Picking the brains of colleagues for a story

San Diego Union-Tribune business reporter Lori Weisberg was interviewed about how she put together her Sunday story on the economic impact of Qualcomm to the region.

Here is an excerpt:

This story really isn’t on your beat. How did you approach it?

Because Qualcomm and the whole technology sector are pretty far removed from what I cover — tourism and hospitality — I initially felt a little bit overwhelmed and out of my depth. On the other hand, I think that may have been to the story’s benefit because I had no preconceived notions and I could approach the reporting from the perspective of the average reader: What does Qualcomm mean to me and the community I live in?

I already knew it meant a lot for the operation of my smartphone, but what else?

So my first task was to educate myself about Qualcomm the company and its affiliate ventures. As I note in the story, I don’t think I am all that much different from many others in San Diego who know little more about Qualcomm than the technology it pioneered to power our phones. So it was especially helpful for me to first pick the brains of my colleagues, technology reporter Mike Freeman, who has long covered Qualcomm, and science writer Gary Robbins, an expert on UC San Diego, which has a very close relationship with the company.

Read more here.