Thread by @eisingerj

I sometimes get emails from people about journalism careers. This weekend, someone asked me for advice about how to break into "long-form investigative journalism."

I'm a little wary, since the world has transformed since I started my career in 1993. But here's what I wrote.

This is a thread for journalism aspirants. Experienced reporters should feel free to weigh in with their own thoughts. Anyone who disagrees with me should think about why they are wasting time on Twitter instead of responding.

The currency of our realm is clips. You need to write stories that get noticed, either because they break news, cast important issues in a new light, or are written beautifully.

A journalist wants to get the story out. The story should govern the form, not the other way around.

“Long-form” is right for some stories but not others. Write stories for an audience. All audiences are bored, tired, work hard, want to spend time at the beach or with family.

Try to grab that audience and if that requires only 1200 words, not 6,000, great. Think of all the innocent bytes saved by all the short pieces in the world.

Don't think of “investigative” as some kind of special category. It's just a bullshit branding term for reporters who enjoy prize luncheons. Every food writer, sports reporter, & film critic should think about why the world he or she is covering works the way it does.

Get out and talk to people. Cover the news. But also seek to hold people accountable if you see things that are wrong or immoral or unjust or abuses of power.

If you burn to write something holding someone accountable, try to figure out if you can explain it in two sentences. Then write up a pitch of 500 words.

Figure out which is the right publication.

Is it a local story? Send it to a local publication, which, I realize are few and far between. Is it a national story? What kind? Tailor it to the publication you think it’s right for.

If you don’t have a specific story that is burning a hole in your mind, then try to find a job covering a beat: cops, or pharmaceutical companies, or the bond market. Do that for a couple of years and practice writing news. Own the beat. Try to find accountability within it.

My main point is that journalism is like cabinet-making: it’s a craft. It simply needs to be done over and over until you become modestly better at it. (And if you're like me, you probably won't ever think you are actually good at it.)