My tips for reporters (and all writers)

• Rule #1: You are a reporter. Not a writer. Your job is to gather information and present it to your reader. Your prose is a tool to do this, not an end in itself.
• Write about PEOPLE! Not programs, not policies, not buildings.
• Always get three sources in a story. One source is a press release. Two sources is a well written press release. Three sources is balanced reporting.
• Check it out. If somebody says something...don't believe them!! Not everybody has an agenda, but it's safest to assume they do.
• Use boxes and sidebars to excess. Anything that distracts from the story (especially complex figures) can be broken out into a box or sidebar.
• Write in active voice (the council voted, not the council held a vote). It's easier to read.
• If you don't understand it DO NOT PUT IT INTO YOUR STORY. If you don't understand it none of our readers will, no matter how accurately you report what was said.
• If a question comes up while writing or editing a story, don't be afraid to call back. Sure you may look like an idiot, but it's better than getting a fact wrong.
• Why are you writing this story? Why would anybody want to read it? Unless you can answer those questions you may be wasting your time.
• Get an angle. How are you going to write this story that is different from anybody else?
• Always ask - ''How much does this cost and who's paying for it?''
• Who? What? Where? When? Why? How? - The tried and true questions always work. Can you answer all of these questions about your story?
• Can you tell somebody what this story is about in six words or less? If not you need to focus until you can.
• Who said this? Attribute everything.
• Block your stories. Put the most interesting information on top.
• Five-year rule: Somebody out there hasn't read a paper in five years. Does your story contain enough information to bring them up to speed?
• Recycle. A summary graph or sidebar you write for one story can be used in all of the followup stories. Don't reinvent the wheel everytime you need background.
• PROOFREAD! PROOFREAD! PROOFRAED!