The quickest way to find stories is by reading everything you possibly can. Read the newswires, read local newspapers, large news conglomeration sites. Read obscure journals that interest you. Read magazines that have nothing to do with anything that interests you at all. Set yourself a goal -- you will find at least one story on/in each site/ newspaper or magazine.
Pay attention to the questions that arise when you're reading -- What questions did the reporter not answer? Can you add to the story by digging deeper/changing the slant? How does this story pertain to your beat/interests --can you put a different spin on it? (Example: I recently read a purely human interest story about the citizenship lottery, and wondered how people responded to the idea of a computer deciding their future.)
But the best way to find stories that haven't been reported to death is to cultivate sources. Sources -- experts or passionate amateurs -- are a reporter's most valuable tool. The best sources function as your adjunct brains, eyes and ears. The more sources you have the more you see, hear, and know.
Everyone who cares deeply or knows a lot about any topic is a source. Don't focus on cultivating only the sources that fit your beat. Often it's the oddball guy who collects string and chews tinfoil who can add that weird little comment that turns your story into something special. (I'd been talking to the construction guys who were laying cable outside my house when the masai cow story broke. I figured one of those guys would give me a perfect NYC quote so I ran downstairs, asked a couple of questions and when one guy said "cow puppies" I knew I had my story.)
Take excellent care of your regular sources. Stay in touch with them even when you don't need a comment for whatever you're working on at the moment, forward info they might like to read, always buy them coffee or a beer when they are in town. Let them know they can run strange ideas past you. Some of my best stories have come from an e-mail that started off "I don't know if this could be a story for you but..."
Other places to find sources: PR releases of lame products (can someone from the company producing the product be added to your source file?)blogsters, people who cared enough to post about the subject in newsgroups, college professors, authors (scan Amazon, find books, contact publishers PR) websites like sourcewire, people who attend oddball tradeshows and conventions that they don't have to attend for work reasons. Talk to everyone. Find out what they are passionate about. Everyone has a story to tell, everyone is a source.
For first pitches to a new-to-you editor: make sure the story fits the editor's needs. Pitching a story about a product to a news site that doesn't run product reviews is a sure sign that you didn't bother to do your research -- for a site that updates daily read at least a week or two worth of stories first and skim the last couple of months. Also make sure that the site hasn't run the same story previously, or that the story doesn't fall into another reporters established beat. Search for 'your' story, or something similar, before you pitch it.
If you're pitching to a new editor, let him or her know why you are the reporter who should write this story. "I've been covering hackers for ten years, and have many sources who are willing to give me inside information that hasn't been published elsewhere on how to crack Iraqi leaders private email accounts."
Don't rush through writing a pitch. A good story pitch does more than sell a story – it helps you figure out what the story is going to be about. Your pitch should outline why the story is important or interesting, what points you'll cover, who you'll talk to. These are all things you need to figure out before you start writing anyway. (See attached)
If writing the pitch doesn't get you all stoked up about writing the story, dump the idea. If you can't come up with a way to make a 50 word pitch provocative, you won't be able to pull off the story.
Three types of interviews: in person, by phone, by email (very occasionally, by instant messenger/IRC)
If u can pick the interview that suits your story:
In person: great for profile pieces where you want color and detail; what the person looks like, how they smile and frown, how they move, gestures.
Phone: almost as good as on person for profiles, also good when you need to get colorful quotes from a non-writer, or don't want to tip the interviewee to the questions you'll ask. (As in, don't give them time to ponder the 'proper' answer. Also, some companies make anything in writing get cleared through PR, where once u have them on the phone or in front of you there's no clearance issues.
Email: great for fast reax on a deadline, also great when you want the comments in writing -- you need it bulletproof for a touchy story, or it's very detailed (like techie) info that you may not 'get' if verbally delivered.
DON'T EXPECT A SOURCE TO DO YOUR RESEARCH: asking a source questions on things you should already know -- background information that is easily found with a little digging --is rude and wastes the source's time. When you need to ask backgrounder info clearly state that you are confirming information (was the company really founded by your insane aunt glenda?).
BUT GET SOME EXPERTS ON YOUR SIDE: (behind every good technical writer there's a gang of ghost geeks). Develop solid ongoing relationships with the best and brightest sources. You need people who you can admit your ignorance to. Most experts want to ensure the media gets the story right and are happy to help. Lean on these folks, check the details with them when you aren't 100% sure you see the story clearly, run to them for background information that you can use to develop appropriate questions for your interviews. Good questions that show knowledge of the topic yield significantly better responses from interviewees.
