Audio 101: A quick and dirty guide to recording your story.

Audio 101: A quick and dirty guide to recording your story.

Hide Audio 101

No pretenses of expert advice here. We could probably get sued for offering it. But these are some of the tricks we’ve learned reporting and recording on the road. A couple of times we reference this audio piece: Education for Change .

Interviewing

• Wear Headphones. OK, this may sound silly. It obviously did to me: I reported three full length audio pieces – a couple of which have aired on real radio stations – before I realized that I could solve the mystery of background noise by wearing headphones while recording. Ear buds are great because they are the least obtrusive; you don’t have to wear them constantly while reporting because it can distance you from your sources; just use them to get a feel for the ambient noises you are picking up while recording in a particular place. If it’s too loud to get a decent recording, move! Your sources will usually get a kick out of being part of the process of producing a piece for radio. Tell them: “Just wait till I get this into the studio. That’s where the magic happens.”
• Keep running your tape. Start recording sooner than you think you should: before you even meet up with your source. Your walking into the building, introducing yourself, or settling yourself down to talk with your source can make for interesting audio. Don’t turn your recorder off until you’re in the car, bus, train, or taxi after the interview. You might want to keep it on then, too, to record your reactions afterwards. Most audio recorders let you hit “new track” or “pause,” to create a new track you can work with later. Tape is cheap. Getting people to say the perfect thing isn’t. We have often found that people relax, start speaking in a new voice, or say what they really wanted to say, once the pressure of the “official interview” is over. Just don’t turn off your tape. You might get your best quotes or soundbites in that after period. DO NOT tell people you are turning off the tape when you’re not. Just keep it on, quietly recording, even after the most formal part of the interview is over.
• Bring a friend. OK, this one depends on your personal style. But we have always found that it’s best to conduct interviews in groups of two or three. This allows one person to focus on asking questions and responding, and another to lend more attention to the technical side. Even if your audio equipment can depend on itself once you’ve hit record, being able to take notes and make sure you’ve still got space on your tape without worrying you’re missing something is invaluable.
• Avoid Mhmmms.This was one of the hardest things for all of the CLP to learn about audio. We promise, it is possible to listen to your subject, and help them feel heard, without overlapping everything they say with “mhmmm” and “yes”, and “oh you’re so right”. Be disciplined, keep your tape pure, say your mhmms after they’ve stopped talking. This gives you a choice as far as including the interviewer’s voice.
• Record Ambient Sounds.Sometimes ambient noise will be part of a package: you won’t have a choice to have noise in the background or not. Whenever it’s possible, though, record your interviews in a clean sound environment. And then ask your subject to help you record other sounds to go with your interview. Say you’re talking to a blogger. Ask if, after the interview, you can record the sounds of them typing and muttering to themselves as they write their weekly rant. If you’re interviewing a firefighter, talk to them in the quiet of the station office, and then ask them to take you along on a call while running the siren and narrating the action.
• Choose interesting locations for interviews. Don’t choose a coffee shop if you don’t have an office or studio to record interviews in: ask your subject to show you around a place that has something to do with a story. If you’re talking to someone about their obsession with sailboats, ask them to take you on a tour of their local marina, and show you how the boat works. If you’re talking to a soldier, have them take you around their base. If you’re talking to a local schoolteacher, have them take you around their school. Their showing you around can make wonderful clips for your audio piece, spliced in with cleaner indoor interview cuts.
• Ask open-ended questions. Don’t let your subjects off the hook – a yes or no answer does not sound good on the radio. Let your subject really talk through their answers. Don’t be afraid to ask the same questions twice. Ask them to tell you how it sounded when that huge dog cam running after them. Rawr rawr rawr looks horrible in print but sounds great on the radio!
• Ask our favorite question. Ask your subject “What is your ideal solution, situation, resolution, or future?” It’s almost always a winner.
• Don’t let yourself feel intimidated. Get used to the idea of calling yourself a radio producer. Don’t apologize for it. Don’t tell your source you’ve never done this before. Trust your instincts, and fake confidence if you have to. No one wants to talk to someone who’s apologizing for their presence.

