Smith spent seven years as an officer of the law in the state of California before he relocated to become a crime reporter for The Oakland Press and the Flint Journal in Michigan.
"The business looks a lot different from the other side of the windshield," Smith said about his time as a police officer.
Because of his experience in law enforcement, Smith shared how important the relationships are between reporters and police officers when covering crime in a community.
"Information is power, information is everything," Smith said, commenting on how police departments in the past, were much more willing to release information to the public to reassure their community that officers were doing their job.
Smith said he worries now because some police departments in Michigan have made it difficult to access police reports or other public documents -- a problem that students in our Journalism 411 class have encountered.
Smith also offered ideas and ways for getting to a "back story" or a behind-the-scenes look at a newsworthy topic. For him, Smith said it was mainly the relationships he developed with officers and law enforcement agents but sometimes it was pure luck, he said.
He also shared his strangest encounters while covering crime as a reporter as well as his opinions on Internet reporting and syndication.
Smith continues to write for the Lapeer School District and blogs at www.FreeFromEditors.blogspot.com but "[police reporting] is really my true love," he said.
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