Getting the story

Getting the story
Second lecture
25 3 2014
By
Dr. Abdel-Mohsen Okela

Erik Nalder
• The tip came in an e-mail
from a former government
official who suggested
looking into the supply of
life rafts on ferries in
Washington state.

Nalder check story out
• His first phone call
was to the ferry
system’s safety
director.
• who was new on the
job, but who gave
Nalder the name and
location of his
predecessor .

Nalder was just getting started
• When the reporter
reached the retired
director by phone, he
confirmed the
shortage of life rafts.
Far from being
satisfied that he had
uncovered a good
story, Nalder was just
getting started.

To get the full story
• documents showing
the number of life
rafts on every ferry.
• the capacity of each
raft.
• the maximum number
of passengers each
ferry.

Analyze Data
• He had to analyze the
data to determine the
seriousness of the
shortage.
• He also wanted to
ride the ferries and
talk to passengers
and crew.

Nalder ready to write his
front-page story
which revealed that…
FERRIES IN HIS STATE HAD
ONLY ENOUGH LIFE RAFTS
TO EVACUATE ONE
PASSENGER OUT OF
SEVEN.

Reporting is a painstaking
process
• collecting facts.
• checking them
carefully for
accuracy.
• Journalists
sometimes witness
stories first-hand .
• Or by experts,
witnesses

That information is…
• is reinforced by:
additional sources.
and checked against documentary
evidence in public records, reports, or
archives.

The information a journalist collects
should
• answer questions that
are commonly known
as the five W’s and an
H: who, what, where,
when, why, and how.
• a reporter might ask
those questions in
several different
ways.

WHO ?
• Who is involved in this story?
• Who is affected by it?
• Who is the best person to tell the story?
• Who is missing from this story? Who has
more information about this?
• Who is in conflict in this story? Do they
have anything in common?
• Who else should I talk to about this?

WHAT ?
• What happened?
• What is the point of this story? What am I
really trying to say?
• What does the reader, viewer, or listener
need to know to understand this story?
• What surprised me? What is the most
important single fact I learned?
• What is the history background here?
What happens next?
• What can people do about it?

WHEN ?WHERE ?
• When did this
happen?
• When did the
turning points
occur in this story?
• When should I
report this story?
• Where did this
happen?
• Where else should I
go to get the full
story?
• Where is this story
going next? How will
it end?

WHY ?
• Why is this happening? Is it an isolated
case or part of a trend?
• Why are people behaving the way they
are? What are their motives?
• Why does this story matter importance?
Why should anyone watch, read, or listen
to it?
• Why am I sure I have this story right?

HOW ?
• How did this happen?
• How will things be different because of
what happened?
• How will this story help the reader,
listener, or viewer? The community?
• How did I get this information? Is the
attribution quotes clear?
• How would someone describe this story to
a friend?

Observation
• one of the
fundamentals of
good reporting.
• Good reporters use
all of their senses on
the scene.
• They look, listen,
smell, taste, and feel
the story.

To do this well
• journalists need an
accurate record,
with a notebook and
a pencil or pen,
audio recorders and
cameras.
• But electronics have
been known to fail.
• it’s important for all
journalists to be
skilled note-takers.
• Here are some tips.

Tips on note-taking 1
• Write down facts,
details, thoughts, and
ideas. Make clear
which is which, and
where they came
from.
• Draw diagrams of
rooms, scenes, or
items in relationship
to each other.
• Always get correctly
spelled names, titles,
and contact
information. Ask for
birth date and year, to
make sure you have
the person’s age
right.

Tips on note-taking 2
• Spell out clear
interview ground
rules in the
notebook.
• Don't crowd the
notebook. Leave
space for
annotating extra
notes.
• Leave the inside covers
blank to write down
questions to ask later.
• Annotate the notes as
soon as possible.
• use your own shorthand
for common words to
take notes more quickly.

TIPS 1
• Reporters must be sure they have the
tools they need before heading out to
cover a story: “notebook, pen, tape or
digital recorder, and fresh batteries”.
• There’s nothing more embarrassing than
arriving on the scene only to discover
there is no film or tape in the camera, the
only pen in your pocket is out of ink.

TIPS 2
• Today’s journalists often carry additional
tools: a mobile telephone and a laptop
computer.
• Putting a rubber band around your
notebook to mark the next blank page
makes it easy to find quickly.
• A plastic bag will protect your notebook
when it rains.

TIPS 3
• A small pair of binoculars will
help you see what’s going on
even if you can’t get very
close.
• A calculator will help you
convert information like the
number of tons of fuel carried
by an aircraft into terms more
familiar to the audience, in this
case, liters or gallons.

Research
• Journalists tend to collect much more
information than they can put into a story
but that information always helps them
better understand the event or issue they
are covering.
• background information is essential to give
a story deeper meaning.

