Ready for the Road (Part 1)

Before you go

• Learn to use a laptop.
  You should not try learning how to use a laptop computer and file by laptop when you are on the road on deadline. Borrow a laptop to use in the newsroom on a couple non-deadline stories. After you've written and filed a few stories, filing on the road should be pretty easy. And when you encounter problems, solving them will be easier.
  
  
• Always take a laptop when you travel.
  Even if you're not planning on working on a deadline story, take a laptop along. In your interviews, you may come across something that merits a deadline story. Or something may happen in the same region and the editors may dispatch you for deadline coverage. Even if you don't do any deadline writing, taking a laptop along will allow you to start writing the enterprise story while the interviews are still fresh. These reporters are required to share the laptops. They have been assigned to reporters who frequently use them. This system was adopted as the best way to assure the laptops are kept in good working order and with all parts intact.
  
  
• Make sure the laptop works.
  Before you leave, turn on the laptop. Plug in the power cord. Plug in the phone cord. File a quick test file. If you haven't used the laptop in a while, make sure you have a cheat sheet.
  
  
• Anticipate trouble.
  Bobbi Bowman of ASNE advises: "Find out exactly where the tech people will be on deadline. Get their phone number, their cell number, etc. Because your laptop will fail you on deadline."
  
  
• Take a cell phone.
  Always take a cell phone when you travel. It will make it easier to communicate with sources and editors. On a breaking story, you might have to dictate from the scene and some scenes don't have easy access to phones. If you're traveling with a photographer, let the photographer drive while you use the cell phone to set up some appointments or conduct interviews. Also get the cell phone numbers of any other reporters or photographers on our staff who will cover the same event. Even if you're driving together, you may separate at some point.
  
  
• Assemble a road kit.
  Put together a backpack or zip-lock bag with some of the essentials you'll need for any road kit: regional maps, 50-foot phone cord with doubling connector, 3-to-2 electric adapter, power cord with multiple plug-ins, poncho.
  
  
• Make connections in advance.
  If you're covering a national event, connect in advance with locals who will be attending. Find out where they will be staying. If they have assigned seating, find out where they will be sitting. Get cell phone numbers.
  
  
• Other devices help.
  If you have a PDA, take it along when you're on the road. When cell phones couldn't work in some parts of Washington on 9/11, people with BlackBerries were able to communicate by e-mail, because they use a different network.
  
  
• Don't forget the basics.
  Take plenty of notebooks and pens along. And don't forget a sharpened pencil or two, in case you might be covering a fire, outdoors in the rain or in another situation where your notebook might get damp, making ink run.
  
  
• Coordinate with your photo department.
  If you're not driving with a photographer, find out if one will meet you there. You need to work closely with the photographer, so you know what the photographer learns and the photographer knows the direction of your story.
  
  
• Get some names.
  If you're traveling in the Midlands, check the clips, directories and/or phone book for the town you'll be driving to and look up some names and numbers of people who might be helpful sources: sheriff, banker, mayor, gadfly, legislator.
  
  
• Surf the web.
  Visit some community sites of the town you'll be visiting: city, chamber, newspaper, college. Get some names and phone numbers to call and places to visit when you hit town.
  
  
• Take maps.
  You should always have maps of your region when you travel. If you are going farther afield, get some maps from Triple-A or a bookstore. Plan your route in advance. Pick up a local map and/or phone book when you hit town.
  
  
• Bring cash.
  Make sure you have enough cash to cover necessary expenses.
  
  
• Bring plastic.
  Carry a credit card with enough credit to cover a few nights in a hotel, plus a rental car.
  
  
• Make a reservation.
  If you're traveling to a major news event, make a hotel reservation quickly. On a big story, news media, law enforcement and disaster workers quickly fill up the rooms and you might be out of luck trying to find a room in the evening. If you're flying somewhere, reserve a rental car in advance, too.

