The art of reporting news

By Rowena MacDonald

Journalist Jason Koutsoukis learnt the art of news reporting as a cadet at The Age in Melbourne, where he spent two years covering murders, accidents and natural disasters. Now writing for the Australian Financial Review's Canberra bureau, the only 'murders' he covers happen in the parliamentary party room.

Police news and politics might be worlds apart, but Koutsoukis says the reporting techniques he uses for both are basically the same. It's all about gathering accurate information from the key players, recognising what's newsworthy and always looking for the next story.

Getting direct quotes from those involved in or affected by an event often makes the difference between an average story and a good one, he says.

"You might just get that bit of extra detail that nobody else has, so that will make your story a better story. The objective is to make the story as detailed as possible, so the reader is getting value for money."

Koutsoukis says some of his best police rounds stories came from interviews with the families of crime victims. "If someone's murdered, the only angle that the newspaper is interested in is the victim's family."

Some might baulk at interviewing a distressed family suffering the loss of a loved one, but for Koutsoukis, it was all part of the job.

"I don't mind. But I wouldn't harass them or be nasty or rude or anything like that. Some people think that's sleazy journalism, but I think there's a human interest there."

Reporting on transport, industry and agriculture, by contrast, is "all very dry. There's not a lot of room for colour at the FIN."

But there is a lot of room for pursuing your own story ideas, which for Koutsoukis is the most satisfying aspect of news reporting. Good reporters should always be on the look out for a fresh story, he says.

"It's such a cliché but you're only as good as your last story. People forget what was in the paper last week, let alone last year."