NEWS GATHERING AND VISUALS
UNIT 2.6: NEWS GATHERING AND VISUALS GATHERING NEWS The four most commonly used methods in news gathering used by journalists are observation, telephone conversations, research and interviews OBSERVATION Observation consists of your actually seeing an event take place and then reporting what you have seen in the form of a news story The difference between a good story and a poor one is often in the skill of the observer Skilled observers use their eyes, ears, mind, notebooks and tape recorders They make sure they get the concrete facts, specific figures and accurate information They look for the colorful, the dramatic or the unusual in any situation Skilled observers always try to get more information than they actually need They know it is easier to discard excess material than to retrace their steps after the story is cold Developing your powers of observation can come only through experience You cannot become a skilled observer by simply reading a book The key to becoming a good observer is to look for more than you see on the surface (McKane, 2013; Rich, 2015) RESEARCH Research is nothing more than digging out information from files and reference works Research is used to verify or amplify facts in news stories and to give depth to feature stories and magazine articles To any extensive research, learn to use the facilities of the public or college library Here you can find the necessary books, encyclopedias, almanacs, magazines, atlases, directories, indexes and similar References (Sloan et al., 2002) INTERVIEWS About 90 percent of everything in a news story is based on some form of interviewing either in person, by telephone, or occasionally, by correspondence As a journalist in search of information, you must learn who to get information from and how to record facts You must learn techniques for handling different kinds of people how to draw some out, how to keep others on the topic and how to evaluate the motives or honesty of others In short, you must learn how to get along with people and how to treat them with tact and understanding while still accomplishing your purpose Types of Interviews A distinction must be made between news stories that are merely based on interviews and actual interview stories Very seldom is a journalist present at the scene of an accident as it takes place - for example, at a collision between two automobiles A story of this type must be based entirely on interviews - either in person or by telephone - with the police, with eyewitnesses, with the victims themselves, and depending upon the gravity of the accident, with the garage mechanics, hospital attendants, relatives of the victims and others Interviews are as varied as the people who grant them, the journalists who conduct them and the news that suggests them Rarely are interviews so mechanical that they can be reduced to standard formulas or categories Several types, however, deserve special attention because they are the ones that occur most frequently They are as follows: News interview: The news interview is based on "hard news," some event or development of current and immediate interest Telephone interview: The telephone interview, a modified version of the news interview, has a number of obvious advantages, and at the same time, it has several limitations that challenge a resourceful journalist Ingenuity and clear thinking are sometimes needed to locate a news source when a big story breaks; the power of persuasion is often necessary to elicit information from a reluctant person who can easily hang up the receiver, and a sympathetic telephone voice is important when you are talking to a family where tragedy has struck Telephone conversations may range from full-scale interviews to brief queries to verify or amplify information But regardless of how often you use this method of news gathering, you should keep the following points in mind: Know what information you want before you dial Keep your pencil and paper handy Do not call someone and then ask that person to wait while you look for writing materials Speak politely indistinct, well-modulated tones Be cheerful and businesslike Make sure you get your facts straight Ask the other person to repeat figures or spell out names Avoid three-way conversations among yourself, the person on the telephone and somebody else in your office Recheck your information by reading it back to the person who has given it to you Record the conversation using a "telephone pick-up" (a device that attaches to the telephone receiver and plugs into the microphone jack of the cassette tap recorder) Be sure to inform the person on the other end that you are recording the conversation for note-taking purposes only Do not discuss classified information Although a telephone is a very useful instrument, remember it is not the only, and not necessarily the best, method of gathering news It should supplement, but not replace, all other methods Whenever it is proper and convenient, use the telephone, but not be afraid to engage in a little legwork Casual interview: An accidental encounter between a journalist and a news source on the street or at a social gathering can often result in a tip that arouses the curiosity of a writer A major news story may be the result after you some digging Personality interview: In the personality interview an effort is made to let the reader see the appearance, mannerisms, background and even the character of the subject Magazines like the New Yorker have developed this type of interview, called "a profile," into a high art not easily attained by daily newspapers under the pressure of deadlines However, with preliminary research on an interviewee's background, intelligent planning of questions and skillful interviewing, a good journalist can let a person's words and mannerisms bring that individual vividly to life in an interesting newspaper feature story Symposium interview: From time to time, news developments of current interest require a journalist or a team of journalists to seek information not from one or two sources but from a dozen, or perhaps a hundred or more For example, which of the two presidential candidates in the television debate made the best impression on the public? How the residents of a city feel about their football team winning the Super Bowl? For some stories - as in a pre-election poll - all of the techniques of a scientific opinion sampling may be required In other instances, reactions and comments may result in a lively feature story Depending on the subject, the symposium (or group) interview may bring out opinions of importance, entertainment or merely the views of the "man on the street" on some subject of general interest (Sloan et al., 2002; Integrate, n.d; Whitaker et al., 2013) Interview Questions Good interviews need good planning, so remember closed-ended questions and openended question when preparing your questions Closed-ended questions often prompt the short response "Yes" or "No" Open questions are usually preferred by journalists because they encourage people to give more information Open questions are also known as 'W' questions because they usually begin with What, Who, Where, When, Why - and How Another top tip which will make life a lot easier when it comes to editing your material is to try to