Narration

• Try it drunk. Pretend you’re at the bar, telling your best friend about this amazing character you met the other day. Read your script or tell your story as if it had nothing to do with the radio. Read it through as if you’re drunk, laughing uncontrollably, or even in a complete monotone, a couple of times: Oh man, did you hear about this? Sam Singh, this guy who like grew up in rural India, and then became some big executive at Dupont. But then he felt bad, because his coworkers were always feeling sorry for him about all the horrible stuff going on back in India. So he went home and totally started this school for girls to learn how to make crafts and become businesswomen and stuff. Then go back to your normal read. Playing with your voice like this opens you up to new possibilities in your read – your tone, pitch, speed, emphasis – trying it in a new way allows you to hear more of those possibilities, and come up with a read that just sounds right. You’ll be amazed how different it sounds.
• Those first few lines sound funny? Try the “well Sarah” trick. Perhaps your script starts: “Sam Singh was born and raised in a village in northern India…”, and every time you say it, it sounds funny. I know. I felt like a fool the first time I hear this trick. Try this: “Well, Sarah, Sam Singh was born and raised in a village in northern India.” You can chop out the well Sarah later on, and it does wonders for stopping those first words from sounding so very ridiculous.
• Warm up first. Sing along to your favorite songs for a few minutes. Make some silly sounds…sing a scale or two (do-re-mi-fa-sol-la-ti-do, remember?). Even if you’re a horrific singer – as I certainly am – your voice will thank you.
• Think of it as acting. Don’t be afraid to sound too emotional, too real, too much like NPR. Find your style, and go with it.
• Don’t talk too fast. Yes, at this point, you are sick of this story. I know the feeling. But no one who’s listening to it has heard it before. Talk nice and slow. Let your edits leave some space, some time for listeners to absorb what you’re saying. Remember they haven’t had a chance to get sick of it yet.

Planning

• Think of your story as someone does something because. You should always be able to sum it up in that skeleton, fleshing it out as your story develops:

• Some guy starts a school in India because it’s a good thing to do.
• Sam Singh starts a school in India because he’s from there and wants to help the community.
• Sam Singh, a retired top executive for Dupont Corporation, founds a revolutionary vocational school for girls in rural India because he sees the need for development in rural communities in a country where the elite and the “technological class” are moving fast and growing rapidly, often leaving the people – and potential – of rural communities behind.

• Choose your subjects for radio. Just because someone is the preeminent expert on a given topic, it doesn’t mean they are the right source for your radio piece. Make sure your subjects have an interesting, intelligible voice.
• Map it out. Write up an outline of your piece. What is the Idea, Character(s), Setting, and Action of each scene? Is one of those elements missing? Can you get more tape to add it in? Is the scene unnecessary? Does it fill in part of your narrative arc?
• Listen to the radio! Check out how other folks are using sound to tell a story. Don’t only listen to it as your average radio listener. Think about the tools and techniques they’ve used to get their point across, how they’re using the medium to its fullest potential. Visit www.wnyc.org/shows/radiolab/episodes/2006/04/21. You only have to listen to the intro to this show to start to get a feel for a great way to use and produce audio.
• Mix it Up. Make sure to include both your narration and cuts of the people your story is focused on. Don’t tell people what to think, but help them to contextualize the quote they are about to hear. In your lead-in to a quote/clip/actuality, give them a little background, a little piece of information that lets them know what to expect within the context of the piece, but don’t tell your audience what your source is going to say.
• Start with a lede; end with a kicker. Don’t forget that though we are suddenly in the land of radio, we are still journalists here! Start your piece with something striking that makes your listeners want to hear more. End it with something they’ll remember.

Pitching

• Try out www.prx.org, www.bigshed.org, audio postcards on www.npr.org, or the latest audio contest at www.thirdcoastfestival.org. These are great places to get nontraditional audio pieces aired. Use PRX tools to make sure your work stays in the list of recently added pieces – by changing each piece’s page, writing to the editors about the timeliness of your pieces, or adding new edits of work you’ve already done.
• Identify Shows that air work similar to yours. Don’t be afraid to search for emails, and write to producers about your work. Make sure to tell them why they should air your piece. The fact that it’s interesting isn’t enough. The person you write to will usually have to talk to their boss before airing your piece, so make it easy for them! Give your contact a couple of strong sentences about why your piece is particularly timely, interesting, fun, or surprising. Tell them why they should air it, and why they should air it now. The easier you make it for them to pitch it upwards, the better chance you have.
• Pitch to the CLP. Write to us at commonlanguageproject@gmail.com with audio story ideas, raw tape, or finished pieces. We love to publish a huge range of pieces, as long as they have a focus on issues of social justice.

