News Newbie

These past couple weeks at the Observer have been filled primarily with lede searching and until now, I did not grasp the challenges in finding and pitching buzzy, fresh and informative news articles.  Since Lale, the intern supervisor and Managing Editor of the Observer decided to take the NY News section of the Observer in a slightly different direction to include more original pieces and fewer re-blogs, I have been on the search for interesting pitches.  We are encouraged to either take an existing story and find a new angle or spin on it to generate something entirely different or uncover something newsworthy that has not been covered at all and complete the necessary research and reporting to cover it.  This has been a huge challenge for me (especially because I never expected to be writing for publication this summer, nonetheless pitching and writing news stories). But, at the same time, it has been an invaluable experience, as I am doing exactly what I would be doing as a news reporter working at the Observer and am able to get direct feedback on the quality of my pitches and writing from one of the editors. Of course the learning curve means that several of my pitches simply do not work in that they do not cover relevant info for the Observer audience and my writing has also had to be tweaked significantly to adopt a catchy, news-y tone also suited to the Observer audience of educated, upper-middle class New Yorkers.

Another inherent challenge is seeking interviews, quotes and pictures from large organizations included in pieces that I am covering. Usually it takes a little while for a response from a PR or Marketing person at the company in order to set up a time to speak with a representative or manager of the said company or to receive photos suited for the press.  This has allowed me to really up my communication skills in emailing and speaking directly on the phone with prominent people in their fields. Unfortunately, this also slows down the publication process, though, as this info is often necessary to complete a piece.  Again, more insight into the journalism field and what it takes to bring an article from a pitch/idea through the draft process and to publication.

Currently, I am wrapping up a trend piece compiling museum, zoo and park sleepovers in NYC this summer.  This has involved contacting several organizations that host such overnight activities to secure photos and interview managers on the motives behind starting these programs.