Copyright Goodheart-Willcox Co., Inc. Chapter Two News Values and Story Ideas 45 Warning! Beat reporting leads to dull stories, or no stories at all, if you assume your contacts (the people you usually talk with on your beat) will recognize strong story ideas and tell you about them. It is your job to recognize news, not theirs. When you physically attend your beat’s activities and meetings, you will discover story ideas. In addition, if your contacts know you and know you are interested in them, they will be more willing to talk to you. This is especially valuable when a confl ict develops. Beat reporters risk returning empty-handed if they only talk to the adults on the beat: the athletic director, club adviser, special education teacher or drama teacher. Cultivate student contacts: the athletes, members of the club, students enrolled in special education and cast members or student directors of a play. Talk to and listen to everyone on your beat. Your publication should be full of student voices, student names, student faces and student interests and concerns. Beat reporting allows a good reporter to discover untold stories that do not necessarily come from breaking news events. These are called enterprise stories, or stories a reporter develops in addition to those assigned by an editor. In addition, a reporter who knows her sources may also learn of something before anyone else and scoop, or get ahead of, her competition, even in the professional media. Figure 2.10 Beat reporters become specialists and know who to talk to about testing, service projects, politics that impact schools, or surveillance and security. Which beats need to be covered in your publication or broadcast?