Guide
Build a Standing File That Makes the Next Story Easier
Keep a beat question, source record, timeline and unresolved checks together. This standing-file template preserves context without hoarding links.
What is a standing file for a solo publisher?
A standing file is a maintained record of a recurring reporting question. It collects the evidence, definitions, people and unresolved checks you need to understand the next development. Its value comes from the relationships between those items, not the number of links you save.
Make one file per durable question or closely related subject. “How are independent clinics handling referrals?” is a more useful organizing question than a folder called “healthcare links.” Keep the scope small enough that you can review it before an interview or new filing.
Start with this template
| Section | What belongs in it |
|---|---|
| Question and reader | The recurring decision this file supports |
| Current account | A short, dated summary of what is established |
| Definitions | Terms, metrics and entity boundaries that affect comparisons |
| Evidence register | Document title, source, date, location and key passage |
| Timeline | Events with dates and supporting records |
| People and perspectives | Relevant knowledge, interests and attribution agreements |
| Open checks | Unresolved questions and the next source to consult |
| Published work | Your articles, corrections and follow-ups |
Label notes as fact, attributed account, inference or question. Those labels prevent a tentative idea from becoming an apparent fact when you return months later. Keep exact quotations visibly separate from paraphrase.
Add context when you save a source
A bare URL makes future you repeat the original reading. Add a sentence explaining why the item matters, the specific passage or table, and what it does not establish. Where lawful and appropriate, preserve a dated copy of a public document that may change.
For a hypothetical file on a city's procurement process, a new policy memo should sit beside the old procedure and the effective date. A vendor's account belongs in the same file with its scope and attribution, but it should not overwrite the official timeline without corroboration.
If two sources disagree, preserve the disagreement and the question it raises. Do not resolve it merely by keeping whichever version sounds more plausible.
Maintain the file after actual reporting
After an interview or publication, update the current account, add new evidence and close checks that have been answered. Review high-value files when a relevant event occurs; a maintenance calendar is useful only if it serves your reporting rhythm.
Remove unnecessary personal information and keep sensitive source material in appropriately protected storage. A general research folder is not a safe default for confidential records. Preserve retention and attribution promises made to sources.
Turn the file into an assignment
Before drafting, write what changed since the last account and which reader decision that change affects. If nothing material changed, the file may still have saved you from a weak article. If something did, use the two-sentence pitch test and carry the relevant evidence into the brief.