News Reporting & WritingWeek 6: Interviewing & Quoting

Mission as a journalist

• Be right. Be clear. Be read.

• (Be accurate. Be brief. Be interesting.)

Goal of pro writers

• To be able to write about anything

• To be understood by everyone

• That’s why simple, clear short sentences are most effective (not just in news writing, but in sending a group email to hundreds of coworkers in dozens of countries).

The Ken Wells theory

SOURCE: KEN WELLS, FORMER PAGE-ONE EDITOR FOR THE WALL STREET JOURNAL

“THERE ARE ONLY TWO KINDS OF STORIES:

THE ‘NO SHIT’ STORY AND THE ‘HOLY SHIT’ STORY”

The “no shit” story

Tells readers something they already know

Spouts conventional wisdom

Belabors the obvious

“There’s violence and drug-related crime in the inner cities of the U.S.”

The “Holy shit” story

Surprises

Teaches

Might even vex or disturb

But never bores

“Gang members who’ve been shot get tricked-out wheelchairs with gold wheels and custom spokes.”

Kevin’s theory of writing

• Reduce to essence:

• Human beings are emotional, social and rational creatures – in that order.

• Great writing appeals to the emotional and the rational

• Clear writing is clear thinking

Kevin’s theory of reporting

• Unleash your curiosity – Everything can be interesting

• Be genuine

• - People respond and will be genuine with you

• Be unafraid to ask for help

• - From colleagues, from friends, from sources

• - Asking for interviews: “I wonder if you can help me. I’m doing a story on…”

• Play leapfrog: “Who else should I talk to?”

Kevin’s theory of editing

• Build a big ‘Iceberg’

• Only 10% of an iceberg appears above water

• Only 10% of your reporting appears in your story

• ‘Kill you children’: Story can be judged not on the strength of what’s left in, but what’s cut out

Interview process

Story idea

Plan & Prepare

Look & Listen

Review & Reorder

Step 1: Plan & PrepareBackground research

Draft questions

Questions you think your reader would want to know the answer to

Open-ended questions, not yes/no questions

Questions about hobbies, family, soft topics

Step 2: Look & ListenEach answer will suggest additional questions

Listen not just to what your interviewee says, but how he/she says it

Contradictions, hesitation, silence, nervousness, roving eyes all suggest need for follow-up

Look around you! And note it down.

Take good notes, but stay focused on interviewee

Step 3: Review & Reorder

Review your notes to ensure you have complete quotes

Reorder and prioritize the quotes

Review the audio tape, if available

Use “time stamps” in your notes

Interview strategy

Most people love to talk about themselves, or things they care about (hobbies, politics, their children)

Use these topics to open up interviews

Many people mistrust or are afraid of reporters

Be polite, respectful & professional – show them you’re a decent human being!

Ask open-ended QsHow did you feel when...?

Why did you decide to...?

What was it like to...?

X Were you happy when...?

X Do you think you made the right choice?

X When did you stop beating your wife?

Interview strategy – 2Keep interviews conversational - it’s an interview, not an interrogation

You have to gain someone’s trust before you can gain their information

Ask your question and then wait patiently

Silence can be a good way to get people to talk!

Always ask: “Can you give me an example of that?”

Always ask: “Is there someone else I should speak to?

Mencher’s 12 Interview Ground Rules

Identify yourself at the beginning

State the purpose of the interview

Make sure the source knows how the information will be used

Tell the source how long the interview will take

Keep it as short as possible

Ask specific questions that the source is competent to answer

SOURCE: MELVIN MENCHER’S NEWS REPORTING & WRITING, 7TH EDITION

Mencher’s 12 Interview Ground Rules

Give the source time to reply

Ask the source to clarify complex or vague answers

Read back answers if requested or when in doubt of the phrasing

Insist on answers if the public has a right to know them

Avoid lecturing and arguing

Abide by non-attribution requests

Quoting

Use quotes that are full sentences and complete thoughts

Partial quotes can be open to misinterpretation and misunderstanding

Your sources are the experts, so let their words do the talking

Every quote must be attributed to a specific person

Using quotes in storiesIf a word or phrase is in quotation marks, it must be something someone said exactly as they said it

Quotes can be split if they consist of more than one sentence

“It was a Monday,” he said. “I remember it well.”

Start a new paragraph for a new quote

Brackets & Ellipses

Use brackets to mark [paraphrases] inside quotes

Use an ellipsis to show where you have ... cut words from inside a quote

Use both sparingly

• CEO of the Recording Academy Neil Portnow addressed the issue of stars being left out backstage at the awards show Sunday, saying that the "In Memoriam segment is a conundrum.” "It's sad, we keep a list," Portnow went on. "This year over 200 people [have passed] so we have to make a selection at the end.

• "After Japan are the fragile European countries that are in very dire straits: Greece, Ireland and Portugal ... Spain and Italy, too, but their problems are of a different order," Ghezzi said.

Set up your quotes

Some quotes, or the perspective of speakers, need to be explained to the reader in advance

Think about what information your reader will need in order to understand the quote

Who or what does it refer to?

Definition of any new or unusual words?

Context?