First Take:  A term that journalists use to refer to research done to report a story. In Reading Narrative Journalism, it refers more broadly to the “itinerary” of the journalist—as it were, the “footsteps” of that journey.

Deeper:  Legwork is a term that is generally a badge of honor in journalism, because it refers in shorthand terms to the premium discussed in Chapter 2: to go out and “get” the story. In literal terms, it can mean tracking down and persuading subjects to offer information or confirmation; digging into city records, cornering a politician, and so on. It’s the practice, the art, behind the premium put on verification. In fact, because legwork is therefore dependent on a given outlet’s resources, staffing, and so forth, it is less an index of individual shoe leather than of economic realities at risk in the trade, these days.

            In Reading Narrative Journalism, the seemingly literal (even archaic) idea of “footsteps” is meant to encourage reading closely for how and where a long-form journalist discusses (a) the social landscape of knowledge, the (b) on the ground conditions that shaped or prevented a journalist’s legwork, and (c) what the meaning(s) of the journey were for the writer as such. Seeing the legwork as having its own story-line can even establish a “second order” of narrative that explains or modifies the main story we’re reading.

Suggested Reading: Zvi Reich and Yigal Godler. ”Being There? The Role of Journalistic Legwork Across New and Traditional Media,” Journalism & Mass Communication Quarterly, Volume 94, Issue 4, pp.  941-1290