Be There

Today's session with Leonard Downie Jr., Weil Family Professor of Journalism, was as fascinating as it was informative. I took four pages of notes in the brief time that we had with him as he integrated advice for reporters and journalism teachers with anecdotes about the story of the century.

For reporters, Downie said:

• Be there. Go get the story.
• Background yourself thoroughly ahead of time.
• Ask naive questions to gauge the source's honesty.
• Always ask for documents.
• Start at the bottom and work up. The people at the bottom have a lot less to lose that those at the top.
• Go back to sources. If you learn something from one source that an earlier source might know about, go back and ask more questions.
• Plan interviews. Never go in without knowing what you want to ask.
• Listen during interviews. Give the source time to respond.
• Save for the end the question the source does not want to answer.

Downie's advice to aspiring journalists:

• Be proficient in multimedia. It is required for a career in journalism.
• Be dedicated to the craft. You may have to make sacrifices in other areas of your life.
• Don't expect to spend your entire career with one media outlet or in one type of job. Adapt and be flexible.
• Build your own brand. This may include writing a blog or devoting time to media like Twitter.
• Find an area of specialization or fill a need.
• Learn a second language. Spanish is almost required because it is so prevalent. Chinese is also an important language, especially for reporters covering business and finance.

I thoroughly enjoyed watching All the President's Men last night, also. Although I've seen it dozens of times on the small screen in my classroom, there were many details I noticed in last night's big-screen event that I have missed over the years.

Rebecca Bennett
Bastrop High School
Bastrop, Texas