freedom of Information Act Amendments required federal agencies to release electronic files of certain types of records created after November 1, 1996. Because of the time needed to respond to requests for electronic data, the amendments extended the agencies’ required response time from 10 to 20 days. In 2002 amendments to the FOIA affected requests from foreign governments or any requester acting on behalf of a

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foreign government to any agency considered part of the government’s intelli- gence community. Changes under the “Open Government Act of 2007” further clarified government agencies’ duties in regard to FOIA requests.

The media have worked continually to reduce the number of exemptions to FOIA. Michael Gartner, former president of the American Society of Newspaper Editors, once lamented in a speech on national Freedom of Information Day that the name “Freedom of Information” implies the govern- ment is holding information hostage. He objected to many of the restrictions, particularly those that prevent publication of what the United States broad- casts to developing countries over the Voice of America. Homeland security concerns have added to difficulties in accessing information in some settings. To help with access, George Washington University houses the National Security Archive, a repository of government documents and declassified material at www.nsarchive.org. Its Web site notes that it “is also a leading advo- cate and user of the Freedom of Information Act.”

FOIA sets out the procedure for requesting information, the time required for an agency to respond, appeals procedures, and fees. Individuals must pay the cost of photocopying the information but can request a waiver of that cost if the release of the information is in the public interest. Writers or individuals seeking information under the act might be frustrated—delays can occur even when procedures are followed. The request must be specific and must be sent to the proper agency. When the information is uncovered, a reporter may receive a desired document, but with sections or entire pages inked out to protect exempted information. The reporter pays the cost of photocopying all pages—even the blackened ones.

FOIA searches can be time consuming and costly, but many journalists and researchers have used them to find information for fact-filled articles. For example, a student in an advanced reporting class filed an FOIA request with the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) to find out what kinds of complaints and how many had been lodged with the agency after singer Janet Jackson’s breast was exposed during the Super Bowl 2004 half- time performance. The student’s request was broad and asked for copies of the complaints. An FCC representative responded, asking for clarification and letting the student know that to provide copies of all the complaints— 500,000 plus—would cost more than $125,000. Needless to say, the student amended the request and asked for a sampling of the complaints, a request that cost her $100.

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Investigative Reporters and Editors presents awards each year to media that produce stories using public record searches and requests. Background on the award and award-winning stories are available at www.ire.org/foi/.

Online Research

Technology has changed the way writers collect, transmit, and share informa- tion. Distance from sources has become irrelevant. A public relations practi- tioner in Detroit can search online for background information on the success of drugs to treat acid reflux disease and e-mail it to a company official in Switzerland. Photographs and other color visuals can be e-mailed anywhere. Using a laptop, a reporter can write a breaking-news story and transmit it in a matter of seconds to the city desk 30 miles away.

A major change in recent years is how information is stored. People who began writing careers in the mid-1980s and earlier have seen phenomenal changes in the ways they seek information. In the “old days” before 1985, most searches for information centered on treks to libraries at a newspaper, city or county, university—wherever resource books were housed. People had to handle paper to get information.

Computers have allowed anyone who produces information to store it online so others can access it. When people get online, they search for infor- mation; download data, photos, or text to their computers; send e-mail, blog, or IM; or chat. Writers can call up information in a matter of seconds while sitting at computers in the office, at home, in the dorm, or in the library. Newspapers, books, magazines, library holdings, company profiles, and even job banks are online. Electronic indexes and databases offer citations, abstracts, and even full text records, and the number of databases available online grows daily in diversity and ease of access.

The ease of using the Internet and the breadth of information found there can lull novice reporters into a false sense of security in regard to accu- racy. As much as students and professional writers have come to depend on the Internet, they must still have some skepticism about what they find there. All Web sites are not created alike. With the proliferation of information has come discussion of issues on privacy, legal uses, copyright, and ethics (discussed in detail in Chapter 12). A helpful publication is Nora Paul’s Computer Assisted Research, published by the Poynter Institute in St. Petersburg, Florida. Updates are available online.

