Common Sense Journalism

Some basic things journalists should know

by Doug Fisher

We are in a new world in the newsroom these days. Editors are being laid off. Reporters are expected to have editing skills. That copy desk filled with the veterans who knew Wayne Street runs east-west but Wayne Avenue runs north-south – and who could keep you from making the error – is missing a lot of that institutional knowledge.

Which set me to thinking, what are the basic things a journalist should know these days? I came up with a list that doesn’t include posting photos online or using Facebook or Twitter, though I would urge you to get to know how to do that, too, if you don’t.

By comparison, these are old-fashioned. They can only help you avoid embarrassing errors, understand when some public official or politician is feeding you a bill of goods or get you to the right part of town more quickly.

You may disagree or have your own favorites. Let me know, and we’ll add them to the list in a future column. So, in no particular order:

Need we say it? Know where city hall, the police station, the courthouse and the jail are. In most communities, they remain the center of the action. Many are no longer downtown.

Your state’s approximate population and budget. The population of the main town you cover or of the metro area, and the approximate population of the U.S. All allow you to do quick calculations to alert you when someone’s trying to blow numerical smoke at you or whether something you’ve written is out of whack.

The last five U.S. presidents, their parties and roughly what decade they served in. For instance, most of the 1970s was Nixon and Ford, most of the 1980s was Reagan, most of the 1990s was Clinton and most of the 2000s was George W. Bush. Jimmy Carter and George H.W. Bush fill the gaps.

And while you’re at it, sock away the names of the last three to five governors of your state and their parties. And know your mayor’s name.

It just looks stupid when you get this kind of thing wrong. Besides, you might win an occasional bar bet. As for just being able to look it up online, that doesn’t do much good if you don’t know when to look it up. We’re not talking memorization here, but familiarization – having that little bell go off that says “I’d better check this.”

How many electoral votes your state has and how many it takes to elect a president (270). Yes, it only comes up once every four years, but from the electoral votes, you also can figure out how many representatives you have in Congress. Every state has two senators, so the number of electoral votes less two equals the number of House members.

What general types of records are available under your state’s freedom of information act and how long agencies have to respond to your inquiry. And what public bodies must do to close meetings.

The time zones and how far behind or in front you are from the others across the country. It also wouldn’t hurt to remember your area’s relationship to Greenwich Mean Time.

The north-south and east-west dividing line for addresses in your town. It will save you time locating places and prevent you from making really embarrassing miscues. Nothing shouts “you ain’t from around here” much more than putting that house fire in the wrong part of town. And haul out the city map and become familiar with area neighborhoods and subdivisions. That’s something you still won’t generally find on Google.

Major highways in your area, whether they are Interstate, U.S. or state, and the direction they run.

Any odd spellings and pronunciations of major rivers, roads or other area landmarks. For instance, in Philadelphia, the river is the Schuylkill (SCHOOL-kill); in Columbia, S.C., a downtown street is spelled Huger but pronounced HEW-gee; and the South Carolina county is Horry (or-EE), with no “h” sound. And remember any pairs close in spelling or sound (but not necessarily in geography): Gaston and Gadsden, for instance. It's a reminder to always double-check them.

Finally, here’s a way to help you learn even more about where you live – and maybe discover a story or two: Park the car two blocks from where you’re going and walk the rest of the way. You’d be surprised what you see and hear.

Doug Fisher, a former AP news editor, teaches journalism at the University of South Carolina and can be reached at fisherdj@mailbox.sc.edu or 803-777-3315.