After interviewing people for the past two years, I've put them in categories: reluctant, unpleasant, and kind.
Reluctant people are the kind who don't know if they want to be on camera. They're afraid they'll say something stupid, or look weird. They often ask, "Can you edit things out if I mess it up?" I tell them yes and try to be as accommodating as possible.
Unpleasant people are the people that if you didn't HAVE to get an interview from them, you wouldn't. The unpleasant people want to get the heck out of there, and they want out now. Luckily, this has been an extreme rarity for me. Usually people are generally nice about interviews.
The kind ones are my favorite to interview. They're extremely accommodating, and always ask you if you need anything. They love the topic/subject you're interviewing them about. Today, I interviewed a very kind man from Pulaski at The Ratcliffe Museum of Transportation. I'm doing a beat report on the new train station that was recently rebuilt after a fire destroyed it 5 years ago (I'll post it here later this week). This guy was awesome and so generous. He showed me around the building and gave me more than enough information than I needed, but it was really interesting nevertheless. He even paid for two books about Pulaski for me to use in case I needed additional information! He said I could come back any time I wanted to and I could have access to the entire museum for any reports I want to do on it. He seemed really happy about the possibility of me covering the museum, too. He was just a really nice guy who made my day. Shout out to Ty--he rules.
Kindness goes a long way. Being kind makes you feel a lot better than being mean.
Until next time,
Sara
P.S. I think I'm going to take up his offer and do a package on this extremely detailed and large layout of the town of Pulaski that this former dentist made. He kept the entire set up in his basement, but they eventually moved it to the museum. It's amazing and incredibly detailed. I'm probably going to this for my final package in advanced multimedia reporting. The only unfortunate thing is the doctor died three years ago! But everyone at the museum knows a lot about him and I know it will make for a great package.
Reluctant people are the kind who don't know if they want to be on camera. They're afraid they'll say something stupid, or look weird. They often ask, "Can you edit things out if I mess it up?" I tell them yes and try to be as accommodating as possible.
Unpleasant people are the people that if you didn't HAVE to get an interview from them, you wouldn't. The unpleasant people want to get the heck out of there, and they want out now. Luckily, this has been an extreme rarity for me. Usually people are generally nice about interviews.
The kind ones are my favorite to interview. They're extremely accommodating, and always ask you if you need anything. They love the topic/subject you're interviewing them about. Today, I interviewed a very kind man from Pulaski at The Ratcliffe Museum of Transportation. I'm doing a beat report on the new train station that was recently rebuilt after a fire destroyed it 5 years ago (I'll post it here later this week). This guy was awesome and so generous. He showed me around the building and gave me more than enough information than I needed, but it was really interesting nevertheless. He even paid for two books about Pulaski for me to use in case I needed additional information! He said I could come back any time I wanted to and I could have access to the entire museum for any reports I want to do on it. He seemed really happy about the possibility of me covering the museum, too. He was just a really nice guy who made my day. Shout out to Ty--he rules.
Kindness goes a long way. Being kind makes you feel a lot better than being mean.
Until next time,
Sara
P.S. I think I'm going to take up his offer and do a package on this extremely detailed and large layout of the town of Pulaski that this former dentist made. He kept the entire set up in his basement, but they eventually moved it to the museum. It's amazing and incredibly detailed. I'm probably going to this for my final package in advanced multimedia reporting. The only unfortunate thing is the doctor died three years ago! But everyone at the museum knows a lot about him and I know it will make for a great package.