Doesn’t every journalist want to wrap up the workday and be home with their kids or their dog or their houseplants (or like this writer, be at the golf course or the tavern or out on a hike) by 5:30 p.m. like most normal office jockeys?

And yet, whether it’s a daily grind story or a weekender that needs finishing, many newsies find themselves sweating it out on deadline as an anxious editor nips at their heels.

As an editor, I would grow impatient immediately upon wrapping the afternoon news meeting to get the stories edited and filed to the copy desk. To motivate the laggards, I had this technique of standing directly behind them while holding my arm pointed to the ceiling and moving it back and forth like a metronome while making an audible “tick-tock” sound. I found it hilarious and effective, and I always assumed that the writers did, too (OK, in reality I know they hated it, but the discomfort was a crucial element of the technique!)

So, from here on out, in all cases except bona fide breaking news scenarios, let’s all get out of the office earlier. Here are some tips gained from years of seeing a life beyond work.

• Talk to your editor more. Have a quick pre-reporting chat, then a midday update and finally a pre-writing confab to make sure you’re on the same page and both know what to expect. These chats can be one minute or less.
• Write throughout the day. Ever notice how fast and easy it is to write an adder for another reporter? You quickly pick your best stuff, grind it out and shoot it over. So, why not do this with your own material? Write as you report. Keep your notes in story form as much as possible to really speed things along. Write in chunks and link them with transitions later.
• Think lead and form all day long. Great leads, transitions, nut graphs and kickers take time, so it helps save time if you think about how a story will come together before, during and after the reporting. If a good idea comes to you, scribble it down immediately.
• Write a nut graph first. If you know the nut graph going in, writing the rest comes easy. And don’t forget: your nut graph can always become a hard-news lead if you can’t craft a meaningful narrative or anecdote.
• Report to write. While reporting, always think about what the story needs and how it might take shape. If you’re always on the hunt for a lead, a nut, details, anecdotes, examples, data and an ending, those elements will be present in your head when you sit down to write.
• Work quickly, but don’t rush. Make a reporting plan and source list at the start. Discuss angles with your editor or colleagues. Get going on art or graphics right away. Then, when you do interviews (the most important part of reporting), you’ll have banked more time to go deeper.
• Take what you need and leave the rest. Survey reporting, or talking to many people with nearly the same viewpoint or background, can be critical to project reporting but is rarely necessary in daily reporting. Seek out the best possible sources and be patient with them.
• Send a lead and nut note to your editor. To avoid uncomfortable disputes, which the editor will invariably win, send an instant message with, “Here’s what I’m thinking on this story, what do you think?” and attach the top and nut. This prevents wasted time and heartaches.
• Draft an outline. This technique sounds quaint, but creating a written plan for your story can dramatically speed up the writing process and also ensure you don’t leave anything important out.
• Work harder, faster and smarter. Watch to see who leaves work on time and who ends up staying late, then emulate those who get to it and get out. Arrive early, be on task and hustle.
• Keep the gabbing to a minimum. Stay clear of newsroom gossips, gabbers or gripers. A quick chat or joke is fine, but the time you waste talking to a gabber, or worse yet listening to them, will only lengthen your day and reduce your productivity. Whether you realize it or not, those people will bring you down.
• Avoid perfectionism. Don’t struggle over a single word, sentence or paragraph. Let the copy flow, get it all down, and then go back and revise. Also, don’t get too married to a lead or story format; you can always try a new technique tomorrow.

Bart Pfankuch is an investigative reporter for South Dakota News Watch, online at sdnewswatch.org. Contact Bart at bart.pfankuch@sdnewswatch.org.

I think as journalists we can all agree that there is no such thing as an “over-sourced” story.

Readers will never complain that a reporter talked to too many people, read too many reports or examined too many documents.

A well-sourced article or feature story is easy to identify.

Most, if not all, of the critical questions are answered. The range of voices is wide. The piece has details, specifics, numbers and examples that deepen understanding.

Readers feel complete after reading a highly sourced article, and journalists gain a big advantage as reporters and writers if they go
beyond the obvious or easy-to-get.

Interviewing enough people and examining enough documents allows for improved writing and storytelling. A writer can be more authoritative. A point can be made, expanded upon and extended into deeper discussions in the piece. With extensive sourcing, a story can go beyond explanation and branch into “solutions journalism” where the writer reveals what has worked elsewhere or examines options to make things better. Not all sources need to be quoted in the piece, but going deeper will always broaden your understanding of a topic.

Here are some tips and tactics to quickly expand sourcing on quick-hit daily stories, deeper weekenders and long-range projects. I urge all reporters to hustle, be thoughtful and dive into their work as early as possible so they have the idea, energy and time to improve sourcing.

• Use online public records to strengthen your reporting. I recently attended a seminar called “Quick-hit Investigations” by noted investigative reporter Dee Hall at the annual Wisconsin Newspaper Association conference. The major takeaway: Learn about documents and reports that state and federal agencies maintain online and then use those — even on daily stories — to seek out a few relevant data points, facts or financial figures that will broaden the depth of your piece, allow for historical context or help prove a point.
• Scour the internet for studies or research papers related to your topic. This has never been easier. Writing about wind farms, flu symptoms, pesticides, railroads, cancer, beef processing, pipelines, restaurant cleanliness, sidewalk costs, weather patterns or the lifespan of a bridge? I bet you can search online and quickly find three reports or studies on any of those topics from reputable sources. Stay away from consumer or product sites and rely more on government reports and university studies. Search a bit longer to find one directly related to your topic. Tidbits from those reports will add depth to your piece and credibility to your reporting.
• Do an online clip check to see what others have written. If you find other media outlets have already tackled your topic, feel free to re- interview their sources or in a pinch quote directly from their findings. Just be sure to double check facts and fully attribute the material.
• Think beyond the obvious when seeking sources to call by phone or interview in person. Talk to your editor, colleagues and anyone who will lend an ear and ask them what they want to know about a story or who they would call if they were the reporter. Spend five quiet minutes just thinking about who would be great to interview for your piece, and then make a wish list. Spend a half hour more trying to reach one or two of those people. Even if your success rate shooting for an extra primo source is only 50 percent, your work will be better for it.
• On breaking news, always shoot for one more witness, bystander, emergency responder or police officer. Feel free to interview the talky person everyone else is interviewing, but keep an eye out for the shy or hovering witness who often has more to tell but isn’t seeking attention. In a neighborhood, leave business cards with “Please call me” scribbled on them in the door jams of potential witnesses who aren’t home. Get to know police and first responders to build trust so they’ll speak to you when you need it most.
• Seek out expert sources. These tend to fit nicely in longer pieces on more complex topics, but there’s no harm in having a conversation with an expert on breaking news or a daily story or in advance of a meeting. Always review an expert’s credentials and history to reduce the chance you encounter a zealot. Again, university and government researchers are the best, though think tank analysts and industry experts can sometimes fill the bill.
• Do this now: Take a sheet of paper, write “Get One More Source!” on it and tape it up in your cube or above your computer. Then, follow your own good advice.