This week in our second installment of  How We Did It, we feature stories behind the stories from Everett, Washington; Billings, Montana; and Boston. You can see how these newsrooms made their projects happen and what they learned over at Poynter.org. 

Here’s advice from the journalists who shared their stories on how to do this work yourself.

Rosary beads hang from a barbed wire fence surrounding the spot where Hanna Harris’ body was found in July 2013. (Photo by Larry Mayer/Billings Gazette)

Tell your editor to pretend you’re on vacation

“Enable staffers to immerse themselves in a subject,” said Chuck Taylor, digital news editor of The (Everett, Washington) Daily Herald. He submitted a story by photojournalist Olivia Vanni, who continued documenting a 5-year-old’s final days after a story about her illness ran. 

“That's challenging for shrinking newsrooms,” he said, “and you have to be selective. Pro tip: Pretend they're on vacation.”

Show up. In person.

“This story also required us to establish trust with our subjects and sources,” said WGBH’s Molly Boigon and Emily Judem on the six months they spent working on the decision to close a neighborhood school in “Road to Closure.”  “It became very important to be seen in person at school committee meetings and other events, because people were able to recognize us and understand the depth of our knowledge about the closures and other issues in the district.”

Choose big-picture instead of one-off

“We've had to say no to a lot of smaller daily stories to make time for this project,” said Alyssa Small with The Billings Gazette. That newspaper started ongoing coverage on the disappearances and murders of Native women. “It's been an uncomfortable prioritization, but it's served us well when we've been able to share these deeper looks at a chronic issue, rather than one-off spot-coverage. Teaming up, planning, and saying no to the stuff that's less important has made this possible.”

Your turn! What work are you proud of from your local newsroom? Tell us how you did it, and we’ll consider including it in an upcoming roundup. 

While you’re here:

- Log in: The Arkansas Democrat-Gazette is giving iPads to subscribers in a move to transition to digital. 

- Learn: Poynter’s News U has an upcoming Webinar on how to better cover LGBTQIA stories.

- Get those sweet, sweet resources: I reported today on local newsrooms teaming up with the National Geographic Society to cover the environment. 

- Congrats: Two local news vets, Phayvanh Luekhamhan and Anika Anand, are heading to LION Publishers. 

- Correction: Last week in this newsletter, I unforgivably mixed up my Midwest cities. I shared a story from Cincinnati, not Cleveland. This Missourian is ashamed but grateful for the patient reader who kindly pointed it out.

See you next week!