Research & Writing for Graphics Reporting

Regardless of the outlet or format, good journalistic writing is rarely a spontaneous exercise. In fact, in our business, research is often at the center of the wheel around which a story revolves. Whether your specialty as a journalist is pictures, text, design or graphics, strong research and writing skills are always important. Just as a good photographer writes compelling captions for her images or a successful writer engages in a good deal of in-depth research and reporting before diving into the story, so too must the dedicated graphics reporter. If we think of a graphic as a potential story form, then we must also respect research as an essential part of the process by which a graphic comes to be. Research provides a reporter with the education he needs to convey information with confidence and authority. And evidence of research in a graphic provides the reader with the proof she needs to assess the validity of a presentation. Research injects your work with credibility and your byline with respect.