I wanted to talk to Steve about why I am so damn busy. Actually, I wanted to pick his brain about ways to deal with the ever-increasing workload we all feel as journalists in the 21^st century. Why bother an even busier guy with a question like that? Well, because, Steve is presenting a webinar titled “Managing your Changing Workload.” (It’s from 1 to 2 p.m., CST, Feb. 10, and it would be $35 well spent.)

Newspapermen and women have always worked at break-neck speed. It’s just that we did far fewer things in the not-so old days. We used our time to obsess over comma splices and AP style. We still do that, but now we have to update the Web, tweet game results, write blogs that add nuance to our coverage, upload videos, moderate comments, curate user generated content… Obviously, something’s got to give. …

“The standard response is that we have to do more with less,” Steve said. “But that is a management lie.” Unless, Steve says, we are given technology that automates tasks or otherwise creates efficiencies. The advent of pagination, which made page layout much easier, was one such innovation.

Usually, we have to prioritize our myriad tasks. Steve says – I say — we have to recognize that we live in an increasingly digital world. It just isn’t possible any longer to deny that and carry on as if the newspaper is your fundamental platform. It follows, therefore, that you should prioritize your workload in order to maximize what you can do online.

Here’s a version of an example Steve gave me:

Say you’re a court reporter in 1992. Say you are planning on covering a murder trial. You will sit in the courtroom for some number of hours and then come back to the office to negotiate a story with your editor. You say you need 20 inches to write it. He says you’ve got 15 inches. You write for an hour and a half and turn in 18 inches. He spends the next 20 minutes cutting two inches out of it. The next morning, readers get your story, which is now 12 hours old.

Now say you are a court reporter in 2012. Say you are planning on covering a murder trial. You go to the courtroom armed with a smartphone or iPad (presuming the judge goes for it), and that allows you to live blog from the trial. The murder junkies get live, streaming coverage that includes much more detail that you could have ever slid past your editor 20 years ago. Your coverage is instant and comprehensive. Then you come back to the office and write a 10-inch wrap up. It is much easier to write because you have that digital archive of live blogs to rely on. You tease in the paper to the full story on the Web.

That requires prioritizing your workload and a little forethought.

As an aside, I have a theory about why people of my vintage have a hard time putting digital first. We were taught that the AP Stylebook was a bible and that every story had to be edited two or three times before it was ready for the public. We were the gatekeepers, the Fourth Estate. To be told that there is another way, a more democratic flow of information, can feel like an invalidation of all that we used to find holy.

I plead guilty to piling more on your plate. It’s up to you to find a balance that best serves readers and viewers. I urge you to check out Steve’s webinar.

– Clay

I know this is going to sound painfully 1973, but I still love my big ol’ dictionary.

Look, more often than not, I Google words too. If I’m in the middle of editing something on our server, I’m very likely to go online and type the word to see if I’m spelling it correctly. Sometimes it’s easier than reaching for the old Webster’s fourth edition.

But I realized today that I like that big, heavy book-version of the dictionary for much the same reason I like printed newspapers: Both of those old standbys teach me things I did not know I wanted to learn.

Example: Today I was editing a story and came to a full stop at “taxicab.” I didn’t know whether it was one word or two. So I reached onto the shelf and looked it up. Probably took 30 seconds or so. I’m guessing that is 10 seconds more than it would have taken to look it up online. The image you see with this post is pretty much what I saw.

Taxi dancer? Have you ever heard of a taxi dancer? …

Perhaps you have. But my life has been enriched just that skosh now that I know there is a term for someone hired to dance with folks who otherwise would have no partner at your local dancehall. Why do I care? Couldn’t tell you. Will it make its way into my prose? Maybe, but probably not. It feels a bit precious, doesn’t it?

Point is, I learned something I would not have learned had I simply Googled “taxicab.” And, to me, that is the untold advantage newspapers have over the Web. If you open any one of our newspapers to, say, Page 4, you will read something you weren’t looking for, something that enriches your understanding of your world in some small way. It’s these little things that make life whole.

