A week-by-week plan of action

2009-06-12T16:26:00.000-07:00

This is a plan for carrying out an investigative project over the course of one semester.

It can be applied to a team approach or to a project undertaken by a single student on the newspaper.
It is geared to any campus paper, regardless of financial resources or staffing size.

The difference between a successful investigative project versus an abandoned one has little to do with the premise of the investigation. Rather it depends on whether the person carrying out the investigation did so in a systematic manner.

Establish and follow a step-by-step game plan, and you will find that you can design an investigative project that can actually get done.

Week Two: Form your I-Team

Don't start your project the first week of the term.

The first week is too hectic. So start the second week.

1. Choose the leader:

Who is most organized?
Who commands the most respect?

2. Divvy up responsibilities according to capabilities:

Who is good at interviewing?
Who is good at gathering data?
Who wants to handle public records requests?
Who is the best writer?

3. Set schedule for update meetings

If you don't meet to discuss progress, little progress will be made.

4. Establish a communication and information sharing system that will work for you.

You need a way to share your notes and to brainstorm on sourcing and for questions for interviews. Think about setting up:

Wikis
Private listserv
Google Docs
Chat Forums
Private Facebook group

Week Three: Divide the project into pieces

Spending of Student Fees

A. How much do students pay?
B. How is it done elsewhere?
C. Who distributes the money?
D. Clubs and activities who gets: Winners and losers
E. How money is distributed
F. Membership of clubs -- is it all the same people?
G. What do the clubs do with the money?

Week Four: Come up with a list of possible sources

Those affected by the problem
Those responsible for the problem
Those who can help explain the problem
Those with power to correct the problem
Those who can fill in the holes.

Come up with a timetable for the interviews

If you don't set deadlines it won't get done!

Week Five: Outline your story

Who will help you tell it?
What is your narrative thread?
What is your tentative lede?
What are your story elements?
What are your secondary ledes?
Why will your reader care?

Involve the whole editorial team

Make sure everyone knows the plan
Think Deep Coverage: Can you connect other stories or sections to your main theme?

Is there a campus connection?
Is there a sports connection?
Are the art students affected?
Is there a connection to the wider community?
What will the editorial address?

Here's a general outline for a complex story

The Lede:
This sucks the reader into the story. It could be a descriptive lede, an anecdotal lede or a "you" lede. Or something clever.

Nut graph:
Summarizes for the reader the gist of the story and summarizes its key points so the reader knows why its important to read to the end.

First Point
Quote
Evidence for point one: Example
Evidence for point one: Data
Evidence for point one: Expert opinion
Point Two
Quote
Evidence for point two: Example
Evidence for point two: Document
Evidence for point two: Example
Secondary lede (Shake your reader awake!)

Point Three

Quote
Evidence for point three: Geographical comparison
Evidence for point three: Historical comparison
Evidence for point three: Expert Opinion

Point Four
Quote
Evidence for point four: Data
Evidence for point four: Document
Evidence for point four: Personal observation
You get the idea..

Week Six: Storyboard it.

Then schedule it for publication.

Think about:
Your cover
Your center spread
Using color if you've got it
Sidebars
Photos and graphics
Alternative ways of telling your story such as timelines, maps, Q&As, Question of the Week (man on street), profiles, Top 10 lists, etc.

Week Seven

1. Do you want to publish it as a single package in one issue?
Plan on publishing no later than the third to last issue. That way you:

Allow for responses
Allow for follow up stories
Allow for problems in execution

2. Would it be more effective if you parcelled out stories across issues?
Design a connecting headline and logo
Keep all stories together in a special section on Web site
Design a box that summarizes all the pieces in the story and the dates of publication

**Never promise readers anything until you have all pieces ready for publication

Week Eight: Verify EVERYTHING

Other reporters/editors should call
all sources in the story/stories to fact-check quotes, paraphrases in context and all facts. Redo any math and double check your numbers.

Finally publish and follow up after readers respond.

Managing a Student Investigation

A week-by-week plan of action