Future File.

Today’s post is going to be short and sweet, but hopefully you will find it helpful.

Early in my broadcasting career I worked at an all news radio station in Wilmington, DE. With the exception of Larry King Live overnight, we were all news, all the time. That required a lot of news stories to fill each hour. We were constantly on the lookout for news, and one of our biggest resources was something called the Future File.

It was 31 file folders, labeled 1 through 31, in a filing cabinet.

The numbers represented the day of the month.

At most radio stations, a news story would be written and printed - or pulled from the Associated Press wire - and read on the air, and then put in the trash can. Forgotten about. Not at WILM.

If the story referenced a future date or event, or warranted a follow up story later on, that piece of copy, and sometimes associated documents, would go in the Future File.

For instance, John Johnson had been arrested for armed robbery of a bank. His trial is scheduled to start June 20th. We’d read the story on the news, and drop a copy of the story in the Future File in folder number 19. On June 19th, we confirm the trial is starting and write a fresh story.

Or, the City Council passed an ordinance that you can’t walk a dog in the park beginning July 1. We’d read the story on the air all day, then drop the story in the Future File in folder number 30. On June 30, we’d remember the dog ordinance starts tomorrow and we have a new story to cover.

The concept of the Future File is something I have used ever since.

Example: If a friend says they’re going to have surgery June 15th, I put a note on my calendar for June 15th (I use Google Calendar) so I remember to pray for them and follow up to see if they need anything.

Any time somebody says something about a future event that I want to remember or follow up on…I use this system. My memory is too bad and my life too busy to remember everything.

The Future File makes it easier for me.