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Pitfalls of Online Research

Convenience is one of the advantages of online research, but some important concerns persist. Online, identities may be cloaked, expertise exaggerated, and content tweaked in such a way that critical errors go undetected. Because blogging and social network tools have made it easy for anyone to publish, writers must realize that not everything they read online is true, just like not everything they hear on the street is true. Writers must take specific measures to establish the accuracy and credibility of sources and sites. In Web Search Savvy: Strategies and Shortcuts for Online Research, author Barbara Friedman suggests Web-based content be evaluated with the following five criteria:

■ Accuracy. Impossible facts are a giveaway that a Web site is bogus, although some errors may simply be clerical. Yet if a site is riddled with spelling or grammar errors, it’s a safe bet the author has been careless with overall content, and the researcher should be wary of using the material. The quickest way to spot inaccurate information is to check Web-based content against traditional or nondigital sources.

■ Authority. What individual or organization claims responsibility for the site’s content, and does it have the proper credentials to speak authoritatively on this particular subject? Use a site’s contact informa- tion or a domain lookup, such as WHOIS or InterNic, to verify who’s behind a site.

■ Currency. Web sites may linger online long after their authors have stopped maintaining the content. Check the site for dates that indicate when the content was posted and last revised.

■ Audience. Determining the intended audience for a Web site will help you evaluate the usefulness of the information. A site about polit- ical campaigns designed for an audience of elected officials may be too complicated if you are writing for elementary school students.

■ Agenda. Whereas journalists are urged to remain impartial, in the online world everyone has an opinion. Bloggers, for example, publish views on a range of topics using personalized language that would be discouraged in traditional journalism. That bias is not intended to make you doubt a site, but rather understand its purpose. Knowing whether a Web site’s author is motivated by a personal or professional agenda helps you find a context for the information.

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Online research may be the first and most convenient choice for writers, but it is just one step in the research process. Taking the time to evaluate the integrity of Web-based content will go a long way in establishing your credibil- ity as a researcher and writer.

Additional Online Search Strategies

Writers can find information quickly by typing key words into search engines, the very basis of an online search strategy. But search engines still miss a lot of information. A 2001 study estimated that 400 to 550 times the amount of information existed on the “hidden” Web compared to the amount found with search engines. Some of the information not easily found is on commercial or fee-based sites or is stored in data formats that Web search engines cannot easily crawl.

When searching online, reporters should remember that most search engines have advanced search functions. Google, for example, offers a step-by- step guide on how to look more precisely for information on a topic by typing in appropriate search requirements.

Writers should also be aware of the growing number of virtual library consortia, which offer a state’s residents access to online library catalogues, ref- erence materials, and commercial online databases. Librarian Barbara Semonche notes that the consortia “are a rich resource for freelance writers, reporters, students, and researchers who need free or very low cost access to extensive, sophisticated information and data.”

For example, NCLIVE, the North Carolina Library link to the world at www.nclive.org, offers online access to complete articles from more than 4,000 newspapers, journals, and magazines, as well as indexing for more than 10,000 periodical titles. Galileo, Georgia’s virtual library at http://www.galileo.usg.edu/welcome/, provides secured access to licensed products. Some states’ virtual libraries are open only to educational institu- tions, including students, faculty, and staff, so writers need to find out the privileges for their particular states’ digital libraries.

What You Can’t Find Online

Writers today must remember that online information is a recent phenom- enon. Most history is buried in letters, memos, newspapers, magazines, and other written material not catalogued in online databases. When writer

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Nadine Cohodas began researching her book, Spinning Blues into Gold: The Chess Brothers and the Legendary Chess Records, she went hunting. Her research included visits to the Chicago neighborhoods where brothers Phil and Leonard Chess had offices and where the great blues singers performed.

Cohodas produced a book that brought information to readers they would not have gotten on their own. Finding the details required hours and hours of reading trade journals, such as Billboard and Cash Box, to understand the evolution of the record company; poring over Chicago newspapers; and scouring public records, such as old liquor licenses to trace the brothers’ busi- ness beginnings, city phone books and directories to confirm relevant addresses, and the Federal Communications Commission archive for details about their radio stations. “You have to love the hunt,” she said.

Every now and then, Cohodas had “eureka” moments when she found something that provided the telling detail for a piece of the story. For example, she needed information about the history of the Macomba Lounge, owned by the Chess brothers. She explains how she found it:

To find out what the Macomba Lounge had been, I photocopied about 30 pages of the Chicago Yellow Pages in the tavern listings, then read them one by one to find the same address. Lo and behold, the Congress Buffet showed up at 3905 S. Cottage. I used that name to request the liquor license for that venue so I could trace the history further.

Meanwhile, I found the only ad anyone knows of for the Macomba Lounge by going through the now defunct Chicago Bee week by week in the first or second year Leonard and Phil were in the club and that’s when I saw the ad—a sweet moment.

