Professor Terry Wimmer (left) asks UA alumnus Josh Moss about his career in journalism during a talk to students Oct. 4.

Observation key to good reporting, alumnus tells students

A former White House reporter, online news editor and UA alumnus encouraged journalism students to find the stories "people aren't covering," advice that served him well in a career that took him from a Florida cops beat to the White House before he was 30 years old.

Josh Moss told students in Professor Terry Wimmer's Advanced Reporting class Oct. 4 that a Bolles fellowship and internships with The Providence Journal and the Tucson Citizen taught him to ask questions others might ignore. Moss recalled -- as a Citizen intern -- wondering why the site where a bar had burned to the ground three years before hadn't been cleaned up. So he asked.

That got him a tour of the remains with Fire Department officials, where they discovered recently tossed Molotov cocktails. What had been perceived as an eyesore was now a real safety threat, and Moss had a story. Within three months, the building was torn down.

"It's all about observation," he said.

Moss' first reporting job after graduating from the UA in 1987 was with The Tampa Tribune covering cops and courts, a beat he believes serves as great training for young reporters.

"It teaches you how to look at documents, how to ask questions," he says. "Then you can look at themes and trends that will lead to your own enterprise reporting."

Eventually, Moss landed in the nation's capital with The Washington Times, fulfilling a career goal to become a political reporter. He covered Capitol Hill before moving to the White House beat.

"Covering the White House is a very different thing than covering the Hill," he noted. "With the White House, you go into the White House briefing room and wait for someone to come in and tell you what's going on.

"It was fun to ride in Air Force One. But it's pack journalism at its worst."

After six years at The Times, Moss left to join The Advocate, the national gay and lesbian publication. It was 1996, and Congress was voting on the Defense of Marriage Act. Moss decided to explore the sexual orientation of some House members who voted for the legislation, particularly those who were openly gay in Washington, but not out to constituents.

One such House member was Mark Foley, the Republican who resigned his seat Sept. 29 amid allegations that he sent inappropriate e-mails to underage Congressional pages. At the time, Foley denounced the exploration of the topic of his sexual orientation and other media outlets refused to approach the subject, said Moss.

"It was the most difficult story I've ever done, having to delve into someone's personal life like that," he says. "I still believe it's a fair question to ask and the magazine did the right thing in asking it."

Moss eventually moved to New York where he freelanced before landing with ABCNews.com. He spent four and a half years there before joining FoxNews.com as managing editor.

His advice to journalism students includes reading a morning paper every day, keeping up with Web sites and blogs, "if you like them," and reading special-interest publications. He thinks the best way to get story ideas is by just "walking around.

"If something stumps you a little bit, ask."