Is It A Young Journalist Thing, Or Is It Just Me?

I noticed something that I do every time I contact someone for an interview. I always make a script. I state my name, the newspaper, and the nature of my call. I also tailor my script to fit different scenarios, like if I get the person's voice mail.

The script helps me know that I stated everything that the potential interviewee needs to know. I also practice the script at least once. I just have to remember to speak slowly. If my script is too long, I'll put space where I should naturally pause so I don't rush. Weird habit, I know.

Is this just a young journalist thing, or is it just me? What steps do you take to prepare for an interview?

The Hyperlocal Market

Tomorrow's News, Tomorrow's Journalist (TNTJ), a blog for young journalists, focused on hyperlocal news during February. This got me thinking about the element of proximity in news writing. People always search for relevance, interest, and usefulness. I think this is why hyperlocal news succeeds.

If an event is happening in someone's own backyard, then they are more inclined to find out more about it. I've had the opportunity to work on some hyperlocal news. It gives a young journalist the opportunity to get his/her feet wet by going after the story.

Most young journalists will not have the opportunity to travel abroad to get international news firsthand like more seasoned journalists. However, traveling through one's own local area can provide more stories that your audience will find relevant, interesting, and useful.

Feel free to leave comments below or to visit TNTJ to discuss hyperlocal news (TNTJ February: The Value of Hyperlocal to Young Journalists).

Caught in the Crossfire

With the recent resignation of Mubarak in Egypt, I began to think of the journalists who are in the area. While the thought of being in the midst of the action is exciting, the thought of potential danger is quite overwhelming. Journalists have become casualties of crossfire in dangerous areas throughout the past century for the sake of the story.

Firms, like Centurion Risk Assessment and AKE Integrated Risk Solutions, prepare journalists on how to encounter situations that arise. These situations range from first aid to being taken hostage. So the journalists that want to go are prepared. I know some journalists who would jump at the chance to report from a war-torn country. But I'm not one of those journalists. I can't imagine being in the middle of a conflict. I would like to think that I would travel to a country hit by a natural disaster. On the other hand, I don't even handle camping very well.

The threat of danger is enough to scare many away from traveling to a country riddled with conflict. So my question to journalists, would you travel to a war-torn country or disaster-stricken country for the sake of the story?

Lessons from Getting the Impossible Interview

I recently interviewed Miss Arkansas Alyse Eady, first runner-up for Miss America 2011. I had interviewed her before so I was glad to get to talk to her again.

However, this time was difficult. Eady had become an overnight sensation that everyone wanted to interview. How was I supposed to get to her? I was discouraged when I didn't get contact from her. I called, left messages, texted, and e-mailed. I was determined to get the interview.

Finally, I got contact from her public relations team the day that my story was due. Eady was at the airport waiting for a flight. I was told that she called within the hour. I waited for an hour. Nothing. I waited hour. Nothing. I, then, e-mailed her public relations manager. There had been some difficulties at the airport. Eady called me in the next few minutes. I got my interview.

I learned to stay determined and not let roadblocks get me down. It was three days before I heard from anyone. I could have given up. If I had, I probably wouldn't have checked my e-mail as soon as I did to be in the position to get the interview.

Why Blog?

I don't struggle with writing news stories. After I get my assignment, I read press releases, look at biographies, and check out other sources of information. When it comes to blogging, it's more difficult. News stories are more objective. I can separate myself from them. My blog posts, on the other hand, are my ideas and experiences. They are directly related to me.

So why blog? I think it's a great form of expressing my ideas. I started blogging because a professor wanted her students to gain experience with different forms of media. I thought I would hate it, but I love it.

At times, I struggle for the right words or the right topic. At times, I second-guess what I've written. Quite a few posts have never been put online for this reason.  But through blogging, I've gained a voice that I didn't have before.

I have focused this blog on journalism. This post isn't any different. As a young journalist, I want to blog to share my experiences in the field, even if I don't have that many. I also want to join in the journalistic community. Many journalists have created blogs. Many news media outlets have created blogs. Blogs encourage dialogue. That's where journalism is moving. Journalism is no longer one-way communication from the reporter to the audience.

By blogging, I am encouraging dialogue. If you like my posts, if you disagree with my posts, if you have additional information, feel free to comment. Dialogue is what journalism is all about nowadays. My blogging experience has helped me engage in that dialogue.

With all this talk of dialogue, feel free to share your comments.

Journalism and Twitter

While on Twitter, I found some information that I feel that journalists should know about Twitter.
In "Two percent of online adults in U.S. use Twitter daily," a report by the Pew Research Center’s Internet & American Life Project, 55% of Twitter users share news stories. It seems that I'm not the only one sharing news stories with family, friends, and co-workers.

TV anchor Chris Ketz gave 5 Twitter tips for the news anchor (or anyone). My favorite tip is number 5.

I also found some posts from Craig Kanalley from his website http://www.twitterjournalism.com/. His posts, "10 Pros And 10 Cons of Twitter For Journalists," "How To Verify A Tweet," and "The Many Ways Journalists Can Use Twitter," provide good information for journalists wanting to use Twitter.

If you have tips about using Twitter, feel free to share.

Quotes: "Ah, I Never Heard that Before"

I was once told that if a statement makes you say "Ah, I never heard that before," then it's worthy of being quoted. This has stuck with me while interviewing. If it makes me say "Ah, I never heard that before," there's a good chance that others will say the same.

To be honest, quotes used to make me nervous. I felt obliged to use them, but unsure of how they would fit into my story. At times, I would hope that the interviewee would say something quotable. I would fish for more when I hadn't gotten something yet. Although I disliked not having a quote, I disliked discarding quotes even more when the quote that I liked did not help the story overall.

I am happy to say that I no longer fear quotes. I keep the "Ah, I never heard that before" idea in the back of my head. After conducting a couple of interviews, I still get excited when I have someone who provides me with lots of quotable statements.