JOURN 2100 1st Edition Lecture 3 Outline of Last Lecture I Hard news leads II Soft news leads III Hybrid leads IV News alerts V Should you identify the subject immediately VI Inverted pyramids VII Nut grafs Outline of Current Lecture I Who to interview II How to be prepared III The setup IV Strategies Current Lecture I Who to interview a Identify the stakeholders in the story b Consider the order you should interview them in i Least to most important so that you are well informed for the most important source These notes represent a detailed interpretation of the professor s lecture GradeBuddy is best used as a supplement to your own notes not as a substitute ii Do you need sources to react to each other s comments iii Who to interview first to get the basic information c Be efficient Set up the interviews and knock them down II How to be prepared a Read clips about the issue and about the source i It stories have already been done about your subject what can you add to them why is yours different b Check public records for background information c Check local state and national media i Ex Factiva Lexis Nexis Library 2100 guide d Talk to fellow reporters and editors to see what they know III The setup a Try to get face to face interviews b Think about where the interview should take place What do you want to get out of the interview Do you want them to feel at home in somewhere they typically are or be in a neutral area c Tell people ahead of time how much of their time you will need d Ask up front about records photographers and videographers IV Strategies a Write down questions before i Build up to harder questions ii Think about how you are phrasing them and if that will elicit a certain response iii Write a script especially when the interview will be more difficult How will you approach asking the tough questions iv Don t be a slave to your notebook You can t write down everything You need to listen and ask follow up questions b Find common ground with subject This will make them feel comfortable and reassure them you are just a normal person c Be a human being you can express empathy towards them You don t need to be detached from your subjects d Have a conversation with the subject don t interrogate them e Be interested and curious in what they have to say f Play dumb Ask clarifying questions or ask questions you already know the answers to so that you can quote them g Ask short questions you shouldn t be doing all the talking Short questions will help them keep their focus when answering the question as well h Get anecdotes This can be used in feature pieces especially They also give any news story a human interest aspect i Pretend you know more than you do People will talk if they think you already know but they don t want to be the person who tipped you off j Listen to them k Key questions i Why ii How do you know that iii What do you mean by that iv How did it all happen l Wide open questions will lead to better answers i Get people talking more ii Create a conversation iii You can quote them in a way that reveals their personality instead of just basic information m Close ended questions i Pin people down ii Elicit specific responses iii Help reporter collect precise details n Silence golden i Don t ever break the silence ii They will keep talking because they will feel awkward o Employ sympathetic noises even if you don t agree but do not do while recording This will make them feel more at ease i Ex I know I see I understand etc p Use all your sense i What is the scene What is going on This especially helps for features q Don t over rely on recorders i Technology fails ii Not everyone is comfortable being recorded iii Transcribing an entire interview is a waste of time r At the end ask if there is anything they want to add s Ask when they will be available for a follow up