How to pursue a story. Every story.

Tommy Lee Jone's character in "The Fugitive" gives a great roadmap on how all journalists should track down leads.

Paraphrasing...

"Alright, listen up, people. The STORY has been on the run for ninety minutes. Average foot speed over uneven ground barring injuries is 4 miles-per-hour. That gives us a radius of six miles. What I want from each and every one of you is a hard-target search of every gas station, residence, warehouse, farmhouse, henhouse, outhouse and doghouse in that area. Checkpoints go up at fifteen miles. The STORY is still out there. Go get it!"

One call to the police PIO is not enough.