Research and planning for interviews April 14, 2008

I found a great site for interview techniques. It was simple, easy to read and had all the main issues covered.
Some of the tips you find on it are;

‘The Set up
RESEARCH: Whether you have five minutes or five days, research the person and the topic. Run the name on the Internet or check the clips. Talk to the person’s cohorts. Read court records. A well-researched question is a better question. A well-researched interviewer is empowered.
PLAN: Make a tactical plan. Discuss it with colleagues. Whom should you interview first? Where will you interview the person? How much time will you have? Will you tape or not? The best place is usually where the person is doing the thing you are writing about. However, whistle-blowers and reluctant targets are best contacted at home. You might calm a nervous source by taking him or her for a walk. A lunch appointment requires a person to spend at least an hour with you. A phone interview is the least desirable, but also the most common.’

Tom cruise goes crazy on Oprah April 14, 2008

Oprah has always squeezed the best or in this case the worst out of peoples personalities and their stories. Below is the interview that took place between herself and Tom Cruise. Her charisma and status will always get more then what she bargains for.

Just another conversation April 14, 2008

Can anyone classify themselves as a journalist?

A recent assignment lead me to some investigative work. We had to put our ‘journalistic hats’ on and as result, experience the world of journalism first hand. One of the main criteria points was to thrust myself into two interviews to find some underlying information about a local issue. To be honest my little local town, had nothing but sports club politics and school events that to me was nothing of the hard-hitting news work I was aiming to achieve.

Interviewing people in relation to these issues, seemed pointless. I conducted a telephone interview, wanting the telephone to mask my identity. I could not come to terms in calling myself a journalist and relaxing into a smooth conversation.

Further discussion with fellow students concluded that our nerves took the better of us and that we were no Oprah Winfrey. It was hard to seep the information we needed and the feeling of being immature students overtook our professionalism. A passage in ‘Interviewing’ by Chris Frost in Reporting for journalists stated:

‘A good interviewer is some one whom people trust and whom they fee comfortable talking to. Everyone likes a good listener. Small encouragements of ‘How exciting’, ‘Did it really?’, “Now, I’ve never heard of that happening before’, variety can persuade the interviewee of how interested you are. Our conversational gambits need to prove that we are listening to what they are saying interests us. ‘

This taught me that, interviewing doesn’t have to be of a professional caliber. We need to project ourselves as a trust worthy person, a person people want to chat to. As i took on this approach, the interview was nothing but another conversation.

Looking to the Future March 10, 2008

A new epedemic has spread through to the young generation of the 21st century, the rave. Being apart of the Y generation I myself threw myself into the crowd that flock every two months to a day event featuring the latest DJ’s and their music. On Saturday the 8th of March Future Music, held at Ranwick race course saw 40000 people gathering together to let their inhibtions go.

The

Hello world! March 10, 2008

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