Editing

• Take a break. Sometimes you really need to get away from your tape before you can make it into a coherent piece. While you’re reporting, you are so deep into a story that sometimes you can leave out important information, forgetting your reader doesn’t know the subject like you do. Sometimes a week away from your tape is exactly what you need.
• Get a free program. There are some great ones out there: Garage Band for the Mac, and Audacity for the PC. We have used Roxio, which we would never ever use again if we had the choice. A horrible, glitchy program that, if you’re going to use it, is best accompanied by obsessive use of the “Save As” feature to prevent it from losing your work.
• Try it again. Does your first cut sound bad when you listen to it all together? Don’t feel bad, just try it again. People who get paid to do this loop tiny sections of each piece and listen to them for hours just to see if the P’s are too strong.
• Choose the right people for voiceovers. When you’ve got interview tape in another language, it’s important to find someone to read the translation in a voice that sounds like what your source would sound like in the language of your piece. It’s ideal to use a different reader in the piece’s language for each source. You can find readers through websites like Craig’s list, or local language schools.

Questions? Comments? Let us Know! Write to us at education@clpmag.org.

Hide Audio 101

Photojournalism 101: A quick and dirty guide to photographing your story.

Photojournalism 101: A quick and dirty guide to photographing your story.

Hide Photojournalism 101

These are some basic pointers to help those without professional training to take professional looking photos. I’m not going to get very technical here, other than to strongly recommend using a digital camera (preferably one without a delay between when you hit the button and when the picture is actually taken) and that you set it to as large a file size as is possible given the storage space available to you.

• Know the basics of the technical functions of the camera you’re using – but don’t get too caught up in the gagetry of it. Mess around with the camera you’re using a bit to find a setting that works for you, and then stick with that. Most of the special functions on your camera are much more trouble then they’re worth
• Make a plan – As you go into reporting a story, think about the kind of shots that you want to get and what purpose they will serve in the final package. As you go along, keep re-evaluating this plan in light of what seems realistic, what good shots you’ve already gotten, and how many different photos you need for your story.
• Get Action or Characters – Always try to photograph some sort of action or event that relates to your story if at all possible. Press your sources for some sort of happening relating to the story that will make for good visuals. If it just isn’t happening, then fall back on taking great photos that humanize the characters in the story.
• Be ready -- Have your camera out of its case, turned on and ready to shoot as quickly as possible as often as possible.
• Take tons of shots – Erase the bad ones later. You’re that much more likely to get something good, and as your subjects get used to you constantly taking their picture, they’ll act more natural and forget you’re there
• Don’t be shy – The confidence you exude when taking photos plays a surprisingly large role in the reception you get from your subjects. Act like you know what you’re doing and have every right to be doing it and the people around you will most likely pick up on your confidence and assume the same. On the off chance that someone gets really mad, you can always delete the picture (or just pretend to).
• Beg forgiveness, don’t ask permission – Its polite to ask if you can photograph someone, but it can actually be a bad idea (unless you’re pretty sure they’ll say yes). If you just do it and then they protest, then hey, at least you got a couple of shots in first. Also, once you point out to them that you’re taking their picture by asking if its okay, they’re likely to stop acting natural and start posing.
• Humanize! Pictures without people in them are almost always boring. Your story is probably about people, so show us what they look like.
• Get close -- Extreme close ups of people’s faces tend to humanize them more in the eyes of the viewer. Action up close draws the viewe’rs attention more. Don’t try to get too many elements in one frame – pick one and make it awesome. The more you are actually physically closer to the subject and the less you rely on zoom, telephoto etc, the better, because you will have more interesting angles and higher resolution from up close.
• Maximize depth – Put as many layers as possible in your photo. If you want to show a landscape, put something in the extreme foreground to make the picture more interesting. If you’re close up on someone’s face, think about what’s happening in the background in the rest of the frame. If you’re showing a crowd of people, make sure there’s at least one person relatively close up for the viewer to immediately engage with.
• Rule of thirds – A general rule for visually appealing photos, put your subject or the focal point of your shot off center, dividing the frame into thirds from side to side and/or top to bottom
• Get up early – Everything looks a hundred times better just after sunrise and just before sunset, so if you have a choice, try to shoot in early morning or late afternoon. (Also, if you’re inside, a light source coming from the side is better than one directly overhead)
• Do it now! -- If you see a photo you want to take, TAKE IT! Even if it means stopping a car, running after someone etc. Don’t put it off, thinking you’ll get another chance to take that photo later. Chances are you won’t.
• Don’t be afraid to stage – In the end, its all about the great shots you get, not your personal scruples. Obviously, faking entire events is a big no-no, but if you have a willing subject, there’s noting wrong with asking them to sit or stand in a certain place, hold something significant to the story, or even do some simple thing while you photograph them if makes the photos more interesting or relevant to the story (i.e. if you’re story is about a farmer, put him in front of the barn, or shoot him plowing his field.) Also, if you shoot them while they’re being interviewed, you’ll get more animation and emotion out of them.