On your way

• Make an early connection.
  Connect - somehow, anyhow - to the place you're going and the people who live there. Tune in the local radio station, preferably one that has an emphasis on news. If you know anyone in town or from that town, call them (on a cell phone as you're driving there) and ask what they know about what's going on. If you don't know anyone, find out if we've done a story on someone in that town and call them - they're usually helpful.
  
  
• Get to the family quickly.
  If it's a tragedy or a murder, call the affected family as soon as possible. They're more apt to talk immediately. Later on, they get sick of all the media calls and may have been told (by authorities) to not talk to reporters. The sooner the better is also the best approach in contacting authorities - make this call before you leave or on a cell phone as soon as you depart. Interview them as though this will be your one crack at the, because it may be. But also try to set up a time to visit them in person when you reach town.
  
  
• Work while waiting for your flight.
  If you're flying to the destination, you'll have some time in the airport, waiting for your flight and possibly for connections. Use the time to make phone calls setting up interviews and/or doing preliminary interviews. Read clips, reports and information you've been able to pull off the Internet. Connect to the Internet and visit the sites of news outlets in the area and of organizations involved in the story. Read any news they've posted and get names and numbers to contact.
  
  
• Write on the flight.
  While you're flying to the destination (or riding if a photographer is driving), crank up the laptop and write some paragraphs of background from your phone interviews and the clips and other sources. This will save valuable minutes on deadline later.

When you get there

• Get to the scene.
  If you're covering a crime or disaster, get right to the scene. Talk to authorities and observers at the scene. Ask people what happened. Ask them to identify the characters and show you where things happened. Ask how they know what they tell you: Did they witness it or have they heard about it? If they heard about it, who told them? Write a paragraph or two in your notebook describing the scene.
  
  
• Make contact with the official sources.
  Find out who's in charge and what sort of access you're going to have. Don't assume you'll be talking just to PR folks, even if they are trying to handle the media. If different agencies have different (or competing) roles in dealing with the situation, get clear who's doing what and who is in charge of each agency and if someone is in charge of coordination. Learn who's speaking for each agency or for the joint operation. Learn when and where media briefings will be.
  
  
• Don't settle for media briefings.
  Of course, you need to attend the media briefings and ask your essential questions there, in case that's your one crack at the spokesmen and/or bosses. But try to corner them individually, after or away from the briefings, for a more detailed interview.
  
  
• Make contact with the unofficial sources.
  You want to reach witnesses, victims, neighbors, family members, etc. before police tell them not to talk to the media and before they get tired of dealing with the media.
  
  
• Get the lay of the land.
  If you're doing a story from a small town, drive around town quickly if you have time when you arrive, noting landmarks, main streets, public buildings. Write a paragraph or two of setting, whether you anticipate using it or not. If you can't do it immediately, do it later.
  
  
• Chat with lesser authorities.
  Maybe a deputy won't tell you anything official because everything has to come from the sheriff. But chat with the deputy a while off the record. Loosen the lips first with small talk about the weather, the crops or the Huskers.
  
  
• Remember the fire department.
  Even if you're not covering a fire or disaster that involves the fire department, you still might want to stop at the fire station. If you have an address but can't find it and don't have a map of the town, they can direct you right to it. And firefighters have a strong gossip pipeline, not to mention that they're hearing lots of radio traffic.
  
  
• Ask around town.
  Particularly in a small town, people around town will be able to fill you in, at least with the general outline and sometimes with valuable details. The clerk at the motel, the cashier at the convenience store or the bartender at the local tavern might be related to someone. They might attend the same church as the subject of a story or know someone who attended school or worked with them. Be careful what you do with what you hear. Always ask, "How do you know that?" If they're passing along rumors, those are helpful but not something to print. They might be able to steer you to the original source. Often you'll stumble across people with first-hand information just by asking.
  
  
• Use the hangouts.
  If you're going to be there awhile, try getting a haircut locally (those barber shops and beauty salons are great) or take your car in for a checkup. Whether you golf or not, golf courses are a chat-o-rama of local knowledge. So is the local library.
  
