"Wow, I've got a story here!"

Today's entry is purely a journalism-related one. As you may know I started a contract at a new paper last week. Well, on Tuesday I was reminded of one of the things I love about journalism.

Being a journalist, you're always going to get a mixed bag of stories to work on. Some will be really interesting, some will be less so. Some will be sad (I had such a story this week). Some will involve merely re-writing a media release, while others will involve trying to find an angle in some fairly dry source material.

On Tuesday I was handed what seemed like a fairly dry report to read through and find an angle on for my paper's readership. And I very nearly missed something that was staring straight at me.

After spending much of the day getting regulation comment from the appropriate spokespeople, I decided to read a section of the report I had skimmed over. I had skimmed over it because it concerned the research methodology and I was only interested in the findings.

In short, I had decided what I was looking for. Now if you don't have a lot of time, deciding what you're looking for can help you to turn out a fairly decent news story quickly. But it can also sometimes mean you miss out on something far more important.

Well, I'm glad I decided to read through the methodology section. For in it I found my real story.

At the start of this ramble I said I was reminded about one of the things I love about what I do. In short, that thing is the rush you get when you realise you really have something. Something more than just dry commentary or an everyday interview.

Rather, an important piece of information that your readership don't know; one that they should know; and that they will now know because you will tell it to them.

It's those little moments of satisfaction that make it all worthwhile.

The moral of the story? Don't decide what you want to find. Open your mind. Think outside the square. And remember, the best stories are often to be found where a lot of people won't go looking for them.