Beat reporting breaks news. He had developed sources who trusted him and pointed him to strong stories. Ropeik says reporters can only build trust with their contacts by developing and demonstrating their expertise. These reporters do their homework. Quality journalism takes time.
Time is a precious commodity to enterprising reporters.
They crave time to develop powerful stories, to find depth and perspective. They then need sufficient airtime in the newscast to tell them effectively. And this story, like many in this special newscast, runs longer than the average television news story, allowing Ropeik to explain both the causes and consequences of the problem. Persistence pays off. His new career is closely related to his reporting passion.