  
• Zig when the others zag.
  When you're in a cluster of journalists on a big news event, don't always run with the pack. Ask when briefings will be, and occasionally break away from the pack and find some people who aren't in the crowd at the scene. In a small town with just one or two insurance agents, those people know almost everyone in town. The elevator operator or farm supply dealer will know all the farmers and may be too busy to hang out where the pack is. If you can learn the church that a character attends, talk to the pastor. If the family has children in school, talk to teachers and principals. If a character moved to town recently, a real estate agent may be able to tell about her. If the family has been in town a while, the funeral director may know them well. If someone has died, a funeral director or pastor may deliver an interview request to a family that's not generally accessible.
  
  
• Work together.
  If other reporters and/or photographers from your staff are working the same story, connect at the scene, share information and discuss who needs to go where. If you decide to follow a different course than editors suggested, someone should fill in the desk. If several staff members are involved at the scene, designate one as the coordinator. Everyone should give progress reports to that person and that person should fill everyone in on your collective progress. Confer every now and then to identify holes you need to fill and to prevent duplication. If a reporter and photographer are working the story together, you may split up at times. Always confer when you get back together. The reporter may have seen something good to shoot and the photographer may have gathered some helpful information for the reporter. Be sure to tell the desk when a photographer should get a byline or tagline on a story.
  
  
• Stop at the local newspaper office.
  With rare exception, they know much more about what's going on than we do. And they've heard all the local rumors, which are nice to know. Unless they're a competing daily, the people are normally very helpful. And they oftentimes don't know what great nuggets they might have. It might also help avoid some embarassment (a woman who shot her husband, for instance, might have been a victim of abuse, according to the rumor mill. Even if you can't confirm it by deadline, it does help with the tone of an article). The newspaper also might lend desks and/or phone lines to file stories and/or photos from later.
  
  
• Find a home base.
  Steve Jordon of the World-Herald offers this advice: "If you're staying in one place, find a 'home base' for you to write and make phone calls. Often homeowners or places of business are glad to let you do this because they want to feel part of the 'action,' if nothing else." If you're spending the night, your motel room might work for a home base, but sometimes the town where the action is doesn't even have a motel.
  
  
• Go to the door.
  If someone isn't answering the phone, try going directly to the house, especially if a media crowd isn't surrounding the house. Some people who won't talk on the phone are willing to talk in person or at least too polite to shut the door on you.
  
  
• Don't assume someone won't talk.
  Yes, some victims and family members won't talk, or won't talk the first day. But you have to give them the choice. However much you feel like a vulture, you have to call or go in person to ask if they want to tell what happened or to tell you about the departed loved one. As pushy as it may feel to ask, it's arrogant to make that decision for someone and just plain wrong to write a story about a dead person without giving that person's family the opportunity to tell who she really was. Of course, if they don't want to talk, you politely apologize for the intrusion and let them know you'll be available when they are ready to talk (assuming it's a story with more than one-day interest).
  
  
• Remember the mother ship.
  Jordon offers this advice: "On breaking stories, don't forget to rely on the home office. Lots of times they can make quicker phone contact with people and can find out what's going on more readily than you can out in the field. Make sure someone at the office is keeping you informed of the latest developments so you can put your time to its best use in the field." And keep the desk informed about your progress, so they can plan for space, play and deadlines and help plug holes or overcome obstacles.
  
  
• Organize.
  Cindy Stiff of the Freedom Forum advises: "A key to being on the road is organize, organize, organize. From mapping to planning questions, from figuring out the nut graph (sometimes more than once as a story unfolds) to doing a jot outline before you start to write. Organizing saves so much time as you seek to write, whether on a tight deadline or not." Steve Jordon offers this organizational tip: "Keep a separate notebook or paper with phone numbers and contact names on it. It saves a lot of flipping through pages when you're trying to make calls. Get the spelling of names the first time from the person, since it's often hard to double-check names on the road."

Filing from the road

• Set your computer dial-up.
  Check whether the phone you are filing from dials direct or with an 8 or 9 first and adjust the settings on the computer accordingly.
  