I know, I know. The Web is an endless source of things you did not know. It’s just that stumbling upon it is done differently. You can Google “Joe Paterno” or “weather in Minneapolis” and find dozens of stories that will likely tell you what you need to know about those topics. But, if you do so, you will be denied that lagniappe that comes with each and every newspaper. And as anyone from Louisiana can tell you, it’s that little something extra that makes life worth living.

– Clay

If you hadn’t heard of the Stop Online Privacy Act or its companion, PIPA (no, not the English princess), before Jan. 18, you likely had after you tried to see that Wikipedia page on the Absolutely Fabulous Housewives of New York City. The Internet hiccupped that day and it seemed like a big deal, didn’t it?

I may be a bit out of my depth here, but here’s my take: The battle boils down to a tussle between big-money outfits in Hollywood and Silicon Valley and those on both sides are more interested in making money than preserving Internet freedom or intellectual property rights. In other words, I think there is room for compromise and both are being more than a little disingenuous as to their motives.

But forget all that for a moment. How did you do without Wikipedia that day?

I bet you did just fine. Journalists have flourished for hundreds of years before there was an online encyclopedia. We weren’t about to fold up because the dang thing was down for a day. But what if you awoke to a world without Wikipedia? …

Look, I gaze at Wikipedia all the time. It is sort-of the go-to site to learn about some celebrity in the news or to get an answer to a trivia question. I sometimes call it up when I’m researching something I want to report on. But I think you have to be careful about that.

As is often the case, I think the New York Times’ David Carr (follow him @carr2) put it best:

I can’t just lift stuff from there; all I can do with Wikipedia is gain an understanding of dozens of things I know nothing about.

Exactly. I think it’s perfectly fine to begin, say, a story on how Native Americans are fairing in your neck of the woods with a stroll down Wikipedia lane. It can help you gain an understanding, as Carr says. Just don’t under any circumstances copy and paste chunks of the Wikipedia page into your story. And seek independent sources to confirm what you read there.

The Internet is an unprecedented tool for reporters. It is not to be taken lightly nor taken at face value. And a day away from Wikipedia reminded me that we can live without it.

– Clay

This is easily the best story of the week. I love it first because it’s about a bookstore in England and what’s not to like about that? Secondly, will you look at the subhead: We should be more possessive about our punctuation, whatever ‘Waterstones’ thinks. (It reminds me of another favorite, in the Wall Street Journal, about whether yoga is a proper workout: “Is yoga posing as exercise?” God bless the subhead as the perfect place for a pun.)

Lastly, I like it because this is a story about how much we continue to care about the English language and the things that are done to it in order to wedge it into the worldwide web, which is ironic because you would think there would be plenty of room for apostrophes there.

I don’t really have much to say about the controversy over there. Essentially, Waterstones simply changed its name. It is no longer the business owned by Waterstone, in my opinion. Fine by me. I guess I’ll be calling Ron Artest Metta World Peace now, too, not that I expect his name to come up much in my house.

It is true, however, that even good writers have lots of problems with apostrophes. It’s pretty simple. The object of that “s” at the end is either possessive or plural.

Anyway, this is a lovely story in the Telegraph. It ends like this. …

…whatever the URL says, there is always going to be a little missing step before the s, not quite a glottal stop, not quite a breath; just the silent fragment of time that marks a missing apostrophe.

– Clay

Last week, I read a post on Steve Yelvington’s blog that noted the job skills required of reporters today have shifted. Steve is a sort of Internet savant at Morris Digital Works, which I believe is a division of the newspaper and news publisher Morris Communications.

He rightly notes that today’s job applicants are asked to shoot video and stills with a smartphone, to use multiple storytelling platforms, to embrace blogging and social media and to be able to mine data on the Web. When he and I graduated from school, we didn’t even have to know how to work a camera. If we could write a sentence without making fools of ourselves and exhibit an interest in the world, we could get a job with a newspaper.

