Some newsrooms turn the problematic investigator into an editor, which causes worse problems. Coaching the drowning The helpful editor can deal with these problems by coaching or teaching. A coaching editor helps the disorganized reporter by talking before the reporting briefing or between the reporting and the typing debriefing. Briefing involves brainstorming about the story and its potential before the actual reporting begins, or very early in the gathering stage. Reporters mostly think about sources at that point, but the coaching editor steers the conversation toward the outcome as well as the process.
Organized people imagine the final product from the very beginning.
Tennis champion Jimmy Connors thought about receiving the trophy, as well as his next shot. In a briefing session, the reporter and the coaching editor spin out possible structures for the story, its sectioning, its major themes, its likely conclusions, knowing full well that good reporting will supersede whatever they imagine. Brainstorming itself helps, regardless of its eventual accuracy. Some diggers benefit from coaching during the reporting. They call in and unload what they've found on an editor.