Beat
A beat is a specific topic area or geographic region that a journalist regularly covers. It's like having a designated territory or specialty that a reporter is responsible for monitoring and writing about. For example, some common beats include politics, education, crime, or local business. When newspapers mention "beat reporting" or "beat coverage," they're talking about this focused approach to news gathering where reporters become experts in their assigned areas and develop reliable sources for stories.
Examples in Resumes
Managed the education beat for a daily newspaper, covering 12 school districts
Led coverage on the crime beat, developing strong relationships with law enforcement sources
Earned award for outstanding reporting on the healthcare beat
Typical job title: "Beat Reporters"
Also try searching for:
Where to Find Beat Reporters
Professional Organizations
Job Boards
Professional Networks
Example Interview Questions
Senior Level Questions
Q: How do you handle competing news organizations covering the same beat?
Expected Answer: Should discuss strategies for maintaining source relationships, developing unique angles, and breaking exclusive stories while maintaining professional relationships with other journalists.
Q: How would you mentor junior reporters on your beat?
Expected Answer: Should explain approaches to teaching source development, story identification, and maintaining objectivity while sharing established connections and knowledge of the beat.
Mid Level Questions
Q: How do you develop and maintain relationships with sources on your beat?
Expected Answer: Should describe building trust with sources, regular check-ins, protecting confidential sources, and balancing friendly relationships with professional objectivity.
Q: What's your process for finding stories that others might miss on your beat?
Expected Answer: Should discuss methods like reviewing public records, maintaining source networks, and identifying emerging trends or underreported issues.
Junior Level Questions
Q: What interests you about this particular beat?
Expected Answer: Should show enthusiasm for the subject matter and basic understanding of key issues and stakeholders in the beat area.
Q: How do you organize your daily beat coverage?
Expected Answer: Should describe basic time management, following up on leads, checking regular sources, and meeting deadlines while covering routine events.
Experience Level Indicators
Junior (0-2 years)
- Basic reporting and writing skills
- Understanding of journalism ethics
- Ability to meet deadlines
- Basic source development
Mid (2-5 years)
- Strong source network
- Breaking news experience
- Feature writing ability
- Social media reporting
Senior (5+ years)
- Deep source relationships
- Investigative reporting skills
- Mentoring junior reporters
- Enterprise story development
Red Flags to Watch For
- No understanding of journalism ethics
- Inability to meet deadlines
- Poor writing samples
- No experience building source relationships
- Lack of fact-checking skills
Related Terms
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