Those days are gone and good riddance. We are all infinitely better off for the tools of the digital age. You know it’s true, even if, like me, you sometimes try to tell yourself otherwise.

Let me give you an example of the way new technology can improve your journalism, your reach in the community, even your understanding of the place you live.

Say you have an annual event that you always play up big in your community. You know what I’m talking about. Maybe it’s the county fair or the Fourth of July parade or a rodeo. I’ll bet you that your coverage from year to year is much the same. You tell folks what is going on beforehand, maybe in a special section, then you recap it in print afterward. Lots of photos… a couple stories. And done for another year. Of course, you may also be posting a video by now and you should be inviting conversation about it on Facebook. …

Now, with a little imagination, there is so much more you can do.

• Tweet the heck out of it. Using hashtags, you can spread your word more broadly and even pick up some newly regular readers who only come for that once-a-year event. And don’t just tweet for the heck of it. Tell folks exactly where the parade is, push your content, retweet recipes from the winner of the pie contest.

• Give a kid on the parade float a disposable camera.

• Try mounting a video camera somewhere odd. In October, the Half Moon Bay Review mounted a camera on the head of a pie-eating contestant. Still makes me laugh. Just last week, Review Publisher Bill Murray took a GoPro camera with him when he paddled his surfboard out with some well-known big-wave surfers for an interesting perspective.

• Start a blog or dedicated niche Web page solely designed to cover every aspect of the event. Invite all kinds of contributions. You might even find sponsors.

• Actively court anyone with a smartphone to be your eyes on the ground. Let people know you want their photos, and post them online first.

• Engage readers. Ask questions as well as give answers.

You should find some way to innovate for all kinds of business reasons, but the first reason to do so is this: It is fun. Covering the 48^th annual Lumpkin County Pork Fest can be boring as all get out. Or you can find a way to have some fun with it. Try the later. And know that these are skills you need to develop in today’s media environment.

– Clay

I was kind of fascinated by something the I saw on nj.com. Bear with me, because this is kind of crazy.

The idea is to create an animated editorial cartoon. I know, right? Crazy. Here’s the craziest part. You don’t have to be a coder or an artist to make it happen. I created that little ditty above there in about two minutes. It cost about 50 cents – better production values would cost a little more, but not much. Now, I admit it was a bit vexing to get it uploaded and working right, but now that I’ve done it, I know how. (The service I used doesn’t have a plugin for WordPress, the platform that I use for this blog, so I uploaded my video to YouTube and then embedded that here.)

Editorial cartoons are as old as newspapers themselves. We have long used satire, irony and an artist’s pen to poke at the powerful in our communities. I see this as an extension of that idea. And I don’t think it’s entirely limited to opinion. Why couldn’t you have a couple characters explaining how to register for school, or how to reach your legislators – anything really.

I used a service called xtranormal. Used to be free, but now you have to buy some tokens first. I bought $10 worth and can make at least 10 videos like that. There are others out there and this blog post mentions some of them. …

It’s important that we always be on the lookout for new ways of reaching our intended audience. This may turn out to be useful. Or it may be a bust. Give it a try and see what you think.

– Clay

What are the most memorable questions you have posed as a journalist? Two questions I asked in my now long ago sports-writing career come to mind.

The first was snarky and posed precisely to get a rise out of my source. I admit from this remove that this is a dubious way for a journalist to do business, but there you go. I was at a sporting goods trade show in about 1990. My charge was to write a story about the price of athletic shoes and the attendant wave of violence by inner-city kids willing to kill for those Air Jordans. My recollection is that, at the time, NFL quarterback Joe Montana had just inked the richest shoe endorsement deal in the country. My question, when I found him at the trade show: “So, Joe, how does it feel to be the highest paid shoe salesman in the world?”

The second was much different, and I don’t remember my exact words or the exact answer. I think it was 1993 when I sidled up to then-Philadelphia Phillies first baseman John Kruk and asked him about his testicular cancer. Suffice to say, nothing they teach you in journalism school prepares you to talk to a partially clad sports icon about a portion of his body not normally discussed in polite company. I remember him being very gracious and behaving like a man who felt some responsibility to encourage his fans to seek preventative care.