get your interviewee to include the question in their answer Get as much background information as well before you set off for an interview so you can ask the right questions Often when journalists put together a report, the interviewer's questions are edited out - to save time and to make the report seem more natural Example: Imagine the difference between hearing: "They're great, apart from we only have chips on Friday!" and "I think school dinners are great, except that we only have chips on Friday!" The second answer tells you everything, whereas the first one leaves you wondering (Sloan et al., 2002) THE IMPORTANCE OF VISUALS The presentation of a story with photographs or graphics is crucial The Eye Track study showed that readers are drawn to color photographs first, then headlines, cutlines (captions) Pictures were mostly taken for the action and content rather than any aesthetic consideration Today, they are used in the newspapers for different reasons Photographs in Journalism inform, educate and enlighten readers about current issues and also reflect on the past as well Photographs in Newspaper enhance the credibility of the stories As they depict reality, they also furnish evidence to show the authenticity of a news story or give proof of an event that occurred Its aesthetic values enable a photograph to serve as a tool to attract reader’s attention and break the monotony of news content Thus, photographs enhance and beautify the pages of a newspaper A photograph in Newspaper speaks more than a thousand words No formal education is required to understand a picture Photographs are therefore able to break through literacy barrier to effectively communicate a message It is a universal language (Rich, 2015; Sloan et al., 2002) PRACTICAL EXERCISES Exercise 1: Open and closed questions Work in pairs A asks B the following questions: Do you like school? Do you meet your friends during break? Is homework set every day? Do you eat school dinners? Pick a topic to interview each other about Take it in turns to ask each other as many open questions as you can in a minute Under pressure, it's not always easy to avoid closed questions! What you like about school? What you during break-time? How much homework you receive? What you think of school dinners? Exercise 2: Write a news story Write a news story based on the following interview with a bookkeeper at the North Point Inn “Q” stands for the questions she was asked during an interview at her home this morning, and “A” stands for her answers, which can be quoted directly (The interview is based on an actual case: a robbery and murder at an elegant restaurant.) Q: Could you start by spelling your name for me? A: N-i-n-a C-o-r-t-e-z Q: You work as a bookkeeper at the North Point Inn? A: Yes, I’ve been there seven years Q: Would you describe the robbery there yesterday? A: It was about in the morning, around or minutes before Q: Is that the time you usually get there? A: At o’clock, yes Q: How did you get in? A: I’ve got a key to the employee entrance in the back Q: Was anyone else there? A: Kevin Blohm, one of the cooks He usually starts at We open for lunch at 11:30, and he’s in charge Q: Did you talk to him? A: He came into my office, and we chatted about what happened in the restaurant the night before, and I asked him to make me some coffee After he brought me a cup, I walked out to the corridor with him That was the last I saw him Q: What did you next? A: I was just beginning to go through the receipts and cash from the previous night I always start by counting the previous day’s revenue I took everything out of a safe, the cash and receipts, and began to count them on my desk Q: About how much did you have? A: $6,000 counting everything, the cash and receipts from credit cards Q: Is that when you were robbed? A: A minute or two or less, a man came around the corner, carrying a knife Q: What did you do? A: I started screaming and kicking My chair was on rollers, and when I started kicking, it fell I fell on the floor, and he reached across my desk and grabbed $130 in $5 bills Q: Did he say anything? A: No, he just took the money and walked out Q: Was he alone? A: I don’t think so I heard someone—a man—say, “Get that money out of there.” Then someone tried to open the door to my office, but I’d locked it Three or four minutes later, the police were there Q: Is that when you found Mr Blohm? A: I went into the hallway with the police and saw blood on a door in the reception area It was awful There was blood on the walls and floor Kevin was lying on the floor, dead He had a large knife wound in his chest and another on one hand Q: Can you describe the man who robbed you? A: He was about feet 10, maybe feet tall, in his early 20s, medium build Q: What was he wearing? A: Blue jeans, a blue plaid button-up shirt and blue tennis shoes Q: Did you see his face? A: He had a scarf, a floral scarf, tied around the lower part of his face, cowboy style It covered the bottom half of his face Q: Did the man look at all familiar, like anyone you may have known or seen in the restaurant? A: No Q: Did you notice anything unusual that day? A: I saw a car in the parking lot when I came in, one I didn’t recognize It didn’t belong to anyone who worked there, but that’s all I remember Q: Do you have any idea why someone stabbed Blohm? A: No Kevin might have gotten in his way or tried to stop him or recognized him or something I don’t know I didn’t see it I don’t know anything else ………………………………………………………………………………… ………………………………………………………………………………… ………………………………………………………………………………… ………………………………………………………………………………… ………………………………………………………………………………… ………………………………………………………………………………… ………………………………………………………………………………… ………………………………………………………………………………… ………………………………………………………………………………… ………………………………………………………………………………… ………………………………………………………………………………… ………………………………………………………………………………… ………………………………………………………………………………… ………………………………………………………………………………… ………………………………………………………………………………… ………………………………………………………………………………… ………………………………………………………………………………… ………………………………………………………………………………… ………………………………………………………………………………… ………………………………………………………………………………… ………………………………………………………………………………… ………………………………………………………………………………… ………………………………………………………………………………… ………………………………………………………………………………… ………………………………………………………………………………… ………………………………………………………………………………… ………………………………………………………………………………… ………………………………………………………………………………… ………………………………………………………………………………… ………………………………………………………………………………… ………………………………………………………………………………… ………………………………………………………………………………… ………………………………………………………………………………… ………………………………………………………………………………… ………………………………………………………………………………… ………………………………………………………………………………… ………………………………………………………………………………… ………………………………………………………………………………… Exercise 3: Research and writing questions Imagine your editor has asked you to some background research about your local MP or a sports person of your choosing in preparation for an interview Spend 20 minutes looking online for information Based on the information you have found, compose five open questions for your local MP or sports person They should add to the background research you have just done, not give you the same answers Rank the questions in the order you would ask them Remember, you may not have enough time to ask them all, and that it will often put your guest at ease to start with an easier question