Steve Andrews - WFLA Investigative Reporter

Being respectful and logical are key components to being a top notch reporter.

Steve Andrews, News Channel 8 Investigative Reporter, established the need for future reporters to be polite when investigating persons of interest but to also be logical when determining what the next step needs to be to carry on the story.

Andrews, a reporter with other 25 years of experience, believes in the importance of tenacity in an individual as well as their listening instincts, to flip tips and calls, will determine how successful they are in uncovering data that needs to be reported.

It’s essential to be prepared, says Andrews. He recommends at least having three questions prepared when you approach someone that you want answered. Knowing the rules and regulations of the establishment or person in question is vital to understanding what to ask for as well.

Andrews says basic investigative work is just calling people. However, to get better, you must comb through, tediously, public records. Thinking that public records are only documents limits you as a reporter too. Andrews has been able to use photos and videos that were used by contractors but paid for with public spending to uncover truths. Although the video Andrews viewed was over ten hours long, finding the ten second clip that portrays the exact and conclusive details is gold.

The word “You” is thought to have the best resonating power in news reporting. Andrews knows the reporting is where the money is and says, when you say YOU paid for it this… or YOUr money bought them… while reporting, the people listening form a wall between themselves and that individual and see them as a crook, a bad guy. And that’s what we are trying to uncover.

The importance of silence within a news report was also introduced by Andrews. Silence is golden, says Andrews. Having an image on the screen but no noise allows the viewer to boldly understand what is taking place action wise or legally speaking.

Andrews has done cream of the crop reporting in Tampa for years. His tips and guidance to being a good reporter and using what public records are available is imperative when performing investigative work.