Just one week from today, I’m launching the second chapter of the Otaku Journalist e-course. Chapter two is all about beat reporting, a type of specialized journalism in which the reporter focuses on in-depth stories about one particular subject or community.
Going over the results of Monday’s survey, I realized a lot of you are interested in knowing more about the book I’m writing. So today, I’m publishing an excerpt from the second chapter. Read it below:
When you have a beat, stories meet you halfway.
Beat reporters know where to look for stories. The longer you stick with one beat, the less energy you have to spend searching far and wide. A reporter who has spent a lot of time building a beat could find the next story in the form of an email from a trusted source, a comment on a forum, or a convenient RSS post.
It’ll change your story-searching thought process for the better.
Instead of saying, “I want to write a story about X,” you’ll say, “Everybody in the Crunchyroll forums is already talking about famous Japanese landmarks that show up in anime. I should write a story about it.”
Not only is it a lot less effort to follow the discussion; it also guarantees you’re writing about something people are already interested in and want to know more about. This helps you fulfill your most important goal as a reporter—serving your community.
When you take the time to build a beat, sources will know where to find you. Your presence in the field can eventually make you a familiar fixture with whom community members may openly share new developments.
In turn, this makes you more appealing to employers. Being entrenched in a community makes you an expert on that community, something few people aside from insiders and beat reporters have the time or energy to devote to becoming. Experts are able to write stories that appeal to both the community’s insiders and to everyone else.
Building a beat may take a time investment up front, but once you establish it, it’ll save you time. Instead of searching for stories all day, you’ll have more time for researching, writing, and editing work you can be proud of.
The rest of this chapter—a 14 page workbook plus three worksheet exercises—will be available for just $5 on Wednesday, January 16.
Remember, chapter one is and will always be free. You can still download it by subscribing to my newsletter here.