Dear fellow students,
having finished the assignment and being totally pooped out, I would like to propose some kind of knowledge sharing in this blog.
Some of you might be more advanced journalists, some others (like me) are not.
What were your experiences during the preparation phase of your profile?
I, for instance, wrote on a fashion journalist and I had to contact many fashion magazines and newspapers in London, but also in Amsterdam and New York.
In general, I have to say, that the people in the fashion writing business seem to be extremely busy...and you cannot reach them on the phone. There's always an answering machine where they tell you to write an email, which, of course, will up to 99 percent not be answered.
Also: What were your experiences when you wanted to contact your journalist's family/ friends? How did you find out about them? What are the Does and Don'ts in your opinion?
Perhaps these questions will come up tonight in class as well, but this blog might offer more space for such topics.
Please feel invited to write what you want to share...
Best regards
Gerda
from Germany
Hi Gerda (from Germany), I am Aleyda, from Mexico, but currently living in Boston. Quite an experience I must say and a huge difference from my hometown, but loving the change though.
ReplyDeleteI think it's a great idea to share experiences, particularly about some of these class assignments that have seemed to be a challenge for those who like me, or us if I may, have little to none experience in journalism.
My profile is about the editor of one of the largest newspapers, written in Spanish, in New England. She was such a nice lady all the time and even though she was pretty busy and we moved the appointment at least once, then we met but she had to leave right away because something came up at her office, and finally met a third day at a coffee shop a couple blocks from her office, overall it was a great experience.
She introduced me via email to some of her coworkers and her executive editor, who doesn't speak or write Spanish. Can you believe that? And that's how I was able to get a hold of some of the people around her.
She wouldn't introduce me to her friends and her family is all in Mexico so it was pretty much just her and her working acquaintances that I spoke to.
Same as with you, I had such a hard time getting them to respond to my emails and none of them seemed to be available on the phone. In the end one of them finally agreed to respond to my questions over email, and the other two I kept hunting and sending them emails asking when they would be available to talk over the phone for a couple minutes until they either called me, or let me know when I could call them. Bingo!
I got one great journalist on the phone and he gave me such good quotes about this lady that they fit great in my story/profile. He's a well know journalist in New England and he's worked with her on a radio show and have been together in some press conferences so he knew a lot about her work and he was kind enough to help this student get some extra insight to complete my assignment. He would speak paused and waited every time he heard my typing as we were talking over the phone. I explained my silences telling him I was trying to capture as much as possible and he’d always say "don't worry, I've done this for over 30 years and I understand." So kind of him!
I think one of the things that helped me the most was to be introduced directly by my target subject to the rest of the people I needed to talk to. Otherwise I'm not sure they would've responded at all.
Sending emails asking for their time availability was probably best than sending them the questions up front over email. It seemed like the time they'd spend writing down their answers for me was longer than simply picking up the phone and have my type like crazy everything they were saying.
I tried to write them at least once a day to 'remind' them of my interest to talk to them until they finally gave up and responded.
Some of them had their 'closing' day on the days I tried to reach them so they told me that was the reason why they had not responded before and I totally appreciate they were kind enough to explain themselves, when the really didn't have to.
I got some great comments back from Jeremy and am now in the process of correcting all the suggestions made on my story. There are some comments where they're asking me to explain further some of the facts written in the profile, but there was so much I could do with a limit of only 800 words you know!? Now that they've moved it up to 1,000 I think I could be a little bit more specific; particularly where they have asked for details.
Oh well, those are my comments. It would really be helpful to hear what the rest of the class has got to say about their own experiences and that way we could all learn from those who have a lot more experience, as well as from those who are doing this for the first time.
Have a wonderful day everyone!
Aleyda
Hi Gerda,
ReplyDeleteThis was a tough assignment. The best journalists I know would rather not be a part of a profile story because:
(1) it makes them part of a story;
(2) it makes them stand apart from colleagues and thus disturbs the delicate balance of journalism as a collaborative effort; (i.e. few people like to help the "star" on any team.
