How audio can be used:
Audio clips accompanying an article is a way to push any article further, to appeal even deeper to the reader. The sound can correspond to the article by illustrating the story that has been written - a dramatic sound clip or quote from the interviewee would be of great interest to a reader invested in the subject of your article.
The audio package - includes a number of clips that have been edited together into a report 2-3 minutes long. Often, the package will be introduced by the reporter, sometimes the interview and sound clips can even be narrated. The sounds allow the reader a deeper connection with the article, the ability to visualize and place themselves in the moment the interview had taken place.
P 115-18
How to conduct an interview:
Approach 1: Begin with an initial interview, forming a clear idea of the story's structure. Once this is done, a formal structured and recorded interview can begin. A drawback of this method is that spontaneity can be lost, snippets of interesting information that would be divulged in a less structured environment may never be revealed.
Approach 2: Begin recording at the first moment. To create some sort of rhythm, a list of questions and a structure to follow throughout the interview should have been previously worked out.
The best approach (3) is to mix and match the first 2 approaches, find a compromise between the two that works best for you and stick to it.
How to phrase questions:
Open questions are best in interviewing, keeps the interviewee from answering in one word, and allows for follow up questions to be formulated as the interview progresses.
Asking questions in the order you plan to report them is the best approach, unless more difficult questions are to be asked - those can be saved for later. To avoid a termination of an interview due to heavy emotions being stirred up, start with the light ones.
Before you begin:
- Know your goal.
- Have a focus.
- Form clear, open questions.
- Get to the point.
- Allow room for follow-up questions.
- Don't ignore unexpected, interesting facts to slip through the cracks.
- Tell your intervieww how long it will take, roughly.
- Check recording equipment to make sure it's working.
- Keep eye contact, nod encouragement - don't speak.
P. 203-218 - Week 5
More Interview Notes:
Check & double check spelling of names and places.
Think often about whether or not a photograph is needed.
Make sure subjects know how to get in touch after the interview is conducted.
Clarify vague answers.
Thank them genuinely, more than once.
If taking notes in a notebook, don't let yourself get buried in it. Keep engaged with the subject.
When taking account of an incident, allow the subject to start at the beginning and recount everything as it happened in a chronological fashion.
When interviewing about an incident, ask a a lot of questions before filming in order to have a lot of information you can choose from to address the most important points.
Email Interview:
- Most appropriate for obtaining a few quick quotations for an article.
- Make sure not to be too casual.
- Include a concise and robust list of questions (15-20) in the first email, don't rely on back and forth correspondance.
- Be extra careful of the wording of open questions. Leave no room for yes or no answers.
- Allow more room than normal for backup of information through facts and figures.
- Always mention that a phone interview is an option, include a contact number.
If a subject wants to make an off-the-record statement, they must make that request.
It is always worth asking why a subject wants to go off-the-record, try to reassure them.
Be reluctant to promise not to report anything, the closest to this promise would be to assure them that the information they don't want reported would only be reported if it came from another source that didn't ask for it to be kept from the public.
Don't let a subject see the story before it is published, they may become self conscious and ask for certain things to be withdrawn. A contract may, however, be drawn up, if completely necessary.
It may be a good compromise to allow the subject to "review quotes for accuracy".
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