Tips for tackling big projects in small newsrooms

This advice was compiled by these speakers on a panel about tackling big projects in small newsrooms at Health Journalism 2017:

Eric Eyre, staff writer, Charleston (W. Va.) Gazette-Mail

Markian Hawryluk, health reporter, Bend (Ore.) Bulletin

Bram E. Sable-Smith, health and wealth reporter, KBIA/Side Effects Public Media

Lauren Sausser, health reporter, The (Charleston, S.C.) Post and Courier

David Wahlberg, health reporter, Wisconsin State Journal

1. Understand which topics are important to your editors and readers.

2. Do some background research before approaching your editor.

3. Talk to friends and family. Their questions/reactions can help shape your stories.

4. Find a mentor in the newsroom who can help you outline your project and go to bat for you when others want to pull you away.

5. Consider writing news stories related to your project to develop background information and sources who may come to you with ideas.

6. Apply for a fellowship or training opportunity to support your project:

• AHCJ Fellowship on Health Care Performance

• USC Annenberg Health Journalism Fellowships

• Kaiser Family Foundation fellowships

• Rosalyn Carter Fellowships for Mental Health Journalism

• Knight Science Journalism Program

• NPR Story Lab workshop

7. Look for tip sheets/resources on the AHCJ and IRE websites that can add to your skills.

8. Write periodic summaries of what you’re doing. If you get pulled away, they will help when you return.

9. Skip low-level daily stories, if possible, or do briefs/tweets. Use AP, Kaiser Health News.

10. Find other people to share parts of the project, if possible and desirable. Consider collaborating with journalists from other media outlets.

11. Spread out your project/series over weeks or months, if that makes sense.

12. Plan for some stress and anxiety. Every project has a low point, when confidence wanes.

Contact information and project links:

Eric Eyre, statehouse reporter, Gazette Mail, Charleston, West Virginia, ericeyre@wvgazettemail.com, @ericeyre, 304-348-4869

• Painkiller profiteers, 2016

Markian Hawryluk, health reporter, Bend (Ore.) Bulletin, mhawryluk@bendbulletin.com, @markianhawryluk, 541-633-2162

• Too risky to transplant, 2014

• State of addiction, 2017

Bram Sable-Smith: health and wealth reporter, KBIA (Columbia, Mo.) and Side Effects Public Media, sablesmithb@missouri.edu, @besables, 573-882-5582

• Shortage in rich land, 2015

Lauren Sausser, health editor/reporter, Post and Courier, Charleston, S.C., lsausser@postandcourier.com, @laurenmsausser, 843-937-5598

• Cradle of shame, 2015

• Warehousing our children, 2015

• Is it business or pleasure? 2016

• Rural hospitals face emergency, 2014

David Wahlberg, health reporter, Wisconsin State Journal (Madison), dwahlberg@madison.com, @davidkwahlberg, 608-252-6125

• Living on: Improving the odds of organ transplants, 2015

• Out of reach: The rural health care gap, 2010