Dozens Get Political Tips From Workshop

Close to 50 people braved cold, driving rain and snarled downtown
traffic to attend the Oct. 17 "Political Reporting: The Ins and Outs of
Washington" at the National Press Club.

The daylong political reporting workshop, sponsored jointly by the NPC
Eric Friedheim National Journalism Library's Professional Development
Committee and the Regional Reporters Association, featured panels
exploring how to ferret out a good political scoop, strategies for
covering Congress, tools for tracking money in politics and previews of
2010 House and Senate races.

Susan Page, Washington bureau chief for USA Today, keynoted the event.
As participants munched on a catered lunch, Page shared her top eight
political reporting tips - among them: keep a beat note, use a
spreadsheet to track politicians' progress towards meeting campaign
promises and get out of the office to attend events.

"There is no substitute for being there," said Page, who writes about
the White House and national politics for USA Today and has won numerous
awards for her coverage of the last five administrations

Page also offered insight into what bureau chiefs in the nation's
capital are looking for when they make hiring decisions, telling
attendees that they should break away from the pack because editors look
for candidates who are "doing more than the type of coverage everybody
else does."

Earlier in the day, The Hill's Susan Crabtree, Hearst Newspapers' Rick
Dunham and Congressional Quarterly's Tim Starks shared their advice
about how to become - in the words of Starks - a "scoop artist" before
a team of top-notch congressional reporters, including Politico's David
Rogers, shared their expertise about covering Capitol Hill. Rogers, who
was joined by PoliticsDaily.com's Patricia Murphy and Time's Jay
Newton-Small advised reporters to develop strategies for cutting through
"the din" that abounds on Capitol Hill to pursue a story that no one
else has written yet.

Rogers also suggested that reporters peruse the Congressional Record. "I
know no one does," he said. "But I find it useful."

In the afternoon, attendees heard campaign finance reporting tips from
the Sunlight Foundation's Bill Allison, veteran campaign finance
reporter Bart Jansen and the Center for Responsive Politics' Sheila
Krumholz during a Web-intensive session that prompted waves of
questions.

Participants peppered the day's final
panelists - the Cook Political Report's Jennifer Duffy and CQ's Greg
Giroux - with questions about the upcoming midterm elections. Duffy, who
focused on 2010 Senate races, said gave her assessment of the five most
difficult to call Senate races, while Giroux, who specializes in House races, noted that next year's election will be the last before
redistricting and pointed out that - unlike the 2008 campaign cycle - those that are leaving the House this cycle are seeking other elective
office.

Giroux said he would be keeping a close eye on the 49 "McCain Democrats" that won races last year in districts where the majority of voters supported presidential candidate John McCain.

Duffy discussed the difficulties Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid faces in his path toward re-election and said that Reid - a Nevada Democrat - could be the Senate's most vulnerable incumbent.

The committee is planning to make the Saturday event and annual offering, with the next one planned for September 2010 just ahead of the
midterm elections. For more information about the NPC Eric Friedheim National Journalism Library's Professional Development Committee contact
committee chairwoman Susan Heavey at [email protected].