Enterprise Stories

Enterprise stories are different from news stories and need to be managed differently. In general, the reporter should have more say in what these stories are about and how they are structured.

1. Emphasize enterprise as much as daily news. You don't need a daily every day. It is easy to write a daily every day and reporters often get in the habit of producing one. ACEs get in the habit of getting one. But are dailies all a reporter can write? Are some of these worthy of his or her time and effort? You must give reporters a chance to expand their writing/reporting repertoire. An editor should help build confidence and ability, so ask yourself if "dailies only" is a trap both you and your reporter are settling into? What are you saying to your reporters when you are demanding dailies but not demanding enterprise?
2. Write short, so you can write long. If it can be briefed, do it. Let the reporter brief it without worrying about not getting a byline. You don't have to redo all the background interviews for every story. Think of this as a chance:
• To get on the record
• To produce stories for a growing newshole demand
• To archive your notes. These kinds of stories are very often the types of town/council/ planning/zoning commission agenda items that people in the community are very interested in reading. Just the facts. If you are going to type this information into your own notes for future reference, why not make a brief out of it so you can use your newspapers electronic archive as a permanent source of the result of the council's action?
• To save time so you can turn around and start chipping away at that enterprise piece.
3. Every meeting does not a news story make. This goes along with the above. Don't penalize reporters by making them write a story from a meeting that didn't yield any news. You are wasting both the reporter and the reader's time. And you are saying that anytime they go out, they must come back with a daily. This is not a hard and fast rule. Some reporters need to be coaxed by their ACE's to understand the news of a meeting. But generally speaking, you should know your reporter's abilities. Allow them to make the call if they are confident with their beat and their readers' needs.
4. Allow reporters time to be out on the town. Good story ideas come from just hanging out. You know this is true. We all say it, but what are you doing to encourage your reporter? If they go out, are you expecting them to come back with something? Reflect a moment on how you react when you can't see your reporter? Are you impatient? Anxious? What about when they come back? Do you sit down with them to debrief or do you send them a message asking them when the story/budget line/photo assignment etc. is coming?
5. Respect a reporter's ideas as much as your own. Enterprise, more than dailies, should be a choice. Let the reporter manage her/his beat. Are you really listening to what the reporter is telling you or are you coming up with your own ideas? Before you start taking over your reporter's story, listen. This is not to say you can't help shape the story. But the reporter is out on the street, working sources, noticing trends. Let them take the lead on the enterprise.
6. Try to get reporters to think in terms of short, medium and long-term ideas. What did they learn in that interview today that they can use not only for today's story, but for a weekender? Did the subject say anything that might be a trend? Possibly a longer piece? Next time when they interview someone else on their beat, can they pick up that thread? Perhaps they are interviewing someone for an entirely different story, but couldn't they also ask a few questions to keep chipping away at that longer story? They already have the person on the phone, isn't it a good use of time to include a few additional questions? Are you coaching your reporters to go beyond the budgeted storyline during their interviews?
7. Try to get reporters to organize in terms of short, medium and long-term ideas. They might have a file, a queue or a story list. Might be in their head or on paper. Ask them what their system is? Try to help them develop a system that will facilitate better organization for the range of daily/enterprise work they might do on their beat. Is there someone in your newsroom who is know for their ability to organize effectively? Spend a few minutes with them and ask them about their system. They will be flattered that you noticed. This might be a good brown bag topic in your newsroom or at least a topic the ace and their reporters could talk about at a staff meeting. What works for others?
8. Come to some general consensus on a few possible weekenders and one longer-term story. Have your reporter make a list of the items they need to accomplish in order to begin to write the story. Who are the key people to interview? What records do they need? What visits do they need to make? This list can and should change, but at least it creates a "to-do" list that the reporter can chip away at. Ask your reporter what they need from you?
9. Set aside time each week for each idea. Doesn't have to be a lot of time, but each week you should have added to your file. Has the to-do list changed? Are their new interviews to set up? How has the story changed?
10. Make a public records request. If you come across a possible story or trend but are not sure where it might lead, go ahead and request documents before you've committed to the story or angle. Take a few minutes and make the city/government do your initial work while you continue to do your daily assignments. You can begin to make some phone calls in-between your dailies so you will be prepared when those documents arrive. The documents may result in a weekender or a longer-term story. Or, it may not lead to anything. But you've at least taken the steps to do more detailed research without committing more than a few minutes. And both reporter and ace will be comfortable that attempts are being made to go deeper on the story.
11. Don't give large blocks of time off until research is well underway and it's time to write. A reporter might think they need a large chunk of time in the beginning of a project but consider this: they spend most of their time putting in requests, waiting for call-backs and setting up interviews. They know they've been give special consideration - time away from dailies - and there is an expectation of results. What if, after all this initial research, it turns out their idea is not panning out? Wouldn't both you and your reporter be better served if you were fairly sure of what you had before you started writing? Better to give time off once you are sure. Less pressure on both you and your reporter.
12. You don't always know what a story is about until you're well into the research. Don't hold your reporter to their initial angle if they've learned something different. (And don't pitch the story too early. See #15.) Don't force them to commit until you've given them time to get into the subject. You and are your reporter should be talking about the story all along the way, and eventually you will need to focus, but try to give a little latitude at the front-end.
13. Be patient. Once you and the reporter know the direction of the story, once you have finished the primary research, don't rush them. Give the reporter time to write. Enterprise should be edited differently. Make a copy, take it to a quiet place and read it through without making a single edit.
14. Experiment. The reporter may want to try a new writing style with this piece. Let them try. You may want to encourage them to try a different writing approach even though they themselves have not suggested it. You have some time with this. Have some fun coaching. You and the reporter may decide the new approach doesn't work, but here's your chance to help your reporter expand their writing repertoire. Give it a try.
15. Don't sell a story before it's ready. Let the reporter decide deadlines for the enterprise story. You know what happens. You get excited about a story, mention it to your boss and they mention it to their boss. Suddenly, everyone knows about it and they want it for Sunday. Meanwhile, your reporter is continuing at the pace the two of you had previously decided. Now you are rushed to get it in, possibly sacrificing quality.
16. Allow your reporter to fail. If the story doesn't work, don't force it out. And value the effort as a learning experience.
17. Follow up with your reporter. Whether it's story ideas, organization, public records, trends, don't just talk once and move on. You're actions will speak louder than your words. If you never come back to a topic, then the person figures they can wait you out and go back to their 'ol ways. If you get your high horse one time about enterprise, but then stalk the newsroom looking for dailies, then the message is you value dailies more than enterprise.