Journalism 101 Week 2 Reporting Interviewing Asking Questions

Journalism 101 Week 2 – Reporting, Interviewing, Asking Questions

Starting the story • • Finding the story – breaking news vs scheduled events The 5 W’s – Identifying them Who, What, Where, When, Why But don’t forget ‘How”

Who are the sources? • To write a good story, you need information from reputable sources and the people who were directly involved or affected • Example: You’re on campus when you start hearing sirens across campus. Someone runs by and shouts: “There’s been a fire in the Carrefour rez!” • Besides going to the scene, who should you make a note to contact?

Asking the right questions • What do we need to know? • Responding and reacting to your source (asking for new sources) • Is there anything I haven’t asked that you’d like to talk about? • After approaching the residence director, you have been granted an interview. • What should we ask?

Fire in Carrefour! • You discover that a girl on the fourth floor had a candle (which are strictly forbidden) in her room, and it had been left on her desk when she went down to the cafeteria for dinner. • The only damage was in her bedroom (minor), but the entire rez evacuated when the smoke alarm went off.

Types of interviews • Though the director granted you an in-person interview, you still have to conduct three other interviews: • The girl who was responsible for the fire, by phone • The director of Student Housing and Hospitality Services, by email • What are some advantages and disadvantages to each method?

Quotations vs. Paraphrasing • Find quotes that: • Are interesting • Add to the depth and content of your article • Are directly related to the source (things that you can describe about the event don’t need to be quoted)

Drafting questions for an interview • You’re writing your email with questions to the director of Student Housing & Hospitality Services. What questions do you want to include?

More examples • Cara Mehl, 9, is dying of leukemia. Members of her church raised $7, 000 to send Cara and her family of 9 to Disney World next week. Who should you talk to her for this story? Why? • Mc. Gill has suffered a bout of thefts and vandalism (hypothetically), and a violent assault off-campus has everyone asking: “Is this campus safe? ” Your editor wants to know how this year’s crime compares to previous years and how it compares to other universities. Who do you talk to? Why?

More examples • A local man was arrested after neighbours complained that he was dealing illicit drugs in the neighbourhood. Who do you talk to? Why? • Mc. Gill has (hypothetically) announced severe budget cuts, leading to forced layoffs of over a dozen of untenured professors. Who do you talk to? Why?

Nitty-gritty grammar and formatting • Embedding quotes • Quoting vs paraphrasing – still have to credit to speaker • Past or present tense? • Describing verbs: Said? Stated? Remarked? • Lead-in, proper punctuation marks, and attribution Ralph Nader, consumer advocate and political activist, urged colleges to focus on academics, not athletics. “If Martians came down from space and watched television, they would conclude that universities are sports organizations, ” Nader said.

Project: Outlining, interviewing, prepping • Flesh out topic • Outline article • Plan interviews