It’s interesting to look back on memorable questions in your past reporting, isn’t it? I think I would have handled both of those situations differently today.

Here are five things to consider when conducting an interview: …

1. Medium matters. You have different storytelling tools at your disposal when you conduct an interview. You can call your source on the telephone, you can send an email, you can go and seek her out. There are different unspoken rules of formality for each and some are quicker than others. You are less likely to be accused of getting quotes wrong if you get answers emailed to you. On the other hand, those aren’t the most telling quotes because you are giving your source time to write, rewrite and even seek the help of others in choosing words. I think all of these tools have a place. What do you think of the pitfalls of each?
2. In-person interviews are usually better. Not always. Sometimes — when you are in a hurry, when your source hates your guts, when it’s simply not practical — the telephone is your best friend. But there is no substitute for looking your source in the eye. People are more likely to answer honestly. They are less likely to put you off for another day. And sometimes their body language speaks volumes that can add life to your story.
3. Cultivate an easy style. The first step of nearly every interview should be to put your subject at ease. If you bark a question and then poise your pen over your notebook, your source may be just as formal and nervous in her response. Without wasting her time or yours, take time to smile. Thank her for her time. If you know her a little, you might say that you know she’s been busy with X, Y or Z. If you present yourself as an empathetic listener, you are likely to get more respect.
4. Get the quotes right. It’s vexing, as an editor, to have a source call you a week later to say he was misquoted. I wasn’t there. I don’t know if our reporter got the quote right. When you quote someone, you are literally putting words in his mouth. That is a serious responsibility. Don’t guess on a word here or there. Don’t be afraid to read back direct quotes or ask for your source to repeat the answer. If you are honest that you just can’t write that fast, your source will likely appreciate your honesty and the fact that getting it right matters to you.
5. Quotes are overrated. Don’t use quotes simply to restate what you have already said by paraphrasing. You need sources, but you don’t necessarily need quotes. If your source adds nothing in the way of information or context, don’t bother quoting him. Simply incorporate the info into your story and attribute the information.

The interaction with fellow human beings is the fun part of the job. Enjoy yourself. That matters to your source, too.

— Clay

“An author ought to consider himself, not as a gentleman who gives a private or eleemosynary treat, but rather as one who keeps a public ordinary, at which all persons are welcome for their money.”

That is the first sentence of one of the most famous books of all time, “Tom Jones,” by Henry Fielding. You are forgiven if you stopped reading at “eleemosynary.” It means something relating to charity or alms at church. I know only because I had to look it up.

Here’s the thing about words you have to look up. They are jewels you can pocket and use again. Just keep in mind that nothing is more gaudy, more gauche, than wearing a big ol’ rock on your finger when everyone else is dressed for a barn dance. You have to know what you are doing when you pull eleemosynary out of the drawer. If you ask me, Fielding should have saved eleemosynary for another day. I don’t think you do yourself any favors if you send readers to the dictionary in the first sentence of a book that is 968 pages long.

I got to thinking about words and how great writers use them when I took this online vocabulary test. Because I like to brag, I’ll tell you I got ‘em all right. I suspect many of you will as well. It’s not that hard.

So what, Lambert? Big deal. Can you use these words in a paragraph without coming off like a showoff? I can. I do (I hope). And you can, too. As with all things writing, you are going to want to see how the masters do it.

“Mr. Phileas Fogg lived, in 1872, at No. 7, Saville Row, Burlington Gardens, the house in which Sheridan died in 1814. He was one of the most noticeable members of the Reform Club, though he seemed always to avoid attracting attention; an enigmatical personage, about whom little was known, except that he was a polished man of the world. People said that he resembled Byron, at least that his head was Byronic; but he was a bearded, tranquil Byron, who might live on a thousand years without growing old.”

