Virtual Expert: Penny Banks,

Assistant Editor

Landscapes magazine

Penny earned her ag communications stripes in College Station, Texas, working as an Extension assistant for Texas Cooperative Extension for three years and as a marketing communications specialist for the Texas Agricultural Experiment Station for one year. Today, she is involved in a variety of projects at The Ag Agency, ranging from Web sites to direct-mail. She serves as managing editor of the Farm Credit Bank of Texas in-house newsletter and as assistant editor of Landscapes magazine.

A proud graduate of Texas A&M University, Penny began her academic career in engineering, but graduated with a bachelor's degree in agricultural journalism and a master's degree in science and technology journalism. She continues to volunteer with the Texas A&M Former Journalism Students' Association and is South-Central Region co-chair of the Cooperative Communicators Association. She is also a member of the Livestock Publications Council.

Penny is an avid reader and movie-goer. She is on a never-ending search for the best stuffed jalapenos in Austin. In 2002, she received Farm Credit Bank's Trusted Partner Award.

Penny's phone: 512-465-0613

E-mail: penny.banks@farmcreditbank.com

Penny won the Personality Profile category of the 2003 AAEA Writing Awards Program with the story, "Standing Tall for Agriculture," in Landscapes magazine.

Q&A with Penny Banks

The planning stage: Please give some background on why you chose the story topic that won your award. What gave you the idea for that topic? Why now? What were your goals when you began to plan the story?

Penny: The article about Susan Combs ran in the Winter 2002 issue of Landscapes, which is a magazine produced for customers of the Tenth Farm Credit District. There were two issues produced that year, and each one had a theme. The theme for that particular issue was "Women in Agriculture." Susan Combs was the first female ag commissioner in Texas, which made her a perfect choice. My goal for the article was not to present her political platform or her agenda for the Texas Department of Agriculture. Instead, I wanted to show her connection to agriculture and how she came to be in this position.

The fact gathering stage: How did you choose the people to interview for your story? What were your primary sources of information? Did you use the Web? How and where did you conduct interviews? Did you do the interviews face-to-face, phone, or email, and which is best? How did you get good information and good quotes from your sources? How did you determine who to interview, and when did you know you'd done enough interviews?

Penny: The first step was setting up an interview with Susan Combs. Because she is very busy, I started early to get on her calendar. I also talked with people who knew her to get a feel for what to expect. For example, I decided to tape the interview with her, which I don't always do, because I was told that she talks very fast and moves quickly from one subject to another.

Before interviewing her, I searched the Web for news stories about her and read all of them. This was a really important step for me, because it gave me a better arsenal of questions to ask her at the interview. Instead of asking her where and when she went to college, I was able to ask the following questions: You have degrees in religion and French from Vassar, one of the most prestigious liberal arts schools in the country, in addition to a law degree. That's a big difference from working on a ranch in Texas. What made you come back to agriculture? What role has your education played in getting you into politics? What did you learn at Vassar that you feel is still helping you today?

I interviewed Susan at her office. It was probably funny to see a 5'1" reporter overshadowed by a 6'2" ag commissioner with a commanding presence. I was glad I had researched her so well and had questions lined up in advance. As expected, she talked quickly, and I scribbled furiously, but in the end, was really glad the tape worked.

The writing stage: Why or how did you choose the story lead? Did you outline the story or organize the general flow ahead of time, before you began to write? What writing style did you choose, and why? How many re-writes did you do? How did you choose sidebar stories? Did you have an editor or a colleague review your story, offer suggestions, look for "holes" in your reporting? How do you check facts?

Penny: I transcribed the interview first, and while I listened to it again, I began to formulate key points in my head. I made a mental outline, and if I remember correctly, I later wrote out an outline for the story.

I actually wrote the story on my laptop computer on a Saturday morning at a coffee shop near my apartment. I struggled with the lead for a while, and finally gave up, worked on the body and came back to the lead later. In the end, I wrote the lead as if I knew what she was feeling. This was a technique I had never tried before. It wasn't made up, however; she had described her trips to the ranch, the mountains, her love for it, etc. She had addressed all the elements I described in the lead, just not together as one isolated event.

Although I talked with other people who knew her, I believe I only quoted her in the story. I usually try to include quotes from others, and probably would if I could do it over again.

After I finished the story, it went to my editor for review. She made a few minor changes and then sent it to our proofreader, who also caught a few punctuation mistakes. It is a real blessing to have a good editor and proofreader as colleagues. Then, in keeping with our magazine policy, the story was sent to Susan for review. She didn't make any changes.

Our magazine has a review policy, because we are often writing about our customers and we want to be sure we accurately tell their story. When we send stories, we ask them to review for accuracy. Surprisingly, it is rare that a subject ever makes a change, unless it is a clarification of a fact.

How did you begin your career? What advice do you have for those graduating? What does it mean to be a member of AAEA? How do you maintain a high standard of ethics in your writing and your career?

Penny: I decided to pursue a degree in agricultural journalism in the middle of my junior year at Texas A&M University. I did what professors and school counselors beg you not to do ­ I graduated without gaining any practical experience, either from the school paper or an internship. Turns out that there's a reason they warn against that. I had a hard time finding a job after graduation and considered abandoning hope of actually being employed as a writer until I was offered the opportunity to pursue my master's degree in science and technology journalism, also at A&M.

While in grad school, I worked part-time as a writer for the Texas Agricultural Extension Service, writing mostly about entomology. That led to full-time employment, and I worked in Agricultural Communications there for almost five years. In 2000, I moved back to Austin to work for the Farm Credit Bank of Texas. I did not grow up on a farm or ranch, but I've found that I love writing about agriculture. In my current position, I've interviewed farmers in small rural communities and senators in the Capitol in Washington. Journalism is a noble craft, and I feel privileged to be a part of it.