Questions? Comments? Let us Know! Write to us at education@clpmag.org. Hide Photojournalism 101

Writing a Feature 101: A quick and dirty guide to writing your story.

Writing a Feature 101: A quick and dirty guide to writing your story.

Hide Writing a Feature 101

When I left college with a degree in journalism last winter I found myself saturated in theory, but lacking in practical and applicable knowledge in the field I was entering. I am still, and will always be, learning about how to become a better journalist. I am no expert, but one of the great things about journalism is that there are no experts; the best journalists are curious, engaged people always ready to learn something new. In this guide I’ll try to impart some of the lessons I’ve learned (functional and philosophical) in reporting internationally over the past year in hopes that I can help demystify how a story actually gets found, reported, written and produced.

Basic reporting Strategies and Hints

• How to find a story: Paying attention to the news is the best tip I can offer. Most of our stories have come from leads we’ve found in the news sources we follow. Another good avenue is NGOs (non-governmental organizations or nonprofits) in the region/country you’re covering. They usually have their ear to the ground and know what the most current issues are. Also, be sure and always keep your ears open, even in social situations. Many of the stories I’ve written emerged from casual conversations with people at parties, bus-stops, and other social situations.
• Finding Contacts and Shaping your Story: Again, NGOs are the best place to start. I usually do a general search for NGOs working on the issue I hope to cover and start making phone calls from there. Nonprofits are very open to media attention and eager to give you background information and additional contacts. Usually, I have a broad issue I’m interested in and then ask NGOs involved what they feel are the least covered, or most important aspects of that issue. I always do general news searches to find out what has already been covered and how, and try to shape my story to address what has been overlooked or ignored.
• Basic Tools: You’ll need a notebook and pen, an audio recorder of some kind, and a photographer. I’ve found that reporting with another person who can act as a note taker and extra set of ears is very useful. Most importantly you need to bring curiosity, engagement, and flexibility to your interviews—if you’re interested and passionate about your subject, the people you’re interviewing will be too. It’s also important to let the story change when appropriate. Almost no story I’ve embarked on turned out as I’d originally expected. Don’t force your agenda if it isn’t working--be ready to let the story tell itself.
• Look for a Main Character: Once you’ve obtained background information and know your basic thesis, look for a main character whose experience can humanize the issue. Start asking your contacts (once again NGOs are very helpful here) if they know of people who can offer firsthand accounts. In my experience, personal testimony is what drives your narrative, attracts your audience, and makes the story intimate and engaging. Also, look for an event (a protest or court verdict, for example) that helps make your article timely and relevant and can work as a scene setter.
• Find Experts and Opposing Voices: Look for people (through internet searches and independent research or your NGO contacts) that can speak as “objective experts” or even as opposing voices. I believe that “experts” should never be weighted more heavily in your story than firsthand accounts and experiences, but I also believe that the depth and texture of a story is improved when people recognized as “knowledgeable in the field” offer some perspective. An opposing voice (if appropriate) is important as it challenges your readers and encourages dialogue.
• A Few tips for Interviews: Don’t be afraid to relentlessly revisit a question or topic that you feel hasn’t been properly addressed by the interviewee. Sometimes people need time to warm up to you or to a topic, or will respond better if your question is worded differently. Keep trying. Continue taking notes even after the interview is officially over. Sometimes people say the most revealing or intimate things when they feel that they’re out of the “hot seat.” A great question to ask if you feel like you don’t fully understand the perspective of your interviewee is “what is your ideal solution/resolution?’’ Obviously this only works in certain circumstances, but when appropriate it can help clarify a person’s point of view or opinion. Another great question is “Why do you care about this issue?” This can be an effective way to get a strong and emotional quote about why the topic you’re covering is so important. You can also ask for the turning point in a story, the moment when everything changed or catalyzed. This can help you shape the narrative of your story as well.
• Be Fearless and Confident: Being a journalist is hard and people aren’t always happy to see you coming. A journalism professor once told me never to apologize for or feel embarrassed about my job. It’s important that you believe that it is your right and duty to ask questions and obtain information. Be confident and people will respond in kind. Remember that even if you’re new to this you’re a journalist all the same. Call yourself a journalist and act professionally. Don’t apologize for a lack of experience and never say, “I’ve never done this before.” You’ll be amazed how many opportunities open to you once you start calling yourself a reporter.