The result of nearly three years’ work was a fascinating account of two Polish immigrants who built a company promoting black singers, such as Muddy Waters, Chuck Berry, Bo Diddley, and Etta James. The New York Times Book Review named it one of the notable nonfiction books of 2000, and the book won the 2001 Blues Foundation “Keeping the Blues Alive” Award.

Observation

Observation—an old method of research—still is a key tool in gathering infor- mation. At the same time reporters note what speakers are saying, they should notice how speakers deliver their remarks, how they move their bodies, what

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they are wearing, and how the crowd reacts to their comments. Such details are part of the reporting process.

Many students and inexperienced writers, however, are reluctant to include too many details. They fear that audiences will doubt their descrip- tions. They believe using description borders on being subjective when, in fact, leaving out description might distort an event. For example, a story might reveal a speaker’s eloquence and pointed remarks on U.S. trade with China, but the reporter might not mention that only 22 people were seated in an audito- rium that holds 550 people. Although the speaker might have been eloquent, the speech’s title failed to attract a sizable audience.

Seeing Isn’t Enough

Many people notice their surroundings or the events happening around them in one dimension. They see. Rarely do people consciously smell, taste, hear, or touch their environment. Even using only sight, most people miss much of what goes on. So do writers. They have not trained themselves to observe events that happen simultaneously. At the state fair, a reporter might notice the lines in front of concessions but not see the child wailing for more cotton candy, the youth loaded with three bright green teddy bears, the overflowing garbage at a nearby trash can, and the cigarette hanging from the hawker’s lips. The unobservant writer does not smell the odor of fried dough, taste the grease in the air near the ferris wheel, hear the ping-ping from the shooting gallery, or feel the slap of heat from the barbecue cookers.

To be skillful observers, writers must hone all their senses. To be com- plete and successful writers, they must describe scenes to absent audiences. Even when viewers see events on television, they still need the reporter’s or news anchor’s observations. When television covers the annual Thanksgiving Day parade in New York City, for example, reporters must identify floats and provide background on performers. Viewers need the information to under- stand what they are seeing.

General Observation

Many people exist on autopilot. They drive the same route to work, live in the same house or apartment for years, and work in the same office. They become less and less observant. What about you?

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Any person or writer can sharpen observation skills. Try this experiment: Take a piece of paper. Describe what your roommate or friend wore to school or work today. Note colors and types of fabric, if possible. What did you eat for breakfast? Can you remember the smell as well as the taste? What about the color or feel? What sounds do you hear in this room? Can you name more than three?

Keep a notebook in your car, backpack, or pocket. Start recording what you see and hear in multidimensional ways. Use your cell phone to capture the visual and even audio. Although most people can note different sounds, it is harder to catch and record events happening simultaneously. The oft-told adage is that two people on a street corner would give two different accounts of an accident both witnessed. Think of ways to compare what you see with events or items that are common knowledge.

Remember the story on the burlesque queen? Writer Kathleen Hennessey uses simple language to describe Tempest Storm’s physical attributes from the color of her hair to her fingernail polish. She notes her fingers “tremble with frus- tration. They are aged, knotted by arthritis and speckled with purple spots under paper-thin skin.” Hennessey describes Storm’s apartment, including her exercise bike and the photos that catalogue her relationships. Readers get a sense of Storm’s physical surroundings as well as her philosophy of life.

How Observation Changes the Action. The act of reporting, of being an observer, might have the unintended effect of changing the behavior of an individual you are observing. Think about a friend who would rush to pick up living room clutter when you pull out your cell phone and take a picture. Your presence can change the way events unfold.

The same tendency holds true when reporters attend a meeting or a rally or when they participate in an online discussion. Their presence affects how people behave. The town council members sit up straighter and look busy when the public access television channel is airing the meeting. Rally organiz- ers look efficient and engaged when reporters approach. Store managers beam smiles of success on the first day of business.

The trick to accurate observing is to observe over time. Most people can maintain a facade for some time, but they cannot keep it up forever—even when they know a reporter is in the room. You might have to observe for more than a few minutes, taking notes or photographs unobtrusively. Two hours into a meeting, the mayor might forget the unobtrusive camera and rail against the accusations of an unhappy citizen.

