My group's Obi Wan, Joe Garcia, listens to Scott Davis' story idea.
Joe Garcia's perspectives on our stories on the interviewing process were an eye opener. But I also really enjoyed his general pointers on interviewing.
He has been on both sides of the notebook, first as a reporter and then as a public policy expert (for the Morrison Institute) who is often interviewed. Before sharing his ideas about how to shape our stories, he talked about what students need to know about interviewing.
Garcia started with looking at interviews from the source's perspective. He tells other experts who get interviewed to know in advance what information they need to get into a reporter's story. "Stick to your talking points," said Garcia.
For reporters, he had a longer list of tips:
1) If possible, know job titles and name spellings in advance. Don't waste interview time on material you could know in advance. Any research that can be done prior to the interview boosts the reporter's credibility as well as the ability to be in control of the interview.
2) Students need to learn how to search online. Many do not know how to search well. Informed reporters who have found info. in the right places will get more information.
3) Try to have no more than five major questions. Know what you want to learn (but be prepared to change your angle if needed).
4) Remember that newspapers are, as Garcia said, "the daily diary of a community" (sorry for the partial quote, Steve!). Much of what reporters write is just adding a new layer onto an existing story that readers already know. Know what story you are telling and what your addition means.
5) Think of the lead even as you are reporting the story. (This blends well with what Steve Elliott said about keeping a six word summary of the focused story idea in your head as you report.)
These are useful points for me to remember as I train my young jedi (and the Star Wars analogy is all me, so do not blame either Joe or Scott).
Bonnie Katzive
Monarch High School
Louisville, CO
Thanks for sharing these tips. My favorite is to not have more than five major questions and let the interview steer everything else.
ReplyDeletebtw a Jedi in training is called a Padawan or Padawan learner
What great advice! Thanks for sharing! Our mentor talked about meeting deadlines and not allowing ego to interfere with our responsibility to the paper and the writing/editing team. That was valuable to me, too.
ReplyDeleteOur mentor talked about having different "categories" of sources. I require three sources for a story, but the students often get three sources that are pretty much the same type of source saying the same thing in a different way. The categoryconcept will help.
ReplyDeleteCindy Reves
McKinley High School
Honolulu, Hawaii