Basic Anatomy/Structure of a feature Article

• The Lede: The lede is the first paragraph (or graph) of an article. This is your opportunity to grab your audience—so use it. A scene setter, or a vivid description of a scene that describes your topic, is a great way to transport your readers and get their attention. As you’re reporting describe what you see (weather, noises, street scenes, etc.) and use it as your opener – remember to take notes while you are actually there, reporting. Another great option is using the dramatic moment in your story (the climax of a protest, a re-enactment of a crime, or a description of an event) to draw readers in.
• Color/Description: Follow your sources everywhere—and don’t be afraid to invite yourself. Go to their houses, their offices, and eat dinner with them at their favorite diner. Everything that gives you a window into their lives gives you color, description, and above all wonderful scene setters for your article.
• The Tic-Toc: This is usually employed in the graph or two following the lede and takes the audience back in time (or perspective), showing them the bigger issue you intend to discuss.
• Quotes: A first quote should come in the second or third graph of your story. I usually introduce my main character in a first quote, this way they can become an immediate part of my story’s narrative. Other quotes from other sources can come later to illustrate important points or add emotion. Remember, a diversity of voices is important, but too many quotes can become confusing and convolute your piece.
• Narrative Arc: Articles, though they are structured, are still pieces of writing. Your article should be colorful, creative, and interesting. Think back to your basic creative writing class, and strive for conflict/tension, a character, scene setting, description, suspense, action, and resolution of some kind.
• Show, don’t Tell: This is the most important lesson in good journalism, or writing in general for that matter. You shouldn’t be an omniscient voice from above, informing your readers about topics and dates and figures—show them the details they need to draw their own conclusions.Give your audience scenes and characters and great emotional quotes and they won’t need you to tell them how they should think or feel about the matter. The first person is almost always inappropriate in a journalistic feature piece, as it breaks the mood, threatens objectivity, and usually sounds preachy instead of informative.
• The Kicker: The kicker is the last graph in your article. While it is pretty formulaic it should also make an impact. The kicker of an article is almost always a quote that emotionally encapsulates the story. I usually use a quote from my main character that I hope will resonate with the readers and help the article end on a poignant note.

Hide Writing a Feature 101

Interviewing 101: A quick and dirty guide to getting the scoop.

Interviewing 101: A quick and dirty guide to getting the scoop.

Hide Interviewing 101

Journalism is a creative job. Despite all the professors who told me articles were a fixed formula plugged up with simple facts and despite the avalanche of clichéd crap that passes for most mainstream journalism, I stand by that statement. The finished product may be a piece of writing that you craft, but the material a result of the interviews you conduct. Like any creative profession, you use your perception to re-interpret the world around you. You try to engage an audience with ideas and issues—you create something meaningful from all the incoherent information and noise out there.