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With advanced technology, people can be observed and recorded when they don’t know it. Those images can appear on video or photo-sharing Web sites, social networking sites, or other Internet venues—much to a person’s surprise. As a reporter, you must be careful not to invade an individual’s privacy, discussed in Chapter 12, as you record your observations. When people are involved in events considered public, such as a rally or a plane crash, they do lose their right to privacy. But if they are partying in the privacy of their apartment, then those actions cannot become visuals for a story taken surreptitiously with your cell phone.

Participant Observation

Social scientists have long used observation as a means of getting information about groups. They join a group as participants to observe individual behavior within a group and the individuals’ interactions. Journalists also have adopted the practice, gaining admission and recording the interactions of the group. Such intrusion by journalists affects the way people interact. Over time, how- ever, reporters become accepted, and other members might forget their role.

Because their presence does affect how members relate, some journal- ists have opted to become members of groups and not to identify themselves as reporters. In the 1890s, reporter Nellie Bly pretended to be a mental patient to get a true picture of how the insane were treated at Blackwell’s Island, New York’s asylum for the mentally ill. Some have joined cults, followed the Hell’s Angels, or gotten jobs in nursing homes. One reporter in her mid-20s enrolled in a Philadelphia high school to observe it firsthand— and was invited to the senior prom. Before resorting to undercover work, reporters and their editors must determine that a change of identity is the only way to get the story.

In either case, problems can arise when it is time to write. Reporters might feel a kinship to the group and have difficulty setting themselves apart. Journalists who become group members put their impartiality at risk in writing a story. Writers might become too emotional or too attached to sources and not be able to distance themselves. They also run the risk of not knowing completely whether their presence altered the group in any way. They can double-check their reactions and observations, however, by interviewing a balanced mix of sources. Reporters might also get complaints from group members who feel betrayed when the article appears.

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236 Part Three ■ Gathering Information

Nonverbal Communication

Although writers get the bulk of their information from sources and from interviewing, they can add details from nonverbal communication. Such cues come from the way people move or act when they say something. A politician might raise her eyebrows at a constituent’s question. A child might shift his hands behind his back when leaving the kitchen. A teacher might frown while correcting student essays. Each action implies a thought or behavior to the observer. The politician might be surprised. The child might be guilty of swip- ing a cookie. The teacher might be unhappy about a good student’s low grade.

When recording nonverbal cues either in note taking or with a camera, reporters must be careful. They must think beyond the obvious because the same cue could carry different meanings for different observers. Furrowed eye- brows might indicate puzzlement or anger. Waving hands can mean agitation or enthusiasm. A smile might be sincere or forced. Generally, one action alone is not sufficient to indicate how an individual is feeling. The gestures must be catalogued in addition to words and other body movements. A reporter might have to go so far as to ask an individual what a particular posture meant. For example, pacing during an interview may not be a result of nervousness; the interviewee may suffer from restless legs syndrome, but no reporter could tell that simply by observing.

In addition, nonverbal actions have different meanings across cultures. In some cultures or ethnic groups, individuals do not make eye contact while speaking. An ignorant or inexperienced reporter might be suspicious of such behavior, thereby including a cultural bias. When U.S. business leaders engage in negotiations with Japanese officials, they have to learn etiquette and proto- col. For example, the Japanese consider it offensive to write on a business card, while in the United States, executives and others make notations or add home telephone numbers to business cards. The good reporter learns about cultural differences or asks questions to clarify behavior. Such sensitivity and awareness is essential to accurate reporting.

Dangers in Observation

John Salvi was charged with murdering two people and injuring five others in shootings at two abortion clinics in Boston. When Salvi was arraigned on weapons charges in conjunction with the shootings, Gary Tuchman of CNN gave a live report and description for audiences who were not in the courtroom.

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Tuchman described Salvi as wearing a blue blazer, white shirt, white socks, loafers, and nice pants. The description implied that Salvi had dressed conservatively and neatly. A print news account reported that Salvi was wearing “an ill-fitting blazer.” The implication here contradicted the neat appearance of Tuchman’s report. Which account was right? Audiences who heard and read the two accounts might have noticed the discrepancy and been puzzled. Or maybe it just added to their belief that you cannot trust the media to be right.

Tuchman also took his reported observation one step further. He noted to viewers that if they had a stereotype of someone who would be charged with committing murder, Salvi did not look like that stereotype—that is, Salvi did not look like someone who would commit murder. Viewers may have wondered: “What does the stereotypical murderer look like? Why didn’t Tuchman give us a description of that stereotype?”

