‘What’s your topline?” It’s perhaps one of the most frequently heard questions in the newsroom. When an editor asks, a reporter is expected to have a convincing answer. It’s easy to overthink, but can be hard to get right. What, in one short and compelling sentence, is your story about?
As a reporter on the Guardian’s investigations desk, I often work on stories where it can take a few attempts to hammer into shape a concise and intelligible topline. When the facts of a story are complex and contested, it can take time and careful wording to come into focus.
