A Little Look Behind the Newsroom Curtain

~CNYW Staff, & Anne Boswell

Every now and then, I see a question or comment about why one news organization reported something before another.

Sometimes the question is, “Why didn't you wait until everyone had a chance to get the story?”

Well... that's not really how journalism works.

And since Colorado News Your Way is an independent, local news operation, I thought I'd pull back the curtain a little and explain how this business actually works.

If you get the story, you get to report the story

That's true whether you're talking about a major television station in Denver, a newspaper in a small town, a radio station or a little independent online news operation like Colorado News Your Way.

If I hear that something has happened, I make the calls.

I try to get the people involved to confirm what happened and, when appropriate, give them an opportunity to respond.

And if I have enough verified information to responsibly report the story, I don't have to wait for someone else to do the same thing.

There isn't a newsroom rule that says:

"Well, I've got the information, but let's wait until all the other reporters in Southeast Colorado have called their sources and then we'll all publish at the same time."

However, there are some reporters that I work closely with and they with me. That's our small town agreement. Sometimes I even write for them because I respect that we are all trying to do the best we can to get news to our communities.

The goal isn't simply to be first.

The goal is to be first with information that is accurate enough to publish.

Sometimes that means I get a story out before another news organization.

Sometimes another reporter beats me to it. Good for them!

That's journalism.

There's no “waiting for everyone” rule

This is probably the biggest misconception.

If three reporters learn that a city council member has resigned, all three are allowed to pursue the story.

If Reporter No. 1 gets the official confirmation first, Reporter No. 1 can publish.

Reporter No. 2 doesn't get to say, “Wait! I haven't called yet!”

And Reporter No. 1 isn't required to say, “Sorry. I'll sit on this until you catch up.”

The second reporter can still publish their own story.

Maybe they get a different interview.

Maybe they find additional documents.

Maybe they discover something the first reporter missed.

That's actually a good thing.

Competition can make journalism better.

Sometimes a story IS held

Now, there are circumstances when a news organization will intentionally hold a story.

An embargo is one example.

A government agency, business, research organization or other source might give reporters information ahead of time and specify that it cannot be published until a particular date or time.

If a news organization agrees to that embargo, it generally honors the agreement.

There are also times when a reporter may choose to wait because more information needs to be verified, someone needs to be contacted for comment, or there is another legitimate editorial reason to delay publication.

And here's something else: We don't have to cover everything

This is especially important with Colorado News Your Way.

Just because something happens doesn't mean I am automatically going to write about it.

Sometimes a story simply isn't right for us.

Maybe it doesn't have enough local relevance.

Maybe it's something that has already been thoroughly covered and I don't have anything meaningful to add.

Maybe there isn't enough verified information yet.

Maybe it doesn't fit the kind of community journalism we're trying to provide.

Or sometimes, quite frankly, there are only so many hours in a day.

I'm one person with the help of a few volunteer contributors.

I have to make decisions about where our time and resources are best spent.

If I choose not to pursue a story, that doesn't mean the story isn't important.

It means I made an editorial decision not to cover it.

Another news organization may decide it is worth pursuing.

That's perfectly OK. I hope they do!

Journalism isn't a community bulletin board

This is another important distinction.

A news organization isn't simply a place where every press release, Facebook post, rumor or announcement gets copied and pasted.

At least, it shouldn't be.

Part of journalism is deciding:

Is this news?

Is it relevant to our audience?

Can I verify it?

Who needs to be contacted?

What questions need to be asked?

What does the public need to know?

And sometimes the answer is: We're not going to do this one.

That's not failing to do journalism.

That's doing journalism.

Editorial judgment is part of the job.

Why I care about getting local news out quickly

One of the reasons I created Colorado News Your Way was because I believe Southeast Colorado deserves timely, understandable local news.

We're a rural region.

Our communities are spread out.

There aren't reporters sitting in every city hall, school board meeting, courthouse and county commission meeting.

So when I find something that I believe people in this region need to know, I want to get that information to them.

I also want people to understand what happened—not just throw a headline at them.

That's why I often try to explain the background, the numbers, the arguments on both sides and what happens next.

Sometimes that takes more time.

Sometimes the story is simple.

Sometimes the story develops over several days or weeks.

That's the nature of local reporting. We want our local news to be covered by local people but if Denver gets it, they'll use it.

So if you see Colorado News Your Way report something first...

It probably means I found it, called somebody, asked some questions, checked the information and decided it was ready to report.

It doesn't mean I was required to wait for every other reporter in the region to make their phone calls.

And if another news organization gets there first?

That's OK, too.

I'll either report it if I have something useful to add—or I'll decide it's not a story Colorado News Your Way needs to pursue.

That's the business.

There isn't a secret agreement among reporters to hold hands and hit “publish” at the same time.

There is competition.

There are deadlines.

There are editorial decisions.

There are stories we chase.

There are stories we don't.

And, hopefully, there is one thing behind all of it:

A commitment to giving our readers accurate information about the communities where they live.

That's what I'm trying to do here.

And sometimes, that means being the one to make the call or text.

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