Observation plays a major role in writing, but we must be circumspect about the descriptions we use. As will be discussed in Chapter 11, we as writers carry our prejudices and biases with us as we collect information and write. We must be careful. Think about Tuchman’s reference to a stereotypical murderer. Can you describe one? Of course not. If murderers were readily identifiable, people who have been killed would have had some warning. But murderers vary in shape, size, age, gender, skin tone, hair color, and clothing preference. They do not all have greasy hair and shifty, beady eyes and act furtively or in a suspicious manner.

The Importance of Accuracy

As noted, Tuchman’s observations might have been distorted by his experiences. He might have a stereotypical idea of what a murderer looks like. Writers can bring biases to observation, just as they can to any aspect of reporting.

Just as you double-check facts, you should be circumspect about your observations. Take emotions into account. If you covered an anti-abortion rally, you might have found your emotions surging if you are pro-choice. Despite your role as a journalist, your feelings might not be neutral. Your feel- ings could influence your description. Be aware.

To ensure accuracy, you should record impressions in your notebook or on your electronic equipment at the scene and then review to add context as soon as possible afterward. The longer you wait, the fewer details you will remember accurately. Memory fades over time.

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238 Part Three ■ Gathering Information

Like other kinds of research, observation leads to a more complete mes- sage. Description that is simple, clear, fair, and complete also will aid accuracy. Writers should lay out description alongside other facts and allow audiences to judge for themselves. Audiences invariably will apply their own biases to the description and form their own opinions, but writers’ choices of words should not be the deciding factor.

Exercises

1. Condoleezza Rice, former Secretary of State, is coming to campus to give a lecture. Before the lecture, she will have a news conference, which you will attend for the campus newspaper. First, you need to find out more information. Using three biographical sources, answer the following questions. Cite the reference used. One reference should be online.

a. When and where was Rice born? b. Where did she go to college? c. What jobs did she hold before joining the Bush administration? d. What has she done since she left the State Department? e. Has she won any awards? If so, list them.

2. Identify a reporter in your college community or in your hometown by reading bylines and articles in the respective paper. Call the reporter and ask what sources he or she uses in researching stories. Note whether the reporter uses online sources to retrieve information. Find out how the reporter ensures accuracy in using sources. Share the information with your class.

3. You are the state desk researcher for the local newspaper. The state editor wants to do a story on parents charged with killing their children. Before making the assignment to a reporter, the editor asks you to do an online search of national newspapers and magazines to find accounts of such crimes. Your task is to prepare a memo to the state editor that lists six references to substantial articles on parents charged with killing their children. The references need to be annotated; that is, they should be accompanied by explanatory notes as well as enough information to enable the reporter to find the articles.

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4. You discover that many adult day care facilities exist in your area, and you want to make a case to your editor that a feature story about these facilities would be a good one. Search online for information on these facilities and identify at least three in your area. Compare the complete- ness and the credibility—as well as the limitations—of the Web pages you use as you find information on adult day care.

5. Pick a place on campus or attend a town government meeting as an observer along with another student. Use your senses to take notes on what transpires outside the actions of passersby or officials. Write a description of the meeting, using aspects such as the room, the mood, the speakers’ attitudes, the officials’ attitudes, the tone of the meeting, and how many people attended. Then compare your account with the other student’s accounts. See what each of you chose to include and chose to ignore. Compare the ways you described aspects of the meeting. Then discuss what made your observations different.

References

Nadine Cohodas, Using documents. Interview via e-mail, October 2001. Barbara Friedman, Web Search Savvy: Strategies and Shortcuts for Online Research.

Mahwah, NJ: Erlbaum, 2004. Freedom of Information Act, 5 U.S.C. 552, 1966. Amended in 1974, 1976, 1986,

1996, 2002. “FOIA Legislative History,” National Security Archives, at http://www.gwu.

edu/~nsarchiv/nsa/foialeghistory/legistfoia.htm. Michael Gartner, Speech in honor of national Freedom of Information Day.

Washington, DC, National Press Club, March 1989. Mary McGuire, Linda Stilborne, Melinda McAdams, and Laurel Hyatt, The Internet

Handbook for Writers, Researchers, and Journalists. New York: Guilford Press, 1997. Nora Paul, Computer Assisted Research: A Guide to Tapping Online Information, 4th ed.

St. Petersburg, FL: The Poynter Institute for Media Studies, 2001. Barbara Semonche, Personal interview. Chapel Hill, NC, School of Journalism and

Mass Communication, University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, 1995, 2005.

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