Firemen looking into the air

Before I begin, I must draw attention to the fact that the title of this chapter is "Other Types of Basic Stories" and the picture associated with this is... firemen looking into space. Maybe they're looking at a pole, but why this is, nobody knows.
Anyway, crime stories. Hard to prepare for, obviously, because crimes are not planned.. at least not that journalists are privy to. Sources for this story come from police (the most official way to get the info), victims (the most uncomfortable to get info), and witnesses (the most inaccurate way to get info). So, for example: what happened? what did you see? was anything unusual? personal information about people involved, and results of anything that went down. Then, check the morgue (figurative morgue in the news office, not real morgue unless absolutely necessary). Accident and fire stories go along the same path, but there may be more news value in them if they affect the community. Court stories just remind me of the scene from "All the president's men" where Robert Redford goes to court for the Watergate scandal information.
Carrying on, court stories are typically follow-ups to other stories (like the crime story about the crime they committed). The terms and actions in courts can be difficult, though, so only someone like Robert Redford should go in blind.
Crime stories work as a clear depiction of what happened when you tell it in chronological order. With this and court stories, accuracy is vital. One slip-up and the public panics or someone innocent gets blamed.
The book goes on to explain court room procedures and terms that I'll never understand.
Also important is court laws. For example, the press has a right to be there in certain circumstances. Unless you have a gag order, report on it fully. Also, like in CSI and Law and Order, the press gets a bad reputation. If you press officials and cops about what happened, they're going to want to tell you less and less.