I think often of how reporters are told to work their way up in newsrooms by starting out on a night cops shift/covering police. Breaking news is seen as an entry level, easy to do gig. But it& #39;s not. Nor is it a throwaway beat, it& #39;s an integral part of community coverage.
Why do many newsrooms treat it as if it doesn& #39;t require a certain level of expertise? Expertise that really is required on all fronts: Not just in learning how to cover a police department but more specifically the community that the police department is supposed to serve.
It& #39;s ingrained in reporters to develop police sourcing. Makes sense to a degree. But what if we spent as much effort developing sourcing within the community, too? Police coverage isn& #39;t just covering the institution itself but rather its interactions with the community.