Constant Content

HI,everyone here.I am still new to this site.I am a young Nigerian journalist.I have been working on the metro desk since I joined a National newspaper here in Nigeria.One of the issues I have is thinking up new content for my pages.It has been tough working with urchins,the displaced,the beggars,criminals which form the major characters for good metro stories.Sometimes getting ideas to build my writings on is always difficult.Anyone has idea on how a young chap like me can keep on generating ideas such that I would never run short of stories when editors sit on one's neck.
What are the basic attributes of a good journalist and how can one build his contact base?