Beat:

A beat is a particular area, topic or subject that a reporter covers. Many beats are defined
geographically, others focus on important subjects like political, crime, health, education or
the environment etc.
There are several advantages to being a beat reporter.
➢ First, beats allow reporters to cover the subjects they are most passionate about. If you
love movies, chances are you'll be excited at the chance to be a film critic or cover the
movie industry. If you're a political junkie, then nothing will suit you more than to
cover politics at the local, state or national level.
➢ It saves resources since beat reporters are very experienced on their beat and know
well where and how to get exactly the information they need.
➢ Due to their long-term relationship of trust with relevant sources, beat reporters obtain
exclusive, trustworthy, and newsworthy information.
➢ Moreover, a reporter who has spent a lot of time covering a particular beat can write
about it with an authority that someone else just couldn't match.

Political Beat:
Political journalism is a broad branch of journalism that includes coverage of all aspects
of politics and political science, although the term usually refers specifically to coverage of
civil governments and political power.
Political journalism aims to provide the information to voters to formulate their opinion. It also
let the voters know how community, local or national matters will affect them. Political
reporters basically have one central mission: to provide citizens with the information they need
to make an informed choice among the candidates for elective office. To do that, journalists
need to examine the candidates’ backgrounds and qualifications, their positions on the key
issues, and what they’re saying in campaign appearances. Reporters who cover politics also
look at the candidates’ supporters, because their interests can often shed light on what a
politician will do if elected.
The challenge for journalists is to cover elections and the work of elected officials with citizens
in mind. Reporters who ask the basic question, “Who cares about this?” when covering
government at all levels are able to find people whose lives are affected by what government
does; stories that feature those people are much more interesting to the audience.
Crime beat:
Every news organization covers crime. It’s a staple of daily reporting. Mostly, crime stories are
just telling audience about incidents as they occur, with little context or depth. To cover crime
well, reporters need to look for patterns and trends as well as for the impact of crime on
individuals and communities.
Crime reporting is a part of investigative, interpretative, and objective reporting. Spending time
on the crime beat means hanging out at police stations, firehouses and with emergency medical
technicians getting to know their problems and procedures.
As a crime reporter you must need to know exactly how crimes are defined. A burglary and a
robbery are not the same thing, for example. Misusing terms is a quick way to lose any
credibility you’ve built up with law enforcement sources. Developing a glossary of essential
terms can prevent embarrassing mistakes.
Court beat:
Covering the courts is one of the most challenging and fascinating beats at any news operation,
one rich with human drama. The courtroom, after all, is very much like a stage in which the
actors - the accused, the attorneys, the judge and jury - all have their roles to play.
Covering the courts is an important task for the news media for several reasons. First, the
judiciary is one of the three branches of government. Therefore, coverage of the courts fulfils
part of the watchdog function of the media. Second, there is a great deal of public interest in
what the courts do, particularly in criminal cases.
Coverage of the courts can also expose unfairness in the system, either for victims or
defendants, that the public may want to lobby its representatives to correct. Coverage may also
help prevent injustices by shining a spotlight on the actions of judges, lawyers and other
participants in the justice system.
To cover courts, reporters must understand the judicial process from beginning to end. They
should know what happens when a suspect is arrested, charged, arraigned, makes bail, is tried
and sentenced or released. Experienced reporters say the best way to learn the process is to
spend time at the courthouse.
Sports beat:
Sports journalists cover sports events and produce written or broadcast reports on those events.
Sports journalists working in the print medium provide detailed previews of upcoming events
and post-game analysis, in addition to extensive box scores, player statistics and team
standings. Broadcast sports journalists provide real-time reporting and commentary of a
sporting event for television and radio broadcasts.
The quality of a written sports item depends on the quality of its reporting. The sports reporter
who, among other things, knows the players well, the strategy they use during game, key
incidents, crowd behaviour and the game which he/she is covering, is able to write an
interesting sports story.
Cultural beat:
The term “The Culture Beat” refers to the way a newspaper will assign reporters to cover
various sites like festivals, sports, entertainment, local events, etc. Culture reporting is
characterized by its punchy style and rough language. Culture reporting remains a feature of
many popular magazines. It has a good deal of entertainment value.
Culture reporting also focuses on the personal lives of people, primarily celebrities, including
movie and stage actors, musical artists, models and photographers.
Cultural reporting requires a reporter to cover not only individuals i.e. artists, craftsmen etc. but
also to cover different cultural organisations, institutions and other events by upholding public
interest. For this he/she has to dig out that how many cultural organisational setups exist in the
city.
The cultural reporter is actually a cultural promoter. The reporter has a great responsibility to
stimulate interest and participation in various cultural functions. He/she has to get ideas,
opinions and news about culture from different materials printed by these organizations. When
actually covering culture, it is preferable to visit the scene of cultural activity personally.
Familiarity with cultural heritage and history is a special qualification of cultural reporter. The
cultural news story writing style and contents must be based on information, entertainment and
of general public interest. Music world-cinema, theatre, television-literature, fairs etc. have
great newsworthy material of public interest.
Education beat:
The education beat is a wide umbrella, covering everything from preschool through higher
education, and from school funding to learning outcomes. If you’re on the education beat,
you’ll probably spend time attending school board and PTA meetings, not so much to report
on them as to look for sources and story ideas.
Reporters covering education need to understand the structure, staffing and economics of the
school systems they cover, which may vary widely. They should be prepared to cover statistics
and to compare budgets over time to see where the money goes and what happens as a result.
Covering education also means tracking statistical data such as dropout and graduation rates,
teacher retention and vacancy rates, principal turnover and the results of high-stakes testing.
Education journalists have always needed to know how to evaluate schools based on both
qualitative and quantitative measures, how to interview children effectively, and how to
analyse a budget. Journalists on all beats routinely face important ethical questions. But that is
especially true for education reporters, because their work involves covering children.
Parliament beat:
The beat reporters record the discussion and debates that takes place among the members of
the parliament. This type of reporting is known as parliamentary reporting.
A parliamentary reporter is required to report on each sitting of the parliament. His job is to
record each and every point that is being mentioned in the parliament. This requires a great
deal of concentration and writing speed. One needs to pin down each and every word that is
relevant. Also, a strong foothold on the legal system is a must. A parliamentary reporter needs
to be aware of the new laws and amendments in the constitution.
The reporter is required to make a final report on his/her observations and present it to the
general public without any manipulation or twisting of news. A reporter must stick to the ethics
of journalism and should not be biased or hold presumptions on a topic that reflects in his
writings.
Things that hold national interest are discussed in the parliament and all the citizens have the
right to know as to what is being discussed in the parliament. The immediate amendments that
are being passed by the new bill; all of this gets recorded by the parliamentary reporter.
The main agenda of any parliamentary reporter should be to educate the masses and make them
aware as to what is happening within the parliament.
Economic and commerce beat:
The economics beat is one of the most important for any journalist. It reports on major events
and phenomena that affect people’s daily lives—prices, interest rates, trade, unemployment,
wages, government spending, taxes, etc. Economics reporter also covers the impact of
economic activity on businesses, consumers and the public at large. While business/commerce
journalists report on companies’ activities, financial results, etc., the economics journalist takes
a much broader perspective.