  
• Set your file up correctly.
  Bring along a cheat sheet for filing on your laptop into your newsroom's system. Be sure to put any needed coding at the top and/or bottom of the story.
  
  
• Use a single analog line.
  Most hotel telephone lines are analog. Fax lines are always analog. If you're filing from an office phone that has more than one line, it's not going to work. See if the office has a fax line you can use.
  
  
• Go to the library.
  If you don't have a hotel room, libraries often have desks from which to use a laptop and a fax line you can use to file, not to mention local phone books, newspapers and other helpful materials. Or if you didn't bring a laptop, you might be able to file by e-mail from a computer at the library.
  
  
• Use e-mail if necessary or preferred.
  If you find yourself on the road without a working laptop, you can file by e-mail. Even if you don't have an account you can access from the road, you can set up an e-mail account in just a few minutes from a computer in almost any library or office.
  
  After you file, call to make sure the story made it.

For foreign travel

• Get a current passport.
  You never know when a foreign travel opportunity might arise with little notice. If you don't have a current passport, you should get one. Otherwise, a colleague might take the opportunity that should have been yours.
  
  
• Get a language book.
  Unless you're fluent in the language of the country you'll be visiting, get a dictionary or phrase book that will help you communicate.
  
  
• Research the country.
  Read about the country in some tourist books and/or Web sites. The CIA World Factbook (http://www.odci.gov/cia/publications/factbook/) has information on every country. Particularly check out any advisories the State Department has posted (http://travel.state.gov/travel_warnings.html).
  
  
• Learn about the money.
  From travel and Web sites, you'll want to learn about the currency and the exchange rate. You'll want to find out whether dollars are accepted. Pay for hotels, rental cars and meals with credit cards as much as possible, because credit cards generally get better exchange rates.
  
  
• Learn about the power system.
  From a travel agency, travel brochure or Web site (http://kropla.com/electric.htm or http://www.travel-arts.com/page1.htm are a couple), learn about the electric system in the country you will be visiting. Buy the adapters you will need to operate your computer and any personal electronic equipment you will bring.
  
  
• Learn the time difference.
  You need to file on deadlines of your home operation and know the difference, so you know whether you'll be calling editors in the middle of the night (be sure to have home numbers) for you or for them. You can check time differences at http://www.timeanddate.com/worldclock/
  
  
• Get your shots updated.
  Your personal doctor or a local public health clinic should have the information about any immunizations you might need. Check as far in advance as possible, because some shots and medications should be taken in advance. The Centers for Disease Control Web site (http://www.cdc.gov/travel/) has information on immunizations required or recommended for various countries.
  
  
• Break away from your primary contact.
  You may be traveling with a newsmaker who's the primary reason for your trip. But you'll want to split up now and then. Linger for an interview (without the newsmaker hovering around) with someone he has visited. If you're getting a tour, try to catch a look at the areas they're not showing you.
  
  
• Understand your interpreter's ties and limitations.
  If you don't understand the language, you have to rely on interpreters and they all have viewpoints and limitations. If possible, seek referrals from the local AP bureau or other journalists in the area. If a government agency or an organization you are covering is supplying the interpreter, be aware that the interpreter might skew your questions or the character's answers. Depending on the situation, you might feel more comfortable with an American fluent in the foreign language (perhaps a missionary or visiting academic). Or it might be more helpful to have a native who understands the character better but might not understand your questions as well.
  
  
• Interview your interpreter.
  When the character gives a long answer and the interpreter gives a brief translation, press for details. Remind the interpreter of any parts of your question she didn't answer, in case she condensed the answer the character gave.
  
  
• Maintain eye contact with the character.
  When you're interviewing through an interpreter, remember that you are interviewing the character who requires translation. Establish rapport with that character, looking him in the eye when you ask questions and watching for emotions, facial expressions and gestures that don't require translation.
  
  
• Don't drink the water.
  Or at least learn what water is safe to drink. Carry bottled water with you if necessary. Whatever effort it takes to get safe water, make the effort.

• Ready for the Road -- Part 2.