Interviewing
Questions, rapport, listening
54 articles tagged interviewing, drawn from across the archive.
Characteristics of a Good Journalist
What are the tried and tested main characteristics of a successful freelance journalist? Well, my answers are all cliches, and...
Chequebook Journalism
Chequebook journalism is a phrase that refers to news organisations paying for interviews. Network Nine and 60 Minutes are...
Colon
You need advice about the colon (:) . . . a full stop on top of a full stop. It's different to the semi-colon (;) which is a full...
Contacts - building them
Building contacts is one of the most important things a journalist does. Say you're in insurance broking, so you already have a...
Creating Your Own Questionnaire
You have devised a questionnaire to send out. You want to take an opinion poll. Why? This does not happen in the real world of...
Data Journalism: Finding Stories in Numbers
How journalists find stories in datasets. A practical guide using Australian open data sources, ABS, Google Trends, and Trove.
Ellipsis...
You have not used the ellipsis correctly. An ellipsis is three fullstops or dots, like this . . . It's not four or five dots or a...
Factual errors-accuracy
Factual errors and accuracy Plagiarism may be the worst sin in journalism, but a close second is creating a factual error (or any...
Famous transcript
Famous person transcript This is an exercise in turning a transcript (nothing but verbatim spoken quotes recorded on a recorder)...
Fictional stories
Fictional stories There is no point in writing fictional stories if you want to be a journalist. This is journalism, not creative...
Finding Famous People
Finding the famous This is about finding famous people (or experts). That is, finding people to quote on the topic of your...
First drafts unacceptable
A 'draft' is a first or preliminary form of any writing, subject to revision and copying. If a student sends me a 'first draft'...
Freelance Pay Rates
National freelance rates Here's the information you asked for on the national freelancers' approved minimum rates recommended by...
Getting a Reference
All references are nonsense but I will write you one IF . . . I am not happy to write references for those students who have not...
Haggling With Editors
You ask about haggling over money. Well, my strong advice is don't haggle in the early days. It's more important to get published...
Hemingway
You couldn't find the Hemingway quote. These tutorials have been reprinted several times, but you should find it on page 18 of...
How determined are you quiz
Student's name ?????????????????????? How determined are you? Send to Simon with next assignment How determined are you to GET...
How to Improve Your Writing
How to improve your writing Many students ask me a question like: 'How can I improve my writing?' Well, you can read books, study...
Importance of happenings quotes anecdotes
Importance of happenings, quotes and examples (Adjectives are a trap) Allow me to explain the statement: 'Do not depend on...
Indirect quotes
You may misunderstand the term 'indirect quote'. A quote is something someone says. Your interviewee might have said verbatim...
Interviews, question & answer
I'm against Q&As I recommend against writing an interview as a Q & A. Most publications are not interested in such a style. Do...
Interviews: How to Do Them Right
Interviews: how to do them right (5 pages) Obtaining an interview Phone the person and ask. Or go through another person, such as...
Introducing Yourself as a Journalist
You ask about how to introduce yourself to prospective interviewees. Why not say: 'Hello, my name is * and I'm a freelance...
Journalistic Research
Journalistic research Research is a big topic. But let me give you a few basics. Your single greatest research tool is the phone...
Names and Credentials
A journalist can get most of a story wrong and recover with a correction. Spell a person's name wrong in print and you have told...
People in Stories: The Most Important Lesson
People The secret of creating your SALEABLE articles By SIMON TOWNSEND, Senior Tutor THIS IS THE SINGLE MOST IMPORTANT FACTSHEET...
PR-style writing
Journalism is not PR. In public relations the PR person writes a media release extolling the virtues of the product or service...
Public Relations - what is it
You ask where do you start. Well, you always start by ASKING. Use the Yellow Pages and find an organisation, university or...
Quotes direct-indirect
Here's some advice on direct quotes and indirect quotes. When you use quotes, you are using fresh words said to YOU the...
Quotes of the famous
Famous quotes MUST be accurate If you use a famous quote from a famous person, you must get it 100% accurate. Your editor will...
Quotes use more
Do you think you could make more use of quotes? I think you should. Why use quotes? Because in mainstream articles, reading the...
Quotes without adverbs
When you quote someone, let their words convey the emotion. Do not describe the speaker's delivery yourself. For instance: 'You...
Quotes, difficult getting
First of all, you need phone numbers. So you must be quick and skilled at going to www.whitepages.com.au and finding numbers...
Quotes-from media release
You ask about quotes from a media release. Yes, you can use any part of a media release you like. It's put out in the public...
Recording Interviews Successfully
Interviews: recording successfully For all interviews, you should use a recorder. I do not use the term 'tape recorder' as today...
Research & quotes - difference
Remember that research and quotes are quite different. When you use research, you use facts and figures from sources such as...
Resourceful journalist, how to be a
The most valuable advice you'll ever receive about being RESOURCEFUL By SIMON TOWNSEND This might be the most valuable piece of...
Resourceful wikiHow
How to be resourceful Re-printed with permission of the website wikiHow Life doesn't always hand us solutions to go with the...
Student, only a
You ask about how to approach people for interviews and information while you are 'ONLY' a student. No. Sorry, you misunderstand...
Sweet talk
Sweet talking : Let me tell you the hard truth - you MUST train yourself 'SWEET TALK' people. You must train yourself NOT to take...
Telephone manner
You seem worried about phoning people to obtain information or to conduct an interview. Your life in freelance journalism will be...
The Complete Guide to Finding Ideas
4-page complete guide to ideas By SIMON TOWNSEND You are entitled to take great pride in having good ideas for articles. But I'm...
The Components of an Article
This Is Just One Example Of A Well-Structured Article This MAP of an article shows three components: narrative, direct quotes and...
The Journalist Code of Ethics
Code Of Ethics Members of the union MEAA engaged in journalism commit themselves to: Honesty Fairness Independence Respect for...
The Journalist's Digital Toolkit
Simon carried a notebook, a pen, a phone, a tape recorder, and a Filofax. That was the kit for forty years of working journalism...
The Pen Picture
I think you should give your readers a pen picture of *. Here's my standard advice on this important part of good writing. For a...
The Two-Person Feature
How to write (and make money from) your 'two people' feature By SIMON TOWNSEND Think of two people you know who have a long-term...
TV-how to pitch
How to pitch an idea for a TV show Author: EMMA-KATE DOBBIN Source: The Sydney Morning Herald's 'Radar' section Reprinted With...
What Editors Really Want From You
Editors: what they really want from you Editors are a hard-nosed, hard-hearted lot. The only aspects they remember about us...
When Quote Marks Are Unnecessary
You wrote ' ' with quote marks around it. You are unnecessarily using quotation marks around words and phrases, and this is now...
Who or that
You need to know the subtle difference between who and that. The best explanation I've read is in The New York Public Library...
Wikipedia: A Guide for Journalists
Wikipedia (trust it or not?) Students constantly ask me: 'Can I trust the internet encyclopedia Wikipedia for facts and...
Written vs Spoken Quotes
Written quotes vs spoken Regarding conducting an interview (or getting answers to questions) via email or letters. Yes, sure it's...
Your phone mannner quiz
Do not return this questionnaire separately: Your phone manner All journalists - fulltime, casual or freelancers - obtain most of...