But here’s the catch: good journalism is dependent on a total stranger’s cooperation and participation. At the heart of this issue is the interview. The finished product may be a piece of writing that you craft, but the material a result of the interviews you conduct. And while sources vary—some people know exactly what they want to say while others love to make you sweat for a basic quote—how you conduct the interview has more to do with the outcome than anything. It’s odd that so much emphasis is put on teaching journalists how to write an article when that skill is useless without also teaching journalists how to develop strong interview techniques.

In an effort to help other aspiring reporters develop this crucial skill—I brought together some of my colleagues and journalist friends to ask them what interview tips they think are most helpful:

#1 - Find a good location
Avoid Starbucks! It’s often easiest to suggest a centrally located corporate coffee shop but if there is any way you can interview in a place that has some relevance to the story or your subject you’ll have much greater success. Not only because you’ll gain a further sense of context, people are often more comfortable (and open) when they’re in a familiar place or what feels like “their territory.” Ask to meet at your subject’s house, work, or the location of an incident relevant to the story. Even meeting at the interviewee’s favorite restaurant is more interesting than a Starbucks.

#2 - Prepare Your Goals Ahead
Know what questions you’re going to ask and why you’re going to ask them.
Heading to an interview with a sense of what you want to get out of it (a colorful re-enactment of an event, an on-the-record opinion on the issue you’re covering, general background, etc.) is critical to conducting a successful interview. You should already be thinking about what you want your piece to look like and what you need from this interview to get your article closer to that end result.

#3 - Write down your questions
Be sure and bring prepared questions with you. I usually go into an interview with twice as many questions than I expect to ask. The security of knowing that I’m not going to get stuck helps my confidence and you never know what question will get you the information you’re really looking for.

#4 - Work on your flow
This is probably the most challenging, but also the most important interview skill you can develop. You want to strike a balance between a conversation (which helps make your subject feel comfortable and aids candor) and getting the job done. As your subject is answering your question, be thinking about what you’ll ask next and why. The flow of questions needs to seem natural and conversational, don’t spin your subject off on a completely different topic just because that’s the next question on your list—think about segue’s and transitions. This way your subject doesn’t feel forced to give you sound bites and may open up a little (particularly important for anyone working on an audio piece where you may need blocks of the raw interview).

#5 - Think about the medium
Interviewing techniques defiantly vary for different mediums. If you’re interviewing for audio or video you want to ask two part questions which encourages subjects to talk for longer blocks of time. Conversely, when you’re interviewing for print, try and break questions up so you can get shorter and more concise answers (easier for taking notes and for quoting later). You can be more conversational with interviews for print, you can say “yeah,” and “uh-huh,” etc. Not doing this is one of the biggest challenges when you’re interviewing for audio. Nodding and smiling accomplishes the same sort of conversational encouragement and keeps your tape clean. Another great trick for audio interviews is to have your subject re-enact the story. It makes for good sound and helps you avoid having too much of your own narration later on.

#6 - Bring a buddy
I find having a second person as a note taker and extra set of ears can be very useful. If you don’t think another person will overwhelm or distract your subject (I find that is pretty rare) it can be a lifesaver to have that second set of notes to check your quotes and information.

#7 - Avoid Obsessing
While good notes and recording are very important, you can do yourself a disservice by obsessing about recording every little detail of what your subject says. As you’re interviewing you should be able to discern the gems from the chatter—focus on the quotes and info you know you’re going to use and make sure you get that right!

#8 - Be a little annoying
Don’t be afraid to relentlessly revisit a question or topic that you feel hasn’t been properly addressed by the interviewee. Sometimes people need time to warm up to you or a topic, or will respond better if your question is worded differently. Keep trying.

#9 - Be a little sneaky
Continue taking notes even after the interview is officially over. Sometimes people say the most revealing or intimate things when they feel that they’re out of the “hot seat.” If they don’t say “off the record,” it’s all game.

#10 - Empower them
A great question to ask if you don’t fully understand the perspective of your interviewee is “what is your ideal solution/resolution?’’ Obviously this only works in certain circumstances, but when appropriate it can help clarify a person’s point of view or opinion.

