Valley Pulse

Amid the normal reporting workload, working on special projects requires more organization. And a plan. And, I think, reporters know when the story is about to come together: It happens surprisingly early in the reporting process, before a single call has been made, as soon as all the phone numbers are typed out and ready to be dialed.

For example, in working on a series of stories about the Inauguration of President-elect Barack Obama, I began to rest assured as soon as I had my list of phone numbers. I’d dragged my feet a bit. Looked through notebooks. Flipped business cards. Read previous articles.

Then I took lunch.

The stories felt like they were in the bag simply because I had the phone numbers. I think the feeling is common for reporters. And I’d bet that many work in the same way, compiling the large list of phone numbers before making a single call. Not chipping away, but waiting for a great heave. Then we make the calls, all in a row.