Be a One-Man Radio Network
(Page 3 of 4)
May/June 1971
By Chuck Crouse
With the morning submissions out of the way, the rest of my day consists of attending legislative committee hearings, catching legislators in the halls or in their offices for short interviews and running back to write up and feed any stories that result.
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Naturally, this arrangement works best when the legislature is in session and the volume of news is highest. Still—even when the legislature is in recess or on vacation—there's a functioning government to report on and—based in a capitol city—you should have little trouble finding enough news to keep you busy and wellfed. There are potential pitfalls in this business, however, as you can easily deduce from the following list of pointers:
[1] Don't be tempted to goof off just because no one's there to keep track of your hours. Stay on the move, talk to people, stop in at various offices and get to know all the legislators and state officials.
[2] Honestly represent your stories to the stations. Your service is valuable to them only so long as you give them fast service on substantial stories that are well written and well read.
[3] Don't take sides in either political matters or personality disputes. You need to be well thought of by everyone . . . and that includes competing reporters.
[4] Be prepared to be treated as a second-class newsman for a while. As word gets around that you really are on a half-dozen stations, you'll be taken seriously. One day the publicity man for a party organization suddenly started giving me the red carpet treatment. I later learned that he had heard one of my reports on a network-owned news station the night before.
[5] Don't act self-important. Humility and a willingness to admit you don't know some things will open more doors to you than strutting around spouting call letters.
[6] Do look relatively straight. My hair is somewhat long and I have a beard . . . but I keep both trimmed and I wear a sport coat and tie.
[7] Don't grind personal axes. Spend a little extra time at hearings of the Environment Committee if you like . . . but don't become known as "the guy who's a nut on (fill in the blank)".
[8] Do keep records. The larger stations with well-established stringer systems will keep track of your feeds and pay you promptly . . . but smaller stations will need a weekly statement. Some will pay you by the week and others by the month but none will take out withholding tax; set aside money for Uncle Sam yourself.
As for technical goodies, you should have a good cassette recorder . . . not one of those $39.95 jobbies. Built-in-radio is unnecessary and you would be wise to replace the dainty little mike which usually comes with a tape recorder with a quality $20 low-impedance model. A weighted desk stand for your mike is useful for both news conferences and office interviews. Keep the recorder's heads clean and replace its batteries often. If your machine slows down in the middle of the Governor's Budget Message . . .