#11 - Work them up
Another great question is “Why do you care about this issue?” This can be an effective way to get a strong and emotional quote about why the topic you’re covering is so important. You can also ask for the turning point in a story, the moment when everything changed or catalyzed. This can help you shape the narrative of your story as well.

#12 - Endure awkward silences
I know this is totally counterintuitive. My instinct is to keep chattering and asking questions to keep people feeling comfortable, but sometimes, especially when you’re dealing with sensitive subjects, you need to shut up and wait.
Ask your question, let them give you the rehearsed and generic answer, then sit there quietly and see what comes next. You’d be amazed how often this technique yields powerful results.

#13 - Ask for what you need
Seriously, sometimes interviewees are frustrating not because they’re trying to bust your chops but just don’t understand what you want from them. I find that many interview subjects get a kick out of having you “pull back the curtain” a little and tell them about your process. You can say, “Listen, I really need a quote from you encapsulating your feelings on this issue,” or “I really need you to walk me through the chronology of this,” or even, “I really need you to take me to a location that is relevant to this issue so I can set a scene.” For the most part people want to be helpful and you just need to tell them how they can.

As you gain more experience interviewing, you’ll hone your own techniques. Your personality as an interviewer also plays a huge role in how you develop your approach. In the meantime use these hints to help you mine the information you need to get down to the creative business of crafting a great piece of journalism.

Questions? Comments? Let us Know! Write to education@clpmag.org. Hide Interviewing 101

Humane Reporting: A guide to the concept of Humane Reporting.

Humane Reporting: A guide to the concept of Humane Reporting.

Hide Humane Reporting

What is Humane Reporting?

Humane Reporting focuses on the personal stories behind broader issues, prioritizing the human element that often appears only in a few “colorful quotes” or scene-setters. Humane Reporting helps us remember that what makes an event newsworthy is the effect it has on people. What’s interesting in reading an article about the tech boom in India is not simply the sparkling new call centers going up, but the people whose lives are being changed, from the new class of young professionals emerging on the streets of Bangalore to the American workers who’ve seen their jobs go overseas and the rural Indian farmer that hasn’t felt his life change at all. Humane Reporting takes this contextualized, human-centered approach one step further by making these people – and not a detached expert economist, for example – the central sources of every story. To explore CLP coverage from India, visit www.clpmag.org.

Why Do We Need It?

• Human Coverage. News coverage has increasingly moved toward the business model, reporting local and international trends and events as if they are only relevant to readers as inside investment tips, while ignoring the lives and humanity of people involved on the ground.
• Bottom Up Reporting. By orienting news coverage towards celebrities, politicians, and the wealthy we disempower the common citizen from full participation in society. Humane Reporting says that everyone is a qualified source to explain their own lives and experiences. Their voices should have equal weight to those of the traditional experts in discussing the issues that affect their lives.
• Globalizing Humanity. International reporting increasingly serves only to create a sense of fear and isolation. By focusing international coverage on creative, solutions-oriented projects or on-the-ground problems that are often ignored, Humane Reporting can combat the “if it bleeds, it leads,” and “follow the pack” mentalities that currently dominate mainstream news and ignore people's struggles for economic and social justice.
• Regaining Trust. Young, politically-minded Americans are already moving away from the traditional news sources of the past, in favor of alternative online sources telling new stories in a non-commercial format. Humane Reporting addresses these media consumers’ concerns and helps combat the cynicism with which many view the media, and remind the fourth estate that one of its primary goals is to challenge power and provide a voice to those that are not already being heard.

Humane Reporting in Action: Kazakhstan

On arrival in Kazakhstan we established contact with the local Human Rights Commission and an environmental group, looking for a story beyond the oil and real estate booms that tended to dominate coverage of the region – always with a positive spin. Being in direct contact with the community, the NGOs tipped us off to a story of squatters who were being evicted, and helped us get in touch with community members. We chose not to strain for soundbites from developers and politicians that didn’t want to talk to us, but to spend our time with a community on hunger strike, protesting their homes’ demolition to make way for new development. We used two people from local communities, both struggling against corrupt development practices, whose lives and voices carried this complex story.

To contextualize news from a place many of our readers might have some trouble finding on a map, we added a new feature to our site, Country Fact Sheets. Visit Kazakhstan's Country Fact Sheet.

Hide Humane Reporting