Introduction:
The key to this course, as you’ve probably discovered already, is getting out into the world and getting people to talk to you. Usually it’s a pretty straightforward process, although you will inevitably run across some jerks out there. In this module we’ll strategize about how to select, plan, and execute interviews.
Learning objectives:
- Develop plans for reporting
- Conduct interviews
- Double-check facts
- The ethics of interviewing
Steps to completion:
Background:
- CNN guide to interviewing
- CJR art of interviewing
- Take a story from the Don van Natta list or elsewhere and make a list of all the people whose voices appear in the story and what role they play in the writing (e.g., subject, closely involved with subject, local community context, national/global context). Post a summary of the story and your list in the Module 6 category with the tag “voices” by. Oct. 3.
- Consider your audio interview with your classmate in light of the CNN and Columbia Journalism Review readings. What questions do you wish you had asked? What worked well with your approach and what could you have done better? Write this up in a short blog post with the tag [spelling corrected] “interview postmortem” by Oct. 3.
- Read “The Accidental Ethicist” to discuss Thursday, Oct. 6. You may need to be on campus to access; here’s an alternate URL.
- Finish all (minimum of 5) interviews for your profile story and send transcripts to me along with research as a reporting package in Dropbox Paper by Oct. 7.
Reflective:
- Class discussion Oct. 4: Interviewing basics
- Class discussion Oct. 6: Finding the best voices
- Class discussion Oct. 11: Interviews and ethics
- Class discussion Oct. 13: Work time for profile story
Exploratory
- Profile story due by Oct. 14.