Advanced Research and Reporting with Katherine Wessling

Whether you’re writing a nonfiction book, a magazine article, or checking the facts about anything that really matters to your health, home or livelihood, the ability to cultivate and interview sources and/or find the information you need online is important.

Quality intel is all. High-quality info gives any writer a major commercial edge that is reflected in the premium fees offered for investigative features and non-fiction and historical fiction book advances. Getting original information from the internet and out of experts is key to tapping into the premium fees offered for investigative features and non-fiction book advances. All are encouraged to bring their specific research challenges so they can be addressed in the seminar.

In addition to a thorough resources handout, this course will cover:

• Basic online reporting skills overview
• Advanced Google search tricks
• The difference between search engines (Bing vs. Google vs. Yahoo, etc.)
• Info on for-pay research services (LexisNexis, Factiva, etc.)
• How to evaluate quality sources
• Using Wikipedia as a jumping-off point for actual reporting
• Dealing with dead-ends
• Creating alerts to keep you in touch with your topic
• Basic interview manners, charm and protocol
• Discussion of “off” vs. “on” the record
• How to get information out of your sources (even reluctant ones)
• How to get a sense of whether you can rely on the information you get
• Cultivating sources