Virtual Expert: Bob Krauter

Bob Krauter was awarded first place in the Breaking News category in the 2007 AAEA Writing Awards Program.

The planning stage?

I am always looking for break news even though we are a weekly newspaper. More of our content is driving to the Web, which creates an important outlet for breaking news and creates synergy for our print publication. As such, we are daily news reporters and we should keep that in mind as news cycles have become 24/7. I kept in contact with my sources in the San Joaquin Valley about the freeze and I knew from my past experiences as an agricultural communicator for the California Farm Bureau Federation about where the likely impacts would be and who to call. My goal was to capture as completely and accurately as possible the effects of the freeze.

Fact-gathering?

I choose sources based on past experiences with farmers and farm officials whom I have known and trusted over the past 25 years. I did the interviews by phone and I do record interviews so that I can present quotes and information accurately. It is preferable to do interviews in person and to spend some time with interview subjects, but you often don't have the luxury of time to do so. I rely very little on e-mail and Web content for stories. It can be good background material, but I prefer to do interviews directly with subjects. I try to think of questions ahead of time that will cause interview subjects to compare this freeze with past freezes and reveal their concerns about potential damage. This was a evolving story as the freezing weather lingered for several days and the damage does not appear right away. It required daily freeze beat checks to stay on top of changes. My research is pretty basic - what is happening? Who is affected? How does this relate to other farmers? What are the relevant statistics? I think you need to limit research to basic questions and you may find that other information can lead to additional angles to be explored further.

Writing stage?

Writing leads can be the hardest thing for me and they can be time-consuming. I usually try to go past the lead and start to assemble the bones of the story and then go back and write the lead later. I do not outline before I write. I usually have a good sense about where the story is going based on the interviews and facts that I gather. My writing style is pretty straightforward on hard news, sticking to facts and what my interview subjects reveal. I don't do a lot of re-writes. Sidebars are OK, but they should offer succinct information that buttress news stories and offer quick reference to readers to help them put the news in perspective. I write from a home office most of the time unless I am on the road and writing and filing from there. I have capable and skilled editors above me to check stories. I always try to proof my writing and take first cut at editing before stories are filed, but it is always good to have another set of eyes in the event a question comes up or there's an angle I have not covered. It is important to fact check all the time.

Background about your professional career?

I have worked in agricultural communications for most of my career. I have 25 years experience in communications at the California Farm Bureau Federation where I was the interview subject for many print and broadcast stories. I think that experience has been helpful in understanding what reporters want and need. Now that I am on the other side asking the questions, I have a better perspective about agriculture and what I need to get to tell a good story. My Farm Bureau experience has broadened greatly my list of contacts and references on stories. That has helped me identify the contacts I need to quickly gather information for news stories. The AAEA is a relatively new organization to me, but I think the value of networking with your peers is essential. We can all learn from others, regardless of our level of experience. We should always be learning and looking to improve our skills, and the bigger the universe is to draw upon for help/advice, the better.

Any other advice for students?

I think the more you can put yourself of the shoes of your interview subjects, the better. When they read this story, will it be accurate and complete? Did you get their quotes correct? Are there unanswered questions? Is the story balanced? I think a good news story is written clearly and succinctly. That is especially true of breaking news when you have to gather facts and comments quickly and turn a story. It is important to document sourced material and quotes from news releases and other prepared materials so the reader knows where the information came from. News releases and prepared statements are OK when interviews cannot be arranged by phone or in person, but I prefer asking my questions to relying on prepared comments if the time allows.