The Beat

How to beat your beat

Cross the VJ/RW line: "Pay little attention to whether your colleague's medium is words, pixels, or pictures when you seek perspectives on your work," wrote Matt Thompson. "Don't forget, you're all storytellers. Writers, you are photographers and designers. Your best work will come after you learn how to compose a shot with words just like a photographer can with a camera, or how to structure a story with sentences the way a designer can structure a page with visuals and type. And vice-versa, VJs."
Tour your beat with your team and alone a few times before classes start. It will save a lot of time. "I was surprised to find out that I only had weekends and maybe the following Monday to do most of my reporting," Morgan Josey wrote. "So get several story ideas down the first weekend and then refine them from there."
Memorize the boundaries of your beat to avoid getting a great story idea and finding out it's on someone else's turf.
Talk to people. Look for people who are waiting around and don't seem like they have anything better to do -- they will usually talk you to death.
Report the heck out of your stories. A story angle may change several times, so be prepared.
Talk to your teammates. Let them know what you're doing, get their ideas, help them.

How to get everything done

Consider workng on your stories at the beginning of the week and weekend. That way, if your story falls through, you're not screwed; if it works out, you have more time to sharpen it.
Start writing ASAP. "Contrary to popular belief, there is actually tons of time to get everything done," wrote Erica Nelson. "Anyone (who) has gone to college fulltime, wrote for the college newspaper … is more busy than I was during the fellowship." To get things done quickly, go over your notes and jot down ideas before you forget them.
If you think you have a story after talking to someone, do all the reporting you can right then, before that person leaves.
Exploit the staff. Ask them for ideas and get their help. "Everthing at Poynter is at your disposal," wrote Dave McCreery.