In Eric Nalder’s story
about life rafts
• for example, he included the fact that the
water the ferries cross is cold enough in
January to kill someone within half an
hour.
• That information puts the shortage of life
rafts in context by explaining more clearly
why it matters.

Research tools
• computers and the Internet.
• Many of them are just high-tech versions
of the basic tools of the trade Profession:
directories, almanacs, encyclopedias, and
maps. Others are databases and reports.
• search engines, blogs, chat rooms, and e-
mail lists.
• All of these resources are useful to
journalists collecting background on a
story.

The most basic research tools
• the news organization’s own library of
previously published or broadcast stories.
• Whether these “clips” are kept on paper in
filing drawers or in computer files, they are
a useful starting place for all kinds of
stories.
• journalists also keep their own “clip files”

Nelson Mandela Death
• Imagine that the former
president of a
neighboring country has
died. A reporter assigned
to write the story would
want to know some basic
facts: age, cause of
death, and where and
when he died.

Background Information 1
• the journalist also want information about
his time in office, and how the country has
changed since he was president.
• A first step would be to consult previous
news reports, either in the newsroom’s
archive or online.
• Those reports might mention refer to
someone who was close to the former
president, whom the reporter could ask for
an interview.

Background Information 2
• The reporter would want to have some
background on that person before
conducting the interview, and might learn
that the former president’s friend kept all of
his letters, which could reveal some
surprising new information.
• Doing an interview without having done
any background research is like driving to
an unfamiliar place without consulting a
map.

Sources
• Reporters use both primary and secondary
sources when reporting news stories.
• A primary source could be an interview
with a person who has direct experience of
an event or topic, or an original document
related to that topic.
• The journalist as eyewitness also is
considered a primary source.

Sources
• A secondary source might be a written
report based on the original document.
• For example, the person whose house
burned down would be a primary source,
and a firefighter who had been involved in
putting out the fire.
• But the press release issued by the fire
department the next day would be a
secondary source.

One rule of thumb reporters 1
• NO single source can provide all of the
information.
• In the case of the former president, each
source the reporter consulted led to
another source.
• Sometimes, sources contradict each other.
• reporters have to see where the weight of
the evidence lies or seek out original
sources, such as documents, to determine
which version is true.

One rule of thumb reporters 2
• Secondary sources are most useful as a
way of confirming information acquired
from primary sources.
• Whatever sources you use to research the
background of a story, it’s critical to
consider the validity or credibility of the
source.
• These days, anyone can design a
professional-looking Web site, or arrange
to send an e-mail.

useful questions for evaluating
Journalist's sources 1
• How does this source know what he or
she knows? (Is this person in a position to
know these things, either personal or
professional?)
• How can I confirm this information through
other sources or through documents?
• Has this source been reliable and credible
in the past?

useful questions for evaluating
Journalist's sources 2
• Am I only using this source because it’s
the easy way to go or because I know I’ll
get something I can use?
• What is the source’s motive for providing
information? (Is this person trying to make
himself look good, or to make his boss
look bad? Why is he or she talking to me?)

Useful TIPS 1
• Once you discover a helpful source of
information for one story, it’s a good idea
to stay in touch with that person over the
long term.
• Get as much contact information as
possible for every source, not just an office
address and telephone number, but
mobile and home telephones and e-mail
addresses as well.

Useful TIPS 2
• Good reporters “work” their sources regularly,
contacting them to ask if anything interesting is
happening.
• Make it easy for sources to get in touch with
you, as well, by giving your business card to
everyone you meet on a story.
• A reporter who treats secretaries and clerks with
respect may find his or her request for an
interview with the secretary’s supervisor
accepted more quickly.

Interviews
• American reporter Kristin
Gilger
says,
“Skillful interviewing is
the basis for all good
reporting and writing.”

Interview Definition
• An interview is defined as information,
opinion, or experience shared by a source
in conversation with a reporter. What
makes an interview a little different from
an ordinary conversation is that the
reporter determines the direction of the
questioning.

Setting up an interview is not
always easy
• Experienced reporters have found
they can persuade even the most
reluctant officials to agree to an
interview by anticipating the
excuses and roadblocks they may
use.
HOW ?

Types of interviewers 1
• They don’t have time. The reporter can offer
to meet at the most convenient time or place
for the person they want to speak with.
Limiting the amount of time requested also
may help.
• They are afraid because they think the story
will make them look bad. Treating people with
respect and telling them precisely exactly
why you want to talk with them will help
sources be less anxious.

Types of interviewers 2
• They don’t know what to say. Reporters need
to be clear about why the story needs a
particular person’s point of view.
• They are hard to reach. Reporters often have
to go through a secretary or public relations
officer to contact the person they want to
interview. If they suspect that their request is
not being forwarded, some reporters will write
a letter to the source, or call during lunch or
after business hours in an effort to get through.

