Investigative broadcast journalist Belanger tells Elon students to hone writing and reporting skills early

By Hannah Williams
Nov. 6, 2008

ELON, N.C. – Matt Belanger, investigative reporter for WGAL-TV in Lancaster, Penn. and Elon alumnus, told current communications students to hone their reporting skills and gain experience as undergraduates Friday.

“The novelty of television wears off,” Belanger warned. “In fact sometimes it gets annoying.”

“You have to really love this craft and this job in order to persevere in it,” Belanger said.

Bad news makes good news

As an investigative reporter covering government and politics, Belanger said he often reports bad news.

“If I’m doing my job right, people don’t like me very much, “ Belanger said.

Computers assist reporting

Belanger said he is heavily dependent on computers to do his job, both for investigation and creation, but drew a line between reliable and unreliable sources.

“YouTube is evil,” said Belanger. “I hate YouTube.”

Belanger cited emails and phone calls he received that referenced YouTube videos and inquired why he was not investigating claims that Sen. Barack Obama was an alien and thus ineligible to be president.

“Too many people are not critically evaluating the information that they’re getting,” Belanger said. He referenced The New York Times as a reliable and fairly unbiased source.

Belanger said the WGAL newsroom has an open atmosphere that aids collaboration so that stories can be edited, reedited and scanned for bias.

After all that editing, Belanger said, “Pretty much what you’re left with is a script that pretty middle-of-the-road.”

Develop sources

Build trust with your sources, Belanger said. Be a real person and earn the respect of the people you depend on for information.

Be memorable, said Belanger who uses humor to make an impression. He said he often makes jokes at his own expense to remind sources of who he is.

Finally, to develop long-standing relationship with sources, Belanger said to use information fairly. Sources will be checking the story to make sure the information is portrayed in context, he said.

Belanger said good reporting sometimes means burning bridges with sources when exposing their wrongdoing. To earn their trust again, he recommended showing up at their feel-good press events.

Watch Belanger’s advice.

Prepare early

Belanger said that his three-year stint at Elon well prepared him for his broadcast career. During his undergraduate career, Belanger participated in multiple organizations, completed two internships and worked on student media.

As a student, Belanger joined multiple organizations, completed two internships and worked on student media, both the newspaper, The Pendulum, and the televised news program, Phoenix 14.

“Broadcast is its own monster,” Belanger said. “You can’t be a good broadcast writer until you understand the basic fundamentals of how to write a good, solid print story.”

“Working in print allows people to focus and get their writing style down,” Belanger said.

 

Listen to Belanger’s explanation of the difference between writing for print and writing for broadcast.

Write effectively

Belanger said he spends “every minute” writing. He said he is constantly making notes in his head about how to craft stories.

As a print journalist, Belanger encouraged students to capture the scene and the characters through descriptive writing.

“You don’t have the luxury of nat[ural] sound and video in print,” Belanger said. “You have to convey that detail in your writing.”

Old media will persevere, says Belanger

“More people are getting information different ways,” Belanger said.

Fewer people are sitting down for an appointment with the 6-o’clock news, he said.

Belanger predicted that broadcast and print media will never fully disappear.

“There’s something about that experience that cannot be replaced,” said Belanger.

Watch Belanger talk about his vision of the future of reporting.

 

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