Edna Buchanan is not what she appears to be, shy and demure.
“Edna is known for being fiercely proprietary about stories she considers
hers—any number of Herald reporters, running into her at the scene of some
multiple murder or major disaster, have been greeted with an icy "What are
you doing here?"[1]
Writing the story right is Edna’s forte. Buchanan asks the questions that no one
thinks to ask, such as asking how many children John Wooden had and finding out
he had 31 children, which you can almost hear Edna say, "That's interesting
as heck."
Persistence is one of Edna’s virtues, knock on the door and it
gets slammed in your face, go back in a few minutes and explain that there was
a problem and the door was accidentally shut in your face and knock again. Per Edna, “don’t take no for an answer,”
because someone will want to give the victim a send-off.
Always be willing to go where the story is and don’t
delay. When two bodies washed up on shore
and no one wanted to cover it, Edna yelled, “I’ll do it, I’ll do it,” and she
did.
Another rule worth trying to use as a reporter is to become “a
piece of furniture” so that people will talk around you and not to you. This rule is virtually impossible for
television reporters, as they are usually well-known and talkative, vibrant
personalities, and is the main reason Edna did not take a lucrative job with a
television station in Miami.
Although she was not college educated, Edna Buchanan demonstrates what a reporter can do if they apply their skill at writing with the tenacity to grab the reader's attention with such headlines as "Gary Robinson died hungry."
[1]
Read more
http://www.newyorker.com/archive/1986/02/17/1986_02_17_039_TNY_CARDS_000342687#ixzz1t24ZuZ7m
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