Beat reporting, also known as specialized reporting, is a genre of journalism

Journalism

Journalism is the practice of investigation and reporting of events, issues and trends to a broad audience in a timely fashion. Though there are many variations of journalism, the ideal is to inform the intended audience. Along with covering organizations and institutions such as government and...

 that can be described as the craft of in-depth reporting on a particular issue, sector, organization or institution over time. Beat reporters build up a base of knowledge on and gain familiarity with the topic, allowing them to provide insight and commentary in addition to reporting straight facts. This distinguishes them from other journalists

Journalist

A journalist collects and distributes news and other information. A journalist's work is referred to as journalism.A reporter is a type of journalist who researchs, writes, and reports on information to be presented in mass media, including print media , electronic media , and digital media A...

 who might cover similar stories from time to time.

Etymology

The term comes from the noun beat in the sense of an assigned regular route or habitual path, as for a policeman. By analogy, the beat of a reporter is the topic they have been assigned for reporting.

Prizes

Several organizations award prizes for beat reporting, of which the Pulitzer Prize for Beat Reporting

Pulitzer Prize for Beat Reporting

The Pulitzer Prize for Beat Reporting was presented from 1991 to 2006 for a distinguished example of beat reporting characterized by sustained and knowledgeable coverage of a particular subject or activity....

, discontinued in 2007, is possibly the best known. Other awards that have a category for beat reporting include the Gerald Loeb Award

Gerald Loeb Award

The Gerald Loeb Award, also referred to as the Gerald Loeb Award for Distinguished Business and Financial Journalism, is a recognition of excellence in journalism, especially in the fields of business, finance and the economy. The award was established in 1957 by Gerald Loeb, a founding partner of...

s, the Canadian National Newspaper Awards

National Newspaper Awards

The National Newspaper Awards are prizes awarded annually for the best work in Canadian newspapers. The awards were first given in 1949 by the Toronto Press Club, which ran the awards until 1989...

, and the SEJ Awards.