TIPS TO INTERVIEW &

WRITE LIKE A PRO

RAY MURRAY
Oklahoma State University`
INTERVIEWING BASICS
 When you’re interviewing
someone, what’s your most
important skill?
 Listening.
 Do your homework before going
to an interview.
 Try to make it a conversation
and not a cross examination.
GET MOVIN’
 Ask politely for interview time.
What time works best? Office?
Home? Coffee shop?
 You’re busy, they’re busy, so
don’t put it off. Rush jobs are
obvious and stink.
 Please and thank you go a long
way.
KEEPING CHASING
 “I e-mailed him two weeks ago
and he hasn’t e-mail me back.”
 “I left a message for him and he
hasn’t called me back.”
 Keep digging/chasing.
 It’s amazing how few students
think of GOING TO MEET THE
PERSON IN PERSON.
 It’s allowed and encouraged.
LITTLE THINGS ARE BIG
 Show up 10 minutes early.
 Make sure you know where
you’re going.
 Make sure you have a notebook,
plenty of WORKING pens.
 Should you record it? Yes, but
take notes. Check the machine
during the interview to see
whether it’s working.
 Carry extra batteries/tapes.
LITTLE BIG THINGS
 Dress appropriately; “young
professional” and not “college kid
with holes in my pants, my butt
hanging out and my hat on
backward.”
 Put your source at ease; get
him/her talking by mentioning
something on the walls or the
weather or ain’t the Cowboys
great.
GROUND RULES
 Everything is on the record.
 Say it’s possible this will be
submitted for publication.
 Don’t agree to a list of
questions.
 Don’t let them review the story.
 Conduct an accuracy check on
needed items.
 NO anonymous sources.
WHOM TO INTERVIEW
 Highest officials possible.
 Experts on an issue.
 People with opposing views.
 People affected.
 Diverse sources.
ONCE YOU GET GOING
 Give the source an overview of what
you plan to talk about.
 Start with open-ended questions;
listen, listen, listen.
 Be prepared to change directions if
the source says something that
dictates it.
 Observe your surroundings/take
notes that help give the story flavor.
FIRST THINGS FIRST
 First question to ask . . . “May I
have the correct spelling of your
first and last names?”
 People will like that you’re trying
to be accurate.
 Second question: “May I have your
home/work phone number(s)/e-
mail/Blackberry/what gadget you
have addresses so I may call or
text you later if I have more
questions?”
NOW WE’RE ROLLIN’
 Ask the easy questions first to
get the source talking.
 Open-ended questions are good.
 Save the tough stuff for the end.
 “Did you embezzle $2 million
from the bank?”
SILENCE IS GOLDEN
 Don’t be afraid of silence. It can
help the source get organized.
 Keep questions short; let the
source do most of the talking.
 Highlight the good stuff. Mark
tape number.
FAVORITE QUESTIONS
 From Pat Stith, a retired
investigative reporter for the
Raleigh News and Observer:
 Why?
 What makes you say that?
 How do you know?
 How am I going to explain that
to people in …?
 Another I like: Explain this to
me as if I’m a third-grader.
WRAP IT UP
 Two questions to ask at the end
of the interview:
 “Is there anything else you think
we need to discuss?”
 “Is there anyone else I should
talk to about this story?”
 Let the source get the last
word.
AFTERWARD
 Tell the source you will call
back if you have any questions
or need clarification on
anything.
 Review your notes quickly; don’t
wait three days and then you
can’t read your handwriting.
 Transcribe the tape soon so the
interview is fresh in your mind.
NOW WHAT?
 Writing is easy.
 As Red Smith said, “You sit
down and open up your wrists.”
WRITING AS A
JOURNALIST
What are the six keys to good
journalistic writing?
Short paragraphs
Short sentences
Short words
Be objective
Follow style rules
Know the journalism story
formulas and how to use them.
STORY ORGANIZATION
Traditional Structure: Inverted
Pyramid
Present the news in order of
descending importance.
Lede summarizes the news.
Each of the following paragraphs
presents additional information
in order of descending
importance.
INVERTED PYRAMID
 Advantage:
Least important information is at
the bottom where a cut in length
is most likely to occur.
 Disadvantage:
Doesn’t give the reporter a clear
direction on how to report
beyond who, what, when, where,
how and why.
INVERTED PYRAMID
The Inverted Pyramid often can
use an Immediate ID lede. The
name is in the lede.
 The name must be well-known,
at least to the area.
 President Barack Obama vetoed
a bill that would have given OSU
students $20,000 each to go to
Cancun.
HIGH FIVE
New Way of Thinking: The High
Five
 News
 Context
 Scope
 Edge
 Impact
 Reporting and writing are
connected. You can't write what
you don't know.
 Think of the High Five as a
checklist. The idea is to make you:
 think about the stories you report;
 ask questions about why the
news occurred and where it's
leading;
 seek details that will help you tell
news with precision; and
 raise questions that your readers
may want answered.
GET TO IT
 Get these five elements into the
top five or six paragraphs:
 News: What happened, or
what is happening?
 Context: What is the
background for the event or
trend?
 Scope: What is the magnitude
of the event? How many people
are affected?
 Is this local event part of a
larger, national set of events?
 Is there a local focus to this
larger, national event?
 Think numbers.
 Edge: Where is the news
leading? What happens next?
 What is the time element?
 What is the next
development?
 Impact: So what? How does
the news affect anything?
 Why should the reader care?

 A good quote can often be

an impact.
Remember, the elements must
appear in the first five to six
paragraphs.
 News must be in the lede.
 Other elements can appear in
any order.
 Some elements can overlap.
 The High Five should be on
the first page (OK, a line may
spill over).
High Five Practice Story

A State University student said

the board of trustees’ decision
to eliminate a religious studies
program was done to punish
professors who testified against
the university in a lawsuit.
(NEWS)
 The board of trustees decided
Friday to end the program as a
cost-cutting measure unless it
is able to attract more students
by next year. Religious studies
is an interdisciplinary program
that was begun in 1980. State
University had 20 religion
minors last year but now has
only 15, a drop of 25 percent.
(CONTEXT/SCOPE)
Thomas Efraim, a student in the
minor, said he believes the
professors in the program are being
targeted because two of them
testified on his behalf when he
unsuccessfully sued the university
three months ago for the right to be
excused from a science requirement
he said violated his religious beliefs.
Professors Peter Hinkleson and
Keshia Bernard testified on Efraim’s
behalf. (CONTEXT)
Bernard, who coordinates the
religious studies program, said
she received a letter from
university president Ned Dallas
informing her that if the minor is
eliminated, some faculty
members could lose their jobs if
they cannot find other courses to
teach. She received the letter
one week after Efraim lost his
lawsuit. (IMPACT)
Supporters of the program are
attempting to recruit more
students to the minor by putting up
posters and holding midweek
discussions on religion. Efraim will
speak about his lawsuit at this
week’s meeting, and Hinkleson
said he plans to meet with Dallas
to discuss the program. (EDGE)
. . . Then the rest of the story…