That is how Jules Verne opens his classic, “Around the World in 80 Days.” He uses some of his big-boy words, but I think they make perfect sense, and, importantly, they are discernable by the context. I would expect someone named Phileas Fogg to be an enigmatical personage, wouldn’t you? I think you can figure out the meaning of tranquil and Byronic from the story as it rolls on by. No dictionary needed.

Here’s another:

“The day broke gray and dull. The clouds hung heavily, and there was a rawness in the air that suggested snow. A woman servant came into a room in which a child was sleeping and drew the curtains. She glanced mechanically at the house opposite, a stucco house with a portico, and went to the child’s bed.”

That is the opening of Somerset Maugham’s “Of Human Bondage.” I suppose he could have used the word “porch” instead of “portico.” But I think my life is just that much richer because he went with portico.

Of course, some of this is a matter of the times the writers lived in. I know that. I just chose some classic examples, well, because it’s Friday and I just wanted to.

The quick version is this:

• Never use a word solely to impress. Words are not for bludgeoning your opponent but for attracting readers.
• Don’t be afraid to use the right word. Sometimes a portico isn’t a porch.
•  Double-check the meaning. Don’t stretch only to find out later you misused a word.
• Have fun. Jules Verne is fun. Try it yourself.

— Clay

Do you ever hear someone say something that is just too amazing to possibly be true? Are you ever tempted to include it in a news story because … well, because it is just so darn amazing?

I am often tempted like that. If someone tells you he foiled a bank robbery at work today, that is probably the first thing you are going to tell your spouse when you get home, right? Something that amazing can be particularly seductive if it is repeated over and over again. How could something that is said repeatedly not be true?

Let me give you an example and, with it, suggest you check these things out. Doing so can turn your amazing story into a real news-breaker. Have you ever heard the one about how Michael Jordan – by acclimation the greatest basketball player who ever walked the planet – was cut from his high school basketball team? It’s part of every profile that has ever been written about him. It’s part of the mystique of a guy who was driven to overcome those who doubted him, etc., etc.

Well, Thomas Lake of Sports Illustrated bothered to find out if it was true. Turns out it is a little white lie Jordan has been telling (and telling and telling) as part of his personal narrative. From Lake’s story:

… Over the next three decades Jordan would become a world-class collector of emotional wounds, a champion grudge-holder, a magician at converting real and imagined insults into the rocket fuel that made him fly. If he had truly been cut that year, as he would claim again and again, he wouldn’t have had such an immediate chance for revenge. But in fact his name was on the second list, the jayvee roster, with the names of many of his fellow sophomores. Jordan quickly became a jayvee superstar. …Repeating the chosen narrative someone gives you is the easy thing to do. In fact, questioning someone’s past can feel downright icky. It can even feel like you are calling him a liar. But that is the job here.

Of course, after a while, a good reporter develops a BS detector. You just sort of sense that something is worth checking out.

Another example: There is a lawyer here in Half Moon Bay who  is involved in a civil suit with his former girlfriend. The long complaint reads more like the diary entry of a scorned lover than a something a real lawyer would produce. (What you see at the top of this post is a portion of his complaint, believe it or not.) Well, he claims to have gone to Yale and to have a legal degree from Harvard. That may well be true, but you can bet we will check it out before we print anything about him.

Another example: I listened to a very heart-felt opinion piece on the radio from this guy. He claimed to be an Iraq war veteran, saying that he returned only to find more violence in the streets during Occupy protests. He claims he was wrongly arrested. That being a soldier taught him to drink. He also says he was once a promising pitcher in the Chicago Cubs organization. Well, that is something that can be checked. So I did.

Thursday, a Chicago Cubs media guy told me that the name Leo Webb didn’t “pop up on any of our electronic databases.” To be fair, that isn’t the final word. He promised to check paper files and get back to me with the definitive word. I fully suspect Webb is telling the truth. In fact, by checking, I have an opportunity to lend credence to the rest of his story. Or call into question everything else he says in his piece.

Stay tuned. I’ll update this post when I hear for sure.