Interview preparation 1
• Most reporters develop a list of questions
or topics, which they take with them but
do not read from during the interview.
Instead, they refer to the list only near the
end to make sure they haven’t forgotten
something important. The list also
includes other information, documents, or
photographs they want to obtain from that
source.

• Questions are the backbone of an
interview. They are the rudder, keeping
the ship going in the right direction.
• Good questions can reward you with
unexpected answers, rich information,
and surprises. Poor questions can leave
you wondering why you bothered to talk to
that person anyway. Questions that are
too specific can lead you down the wrong
trail.

• The first question in an interview is
important because it sets the tone ‫ﻣﺴﺎر‬ for
what follows. A lot of journalists like to
begin with an “ice-breaker” ‫اﻟﺠﻮ‬ ‫ﻳﻠﻄﻒ‬
question that lets the source relax. It’s
something they’re comfortable
answering. It may, in fact, have nothing
to do with the reason you are there. But
often it helps to establish your credentials
with the source, and that can establish a
sense of trust and openness.

• The best questions are open-ended
questions that cannot be answered with a
simple yes or no, and also non-judgmental.
• Be quiet and let the interviewee talk, Good
journalists are good listeners, and often
learn the most significant information by
being silent.
• And many journalists have one last
question they ask at all interviews, “Who
else should I talk to about this?”

• Robert Siegel, who works
for National Public Radio
in Washington, D.C, tells
the story of an interview
he did with a Turkish
diplomat after Pope John
Paul II was shot and
wounded by a Turk in
Rome.

Robert Siegel Tips 1
• His first question, “Do you know any details
about this man, Mehmet Ali Agca; where he
lived in Italy, what he did there, what kind of visa
the Italians gave him?” The answers were all
NO.
• After several more tries, Siegel paused, about to
give up ‫.ﻳﻴﺄس‬ And the diplomat filled the silence
‫اﻟﺼﻤﺖ‬ ‫ﺧﺮق‬ with this, “… except that he is the
most famous convicted murderer in Turkey, who
escaped from prison after assassinating the
editor of one of our major newspapers.”

Robert Siegel Tips 2
• Siegel says he almost lost a good story by
asking questions that were too narrow. He
acknowledges that a better way to open
the interview might have been, “Tell me
about this man.”

Types of Interviews
• Reporters can do interviews in person, by
telephone, or online via e-mail or instant
messaging. Each approach has advantages and
disadvantages.
• Interviewing in person gives the reporter a more
complete sense of the individual. What kinds of
photos are on the wall? Is the desk messy or
neat? What books are in the bookcase? Meeting
in person also gives the reporter the ability to
judge the source’s credibility based on his
demeanor ‫.ﺗﺼﺮﻓﺎﺗﻪ‬ Does he look nervous or
comfortable? Is she willing to look the reporter in
the eye?

Interviewing in person
director of writing
workshops for the
Poynter Institute
• tells the story of interviewing a
woman who lost her husband to
cancer. She gave him a tour of
her home, and in the bedroom
she said, “You know, every night I
put just a little of [my husband’s]
cologne on the pillow ‫,اﻟﻮﺳﺎدة‬ so I
can believe he is still with me.” It’s
a detail that the reader can smell
and feel, which Scanlan never
would have learned over the
phone or online.

Telephone interviews
• Take less time, and some reporters
find it easier to take good notes when
they don’t have to worry about
maintaining eye contact with the
source.
• They can even type their notes into
the computer.

E-mail interviews
• useful for reaching people in distant
places, but the reporter can’t listen to
what’s being said and follow up in “real
time.”
• Instant messaging via the Internet is more
akin ‫ﻣﺸﺎﺑﻬﺔ‬ to a telephone interview. But
both online methods raise the question of
whether the person they appear to be from
actually sent the answers.

Interview Ground Rules 1
• Most interviews are conducted “on the
record,” ‫ﻟﻠﻨﺸﺮ‬ which means the reporter can
use anything that is said and attribute ‫ﻳﻨﺴﺐ‬
it directly to the person who is speaking. It
is important to make sure the source
knows this, especially when the reporter is
dealing with ordinary people who are not
accustomed ‫ﻣﻌﺘﺎد‬ to being quoted in the
newspaper or on the air.

• There are times when reporters have to
get information on background ‫اﺳﻢ‬ ‫ذآﺮ‬ ‫دون‬
because it’s the only way a source will
agree to talk. A source who fears for her
safety if others learn that she has spoken
to a reporter may agree to provide
information only on background. Here are
some guidelines for deciding whether to
accept and use background information:

• The story is of overwhelming ‫اﻷهﻤﻴﺔ‬ ‫ﺑﺎﻟﻐﺔ‬
public concern.
• There is no other way to get the information
on the record.
• The source is in a position to know the
truth.
• You are willing to explain (in your story)
why the source could not be named.

Getting the story

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