BY ANDREW GRUEN

EVANTSON, IL (MAY 24) --Reporter Jodi Wilgoren told roughly 30 budding journalism students and Medill School of Journalism faculty Monday that attention to even the smallest detail is the most important aspect of her trade.

Wilgoren is the New York Times Chicago Bureau Chief and reporter on Democrat John Kerry’s presidential campaign for the paper. Her talk, held in Fisk Hall on the Evanston Campus of Northwestern University, was a part of the Literature of Fact speaker series at Medill and was sponsored by the Northwestern University Center for the Writing Arts, the Medill School of Journalism, alumnae of Northwestern University, and the Communications Residential College.

During her presentation, Wilgoren gave students a "Top Ten List list of lessons from the campaign trail." Her first two were simple: Listen.

"On the campaign trail this is particularly important, because the smallest little differences can be the story," she said referring to the monotony of covering the same stump speeches every day.

Wilgoren also stressed the importance of simply "looking around," when on the campaign trial because reporters are constantly being fed information. She recalled one instance at a Howard Dean rally in the South where the people holding "African-Americans for Dean" signs were not black.

Wilgoren referred to her popular "Chief of Stuff" story to illustrate the importance of detail. In her profile of Kerry’s personal assistant, Wilgoren gave readers explicit detail to help them get a better picture of Kerry for themselves – from the type of bread and jelly he prefers on his sandwiches to the store he buys reading glasses.

"You take the stuff you think is interesting, put it in and then you see," what people will interpret it as Wilgoren said.

Those who heard her speak seemed impressed by Wilgoren’s ability to explain exactly how she writes the best stories to students.

"She did not use the word reporting, every comment she made referred to the way the finest reporting is done," said David Abrahamson, 57, Helen G. Brown Research Professor of Journalism and director of Northwestern Center for the Writing Arts.