Interviewing

Interviewing isn’t just asking questions, Make it conversational Don’t threaten people Don’t be confrontational Don’t argue Prepare well for the interview

Interviewing

Preparing for the interview Find out as much as you can before the

interview Use the Internet, past articles, talk to other

reporters, etc. Write your questions out ahead of time

Interviewing

Preparing for a news story Look at clips, facts, etc.

Preparing for a profile Look for personality quirks, the person’s

interests, family, friends, habits Preparing for an investigative piece,

You want to know both your subject matter and the person you are interviewing

Interviewing

After doing research, write out some main questions you need to cover.

Don’t ask a bunch of yes or no questions If you need to ask Y or N questions, ask follow

up questions Don’t ask obvious questions

(How do you feel?)

Interviewing

Ask good questions. Be logical. Put yourself in the shoes of the reader. Ask

yourself what readers would want to know. Ask open ended questions and close-ended

questions, which are more specific.

Interviewing

Take a notepad, pencil, pens Consider using a tape recorder depending

on the circumstances If you use a tape recorder, get permission

first. Keep in mind that tape recorders intimidate

many people and you’re not likely to get as good of an interview.

Interviewing

Set up an appointment if possible Be on time Dress appropriately Introduce yourself. State your name and publication you work

for. Identify yourself as a reporter. Shake hands if appropriate.

Interviewing

Make people feel comfortable Be conversational LISTEN to what people are telling you Look at reactions OBSERVE your surroundings

Interviewing

Start with an OPENER QUESTION. Ask a FIRST STEP QUESTION Ask a QUALIFIER QUESTION Ask ROUTINE FACTUAL QUESTIONS Ask NUMERICAL QUESTIONS

Interviewing

Asking deeper questions: G-O-S-S-E-Y: G-Goals. Why does your school have a

trivia team. O-Obstacles- Who is the teams greatest

rival? S-Solutions-What are you doing from

keeping beaten

Interviewing

S-Start-How did your team get started? When did you first win?

E-Evaluation – Is this a worthwhile activity. What does it contribute to our school.

Y-Why-Why are schools all over the country doing this? Why do students want to be on the trivia team.

Interviewing

LISTENING is very important during interviews because it may lead you to a story that you did not know was there. So if you have a list of questions, don’t be afraid to vear away from them.

ASK ABOUT ANECTODES- These are often the most interesting parts of stories. Anecdotes are little stories that people have gone through.

Interviewing

If you have a hard question or controversial question, SAVE IT FOR THE END.

Look for a main idea or interesting angle during your interview.

Interviewing Taking notes Write down key points Listen closely Look for direct quotes (verbatim comments you

will use in your story). Don’t use ordinary sentences in quotes. (Ex:

sports coaches) Use quotes that are interesting You may also indirectly quote someone

Interviewing

Take good notes If you are not sure of something or didn’t

get everything down, repeat it back to the source.

If you need to review the basics of your notes with the source

Interviewing

Off the recordYou both agree to speak candidly withoutany note-taking. Trust is crucial. Info givenshould not be tied to this source at all.Everyone you were told is CONFIDENTIAL.

Honor off the recordYou are NOT allowed to identify the sourceof your confidential info. No one should betold the name of this source.