*** treasure these people*** and let them know how much you value them. They can make a huge positive difference in your work.
YOU ARE NOT A JUDGE: when interviewing people who have done crappy, stupid, underhanded, or horrendous things remain neutral. You are not a judge, you are an impartial observer. And you'll get a better story if you don't accuse or badger. Put yourself at least temporarily in the source's shoes and ask the questions you'd want to answer in the same situation, as well as the questions they don't want to answer. Empathy results in better interviews. Belligerence has its place (if a source is spinning the answers or avoiding you) but totally neutral curious politeness will usually serve you far better.
SPEAKING FOR YOUR SOURCE: sometimes the good crisp quote you need is buried in a sea of blather. Occasionally you need to reframe something that someone said "so you're saying that…?" "Could we put it like this?" "Oh, I see, so you mean…" and often the source will agree that's exactly what he or she means, and you have your quote. But be very clear with the source that you are condensing and reframing – don't put your words in the source's mouth without explicit agreement.
GIVE THE SOURCE WHAT THEY NEED: You should never talk more in an interview than your source – interviews are not a conversation, they are Q&A's. But don't be so removed that the source gets chilly. Relate, respond, find the common ground. I've chatted with nervous Microsoft execs on what clothes they should wear to hacker conventions, talked to scared hackers about legal issues as the feds closed in –answer the source's questions too.
BE SCRUPLOUS WITH SOURCING: Tell the source what the story is about if at all possible, don't fib and say it's a happy story about their new product if you're planning a hatchet job. (Sometimes you have to fib, but mostly sleazy reporter tactics result in sleazy stories.) Get the quotes right, don't use them out of context to make your story more interesting. Clarify what's on the record, what's off, what information is being given to you as background and how you can use it in your story understand how those terms are used in journalism so you don't screw up.
If you promise a source anoniminity, understand the legal and ethical ramifications of that agreement.
EDTIORS DON'T LIKE SLACKERS: get the basic facts right. Names, dates, places -- double-check it all. Better you find your mistakes than your editor does.
EDITORS DON'T LIKE SURPRISES. Make sure your story pitch and the story you ended up with are the same beast. Did you hit every point you said you'd cover? If the story is veering away from the pitch because you got new or different info as you researched -- check in with your editor.
EDTIORS DO LIKE TO KNOW THAT YOU LISTEN TO THEM: Follow formatting rules. Example: some publications use the present tense "he says" others want "he said." Some are okay with qualifying statements "she believes" "she thinks" "she feels," others want facts "she said."
It's hard sometimes to remember that editor A wants things this way, editor B likes it the other way. But getting little things like that wrong constantly angers editors. Learn the publication/site's AND the editor's preferred style and usage rules. Some editors hate sentences like "You're fired," said Wired News editor Jon Rochmis. Others hate "You're fired," Jon Rochmis, editor of Wired News, said.
Doesn't matter what you hate, format the story for the editor.If your editor wants all stories submitted in some obscure 20PT typeface, just do it.
EDITORS DON'T LIKE LATENESS: Deadlines are sacred. Always file your stories on time. If you can't --really, truly can't make your deadline because, say, you chopped off most of your hand while making lunch -- let your editor know as soon as you know there's a problem.
And remember ten minutes, in journalism land, is late.
EDITORS DON'T LIKE UNANSWERED QUESTIONS: After you've got the organization and the words right, read the story again. If you can, walk away from it for an hour or two, then re-read. It's easy, when you've been researching a story hard, to assume readers know as much as you do about it. Look for tiny gaps in the information, little details that you might have omitted, questions – no matter how minor – you may have left unanswered. And check again to make sure all sides of the story are represented.
EDTIROS DON'T LIKE EDITING: The more work you make editors do, the less work you'll get to do.
The story is up. Your email box is filling with readers comments. Blogs everywhere have cited it as a gem of a piece. Before you bask in the glory remember:
SAY THANK YOU: Always, always, send your thank you notes. Send an e-mail to each source who you spoke to, with the story URL and a brief thank you specifically related to what they said/did.
RESPOND: Internet journalism is an interactive medium. Readers will write to you, some will be lame, others will make excellent points. Answer each reader's e-mail.
GET MORE: A good story should net you a couple of new sources and a couple of new stories. And the cycle begins again :-)