(3) If they are going to go through the trouble they would rather it be for a big bang publication - not a grad student exercise
(4) If you write a great profile it never gets published. You discover they have a second family locked away in the basement, it will make the news. It's no win situation.
(5) Time is everything
What is amazing --and a tribute to our classmates -- are the exceptions and exceptional people they found. There are a few good souls out there who want to nurture another generation, but they can be tough to corner.
You picked one of the toughest areas to score interviews. I had a similar experience when editing a anthropology series --part of which dealt with fashion and clothing. I anticipate similar pain with an upcoming series of books and films exploring human geography. Within the fashion industry, networking is everything. I'd never cold call --always have an intermediate call and make the appointment. Failing that, start low in the company (retail chain manager) and get the name of a buyers, and so forth. Keep working upward -- always using the names of people you have talked to previously in order to try to pry the next higher door open.
Fashion is a tough business.
...and never ask to to talk to the family until after you establish a bond with a subject. That's a major "Don't"
Journalism is a bit like the mafia. Remember that its business, not personal. I'd never ask to talk to family unless it were essential.
Cheers,
Lee
Another thought…
ReplyDeleteThis is just my FWIW personal experience, but I think it is essential to anticipate how much access you will ultimately be granted. If you are only going to have one shot at an interview you will rarely learn anything new. The key is to try to find a way through the information manipulation (the spin) and this usually takes multiple interviews in multiple settings. For example, a scientist with a high security clearance in their country or an important business leader isn’t going to tell you about his secret gizmo or deal in the first interview -- you need time to establish trust -- or multiple interviews and greater access in order to catch them off guard.
Others will certainly disagree, but I never anticipate learning anything new in an interview, I mainly use them to confirm what I already suspect or know. The trick is to know enough about a subject so than when that rare divergent answers spills out of a subject's brain, I can then surgically dig into it and find out something new. I might start with a few softball open-ended questions, but then I quickly move into cross-examination mode. It disarms the subject. The most interesting interviews are hostile -- where there is some reason the person thinks they have to talk to you (e.g., you know the location of their secret underground lair and so the subject is in damage control mode).
I almost always refuse to discuss what I know. When asked, my response is, "What should I know." That's open ended and almost always provokes a response (because the subject sees it as an opportunity to manipulate the message). It also allows the subject to think they might get more out of you than you will extract from them.
But here is the critical part: After being tough and seemingly in control and it is also highly effective to reverse polarity and to pretend to be uncertain about a key point. It falsely reassures the subject that they are back in control of the interview and they often then let down their guard. Let the subject think they bested you -- that they "won." I've also had lots of call from subjects a few days after an interview wanting to know if they could give me additional information about that "confusing key point." In truth, they are mainly trying to figure out what I thought of the interview or what I'm writing --and are worried about where my confusion might lead.
I don’t take the time to talk to someone so that they can tell me how they "feel," I want them to give me something I can't get elsewhere. Usually how to fit an already defined piece into a puzzle -- but sometimes they do hand me a new piece to play.
I also often go back and review a subject's work after I interview them -- once you learn how someone talks and thinks (what words they punch and what makes their eyes blink), it can offer profound insights into their body of work.
I also think that tying people to chairs and using bright lights is probably journalistically unethical. And that's a good thing for several reasons. ;)
Interviews are games of the mind. Torture and physical coercion, aside from forcing the torturers off any moral high ground they claim, rarely (if ever) yield valuable or accurate information. Governments that claim otherwise simply lie. The real intent is to intimidate others.
Lastly, in survival and evasion schools that simulate POW situations, soldiers are taught that information has a time stamp -- resist until the expiration deadline, then give it up along with disinformation. Politicians and many business leaders are also skilled at using the time stamp effectively. Always ask yourself, "Why is are they telling ME this, and why are they telling me NOW?
Cheers,
Lee
Please forgive my typos. These windows are small and my eyes not a sharp as they used to be. My kingdom for a copyeditor!