<p>(I’ve been writing for my school’s newspaper for the past few years, was assistant editor last year, and will be editor-in-chief next year.) </p>
<p>Apologies for the massive wall of text. I get a little excited when I start talking about journalism.</p>
<p>I absolutely love working on the paper, and most journalism kids are really great people (slightly biased here) and friendly; my staff is really great, and I’ve spoken to kids at other schools who work on their paper and they seem to echo the sentiment. It makes sense, since most journalists are pretty outgoing and whatnot. I’m sure your paper’s staff is probably the same way.</p>
<p>Interviews
I’m actually a fairly introverted person, so I share your pain regarding interviewing. You really have to force yourself to just be confident and act like you know what you’re doing, even if you have no idea. The phrase “fake it 'till you make it” really does apply in journalism; if you act calm, cool, and collected, even if you’re freaking out inside, then it’ll help you out. Look at it this way: A lot of times, the interviewees are really nervous too and think that you, as the journalist, have it easier since you’re the “professional” so to speak and have done it a million times (and you will, by the end of your student journalist career). If you act calm and professional, then it’ll calm them down too and make the interview go a lot smoother. </p>
<p>I don’t know how your paper does it as far as scheduling interviews and whatnot, but for my paper, we have to pull the students out of lunch or class to talk to them most of the time. Lunch is pretty easy, since you just have to go up to them. Going to a classroom means having to talk to a teacher, and you’ll learn pretty quickly about which teachers are really nice about letting students talk to you for a few minutes, and which aren’t so nice. When I have to go to a class, I knock on the door, walk in, and say (in the nicest, most respectful voice possible while smiling, “Hi Mr./Ms.<em>insert teacher name here</em>, can I please see <em>insert student name here</em> a few minutes for the newspaper?” Usually they’ll say sure and the kid will walk out of class. </p>
<p>Next up, introducing yourself. If it’s someone you already know, no biggie. If it’s someone you don’t know, just say, “Hi, I’m MissSuzyQ and I’d like to interview you for a story I’m writing for the newspaper.” Then explain the story. Or if said student is the subject of a story, tell them you’d like to write a story about them. Then once they say okay, you can jump right into asking questions. ALWAYS have questions pre-written. A lot of times, you’ll get your best material by making up questions on the spot when they’re talking to you, but always have basic questions written up to get the conversation started and in case you freeze up. When you’re interviewing them, never ask the questions in such a way that makes it sound like an interrogation; make it more like a normal conversation. </p>
<p>Writing Stories
Well… I could write a whole book about writing stories. Don’t worry though, you’ll be taught how to write good stories in class. Basically, you need a good lead (also spelled lede), main part of the story, and a nice little ending to wrap it all up. Big things to remember: When writing news stories, do not (I repeat, do NOT) put in your own opinion. It needs to have all the facts, and then quotes. Journalists do not put their opinions and feelings into news stories. Now when you’re writing an opinion piece, absolutely. Also, for opinion pieces, don’t include as many quotes as regular news stories since the main gist of the article is based on your opinion. </p>
<p>I’ve got a bunch of stuff I’ve collected over the past few years from journalism workshops and my class about writing stories that I can PM you if you want me to. Also, check out [url=<a href=“http://jdwritingctr.iweb.bsu.edu/workshop/hottips.html]this[/url”>http://jdwritingctr.iweb.bsu.edu/workshop/hottips.html]this[/url</a>] website. It’s a lot, I know, but it’s good info to have on hand (and you won’t be needing a lot of that information, like about what to say for murders and arsons, haha). </p>
<p>Overall Succeeding
Hmmm…I would say my #1 tip for succeeding is to ask questions if you have them. That’s what your teacher and editor(s) are there for, and they’ll be happy to answer anything you want to know. I love it when people ask me questions; it shows that they really care about what they’re doing and want to succeed. </p>
<p>My second most important tip would be to fake it 'till you make it like I said before. It really does work. Your job is to ask people questions, so don’t be worried about looking silly or being awkward. </p>
<p>Thirdly, be flexible (I change my mind, this is tied for the #1 most important thing). Anything can change instantly, and always be prepared to ask different questions to your interviewee if the need arises, or even change your story completely if need be. And be flexible with your fellow reporters. You might not get along with all of them, and there might be some that don’t really care about the paper and everyone else (though with the rigorous process your paper goes through to recruit reporters, you might not have this problem). It makes everything go a loooot smoother if everyone gets along. And be flexible overall; you never know what you’ll have to do, really.</p>
<p>Other random tips:
-Use a recorder (whether it be on your phone or regular recorder) to tape your interviews when you can. Makes it a lot easier to focus on the questions and not have to write every little thing down when you have it where you can play it over and over. However, ask your teacher first, because some schools might not allow it because of the cell phone policy. Also, always, always ask your interviewee if you can record them before you do it. </p>
<ul>
<li><p>When writing things down when interviewing someone, don’t look down at your notebook the whole time. Continuously look up at the person and nod, say “uh-huh,” “right,” “yeah,” etc. to let them know you’re paying attention and are interested in what they have to say. </p></li>
<li><p>Always be ready to come up with new questions on the spot, depending on what they say. All of a sudden, they might start talking about something you had no idea they would start talking about. Be thinking of more questions when they start talking about whatever else.</p></li>
<li><p>It’s always better to have too many quotes than too little. You never know which quotes you’ll need to use, so better to ask a ton of questions rather than just a few. Also, don’t be afraid to do a follow up interview if you thought of something else you need to ask them. </p></li>
<li><p>Be prepared to do pretty much anything. And I mean that in the broadest sense. So far, I’ve written stories, edited them, taken pictures, designed pages, interviewed people, talked to prominent members in the community, climbed up in places I probably shouldn’t have been to get good pictures, stood in front of the whole student body to get good pictures (you’ll learn that good pictures mean you’ll do pretty much anything to get them), etc. I think some people have this idea that working for a high school newspaper is boring, but it really isn’t. </p></li>
<li><p>Be prepared to talk to anyone. Like I said, I’ve talked to prominent members in the community (ex: school board members). You’ll also be interviewing all types of students from all types of cliques, teachers, administrators, etc. </p></li>
</ul>
<p>That’s all I can think of for now. Sorry for that wall of text. Feel free to ask any other questions or PM me! </p>
<p>tl;dr Be prepared. Be flexible. Fake it 'till you make it. </p>
</p>
) at my school, so we get some kids who don’t want to do work and just walk around campus and just talk to their friends. Those of us that want to actually produce the paper just have to work around them and try and encourage them to work hard. I’ve become pretty close friends with those that enjoy the class and work hard and it definitely is a close knit group. We really enjoy what we do and it shows through our work.</p>