Never Interview a Stranger

When I had to do my first street interview (or streeter) during first year journalism I was terrified. I felt like a young teenage boy nervously trying to ask the girl I had a crush on out. I was shaking, sweating, and questioning exactly what the heck I had gotten myself into.

I struggled mightily early on in my first year of journalism. I have nightmares and toss and turn in bed at the thought of my instructors having future students critiquing my early work, and tearing it to shreds.

For a while, I just wasn’t getting it.

Other times I felt dirty, like during a streeter, or the Bomber assignment when I felt like a telemarketer bothering people while they were on their free time.

I got some really good advice from my first semester instructor who told me to go out ‘with a purpose’. I guess I needed to go out knowing what kind of a story I was telling, why I was telling it, and whom I was telling it to.

The other piece of advice I got, from my other instructor, was that an interview wasn’t a normal conversation and that I shouldn’t confuse it with one.

I need to remember this because sometimes I get off topic when I need to keep my focus and stay on the subject at hand.

I need to forget this, when I am talking to the person I am interviewing so they will let their guard down, and tell me things even they don’t want me to know.

Over the course of the summer I interviewed about thirty people for my documentary about English teachers in Korea. A lot of these were long conversations where I just let the person go on. I was just interested to see which direction they would go.

Now when I have to ask for an interview it’s a lot easier. I don’t have to psyche myself up anymore before I make the ‘dreaded’ phone call.

For my radio assignment I got quotes from at least five different people and was still ready and willing to stay out and pursue more.

One of the things I liked about living in Korea was that a person was allowed to talk to strangers while there. Turns out it’s something I also like about journalism.

rymr