BALTIMORE MD — The first week of February is News Literacy Week at WMAR, so we wanted to ask a question that many viewers have asked. How does an idea become a story on the news?
The stories that you see each day on WMAR-2 News come from many different sources. Some are pitched by the reporters themselves or researchers on the news staff. Others come through email or telephone tips from viewers, community monitoring via social media, public officials, police and emergency scanners, and even nationally from news services like Scripps News Group.
Each story is logged into a tool called News Desk, which provides a reporter with the basic details they need for a story.
This tool also provides the ability to assign stories and reporters in the most efficient way, based on their areas of expertise.
Every story idea then gets pitched in a daily editorial meeting, held at the beginning of each shift. This meeting is open to all WMAR employees, allowing the free flow of ideas, along with the opportunity to pitch or challenge any story.
Resources are also organized daily to ensure that each newscast matches WMAR's initiative of sharing community voices, and the stories that affect Marylanders.
The key point to note here is that no one person chooses a story for the news without input from others.
Once the editorial meeting has concluded and stories have been assigned, reporters begin their research and plan out their day in the field.
Now on a tight timeline to get a story ready for the news, reporters, videographers, and multi-media journalists head out into the community... gathering video and interviews to accurately report the story, all the while being mindful of gathering diverse opinions, and ready to challenge and investigate any official's statement or account.
Meanwhile back at the TV station, producers, directors, and technicians are preparing the technical aspects of the newscast, and getting the studio ready to go live.
Before any story is broadcast, or published to our many online platforms, they are proofread & reviewed, for accuracy & balance, by a news manager.
After passing that final review, the story is finally on its way to air...
Stories also get posted on WMAR 2 News dot com, and social media as appropriate.
Additionally, post-show evaluations are performed by the team to see where improvements can be made. Newscasts are reviewed, and viewer feedback emails, social media posts, and phone calls are shared.
Do you have a story idea you'd like to share? Email us: storyidea@wmar.com
