Secrets

Every idea is like a Dirty Little Secret. Only, er, less dirty.

We keep them locked up in sealed lips, brains racing until they become a pitch. Because that's what telling your editor about a story you'd like - or have - to do: It's a sales pitch made discretionary because you work for the same news organization.

And so it's closely held, lobbed around the newsroom. Everyone knows what you're working on, but the competition - most of the time.

That right there is the crux: Did we get it right? OK, good. Did any other Other News Organizations cover it well, if at all? They didn't? CHECKMATE.

How often, though, do we do stories simply because there's no way we could not follow after Other News Organizations reported on it? How often do concerns about the competition get in the way of the first question - accuracy? Is it even a story anymore? A fresh angle? Recycle.

You'd like to shout from the rooftop about a story you're excited to work on, but shhh. Keep it low. Someone might hear you and write about it first.

Photo by Christine Mariner courtesy procorbis.com