– Clay

Jim Pumarlo is a longtime community news guy. He’s consulted with newspapers all over the fruited plain and his latest book is “Journalism Primer: A Guide to Community News Coverage for Beginning and Veteran Journalists.” The following column appeared in the California Newspaper Publishers Association weekly email and I asked him if I could reprint it. He graciously agreed. Here’s a new year’s resolution: Resolve to get on top of the election cycle before it’s too late. Take it away, Jim… Clay

The general election is a year away. Numerous other political jurisdictions will conduct elections between now and then. Election preparation should be at the forefront of newsrooms.

Election coverage is one of the most demanding and exhaustive tasks that newsrooms undertake. Its various aspects from presenting candidate profiles to handling letters to the editor are scrutinized by candidates and the general electorate alike, underscoring the importance of fair and responsible coverage.

The coverage of months-long campaigns presents its challenges. That said, the process will be smoother for newsrooms – and the coverage more relevant to readers – if editors and reporters pay early attention. …

Each newsroom must approach coverage based on its resources and its particular lineup of races. As a starting point, identify and examine the various “elements” of election coverage. Here is one blueprint:

Generate a master calendar – Identify key internal and external dates. Internal dates include the schedule for candidate profiles and deadlines for letters to the editor. External dates include the release of campaign finance reports and candidate forums.

Prepare for candidate interviews – Newspapers are a primary source for in-depth information about candidates, especially their positions on a variety of issues. Reporters must be as well schooled on the issues as the candidates in order to produce stories with substance and meaning.

Set guidelines for letters – More newspapers restrict endorsement letters due to orchestrated writing campaigns. The problem must be addressed. Don’t forget, however, that the exchange of ideas remains the lifeblood of editorial pages and the heart of newspapers. Don’t be afraid to be aggressive in editing of letters, especially those that simply repeat themes.

Offer your recommendations – Newspapers have a responsibility, even an obligation, to weigh in on those individuals who they believe will best represent the interests of their communities. Editors and reporters usually have a distinctive insight on candidates. At minimum – if you’re hesitant to endorse specific individuals – consider presenting editorials that outline the issues you identify most important in specific races. If you’ve done a solid job on detailing where candidates stand on the issues, readers can make the link between the editorial and the candidates you deem most qualified to advance those positions.

Pay attention to graphics – Graphics play an important role in all aspects of election coverage from introducing candidates to reporting vote totals. Graphics, if done correctly, are another entry point into the story and give readers immediate information.

Use the Web – Newspaper websites are a vital element of coverage. They offer opportunity for leading the way on breaking news, to supplement analysis of issues, and to facilitate exchange among readers and candidates.

This is but one starting list, and newsrooms are likely to identify other elements of coverage by convening a brainstorming session. For example:

• Judges are arguably among the most influential of elected officials. Newspapers should not be afraid to scrutinize judicial candidates and even offer a recommendation, especially if the races are of high visibility. Doing so requires extra effort, however, and therefore extra planning.

• School referendums pose special circumstance, too. Schools are at the heart of community life, and newspapers are supposed to be boosters of quality education. That said, responsible reporting means examining issues and writing stories that could prompt “yes” as well as “no” votes.

• What are criteria for statewide candidates who seek local coverage? How do you follow the campaign of a local candidate seeking a congressional office? Have you developed a checklist for election night so staff is prepared to offer analysis of the results?

Solid election coverage requires solid planning. In many respects, election season resembles a sports season. Certain elements are standard procedure. Preseason previews give readers a glimpse of teams’ strengths and weaknesses. Candidates’ announcements shed light on their strengths.

The grind of a sports season offers opportunities for highlighting individuals’ roles and to report on team development. Months-long campaigns provide ample chance for candidates to exchange press releases on what they would bring to the table and how they would best serve constituents.

Through it all, editors and reporters must strive for consistency and balance. That’s best accomplished by considering all elements of election coverage, then evaluating each step from season beginning to season end.

– Jim Pumarlo