50 years of scoops

How does he do it? Bob “Scoop” Phillips has spent half a century chasing breaking news in Dayton, Ohio, and he’s still going strong. Featured on the cover of this month’s News Photographer magazine, Bob is a reporter/videographer at WDTN-TV. He works alone and tells writer Julie Washington that he never goes to the station, because “there’s no news in the newsroom.”

Bob covers courts, cops and City Hall. He shoots and does his own interviews. He’s persistent but never pushy, Washington writes. He talks to everyone, not just the bosses. “He leans out his car window and calls out ‘Any news?’ to policemen in squad cars or a city attorney crossing the street.” And he has access almost everywhere. How does he do it?

One word–trust,” said retired common pleas court judge John Kessler. “We trust Bob and have, because he understands the system. He knows the people and we know him. His word is good.”

Take a tip from Bob. Show that you can be trusted, and you’ll build relationships with sources that pay off over time.

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