Scan-N-Land

I work with a star

This is Paul Leavitt, my USA TODAY colleague and a star of one of the stories in our textbook (check out page 43, in the chapter on interviewing). Paul had no idea his exploits had been immortalized. But when I asked him about it, the story -- as Paul remembers it-- was even better than what was in the book.

Paul said he was frustrated that one of his reporters was unable to get an id on an arrested suspect for a small, three-paragraph, back of the book story. Despite the relative insignificance of the matter, he telephoned one of his own sources to find out why the police weren't giving up the name. "Oh, I don't know what the problem is, Paul," the source said. "I have been too busy with these meetings about the pope's visit."

Moral: It always pays to do the scutwork, no matter how lowly!

--kathy k

posted by Mark H. @ 12/10/2006 06:51:00 AM