DIGITAL NEWS: (Research) Reporting

Using the articles Helen provided, I decided to do some research into reporting - this will help us discover our own reporting style.

In this article ( http://www.independent.co.uk/arts- entertainment/tv/features/jeremy- paxmans-best-newsnight- interviews-9310918.html ) Jeremy Paxman's reporting style is reviewed. His reporting style is quite harsh and intrusive - almost forcing his interviewee's to answer something they are unwilling to answer. Whilst this style of interviewing is effective for his style of interview and the topics covered (politics) - I do not think this would be appropriate for our news piece. As a group, we are set on creating a fun news piece which is entertaining yet informative. This style of interview is too harsh and heavy for this as it is just set on uncovering facts and information.

This article gives little tips about the questions and answers in interviews:(http://www.bbc.co.uk/guides/zwng4wx) Although the article is about political interviews, tips can still be drawn from it and applied to any style of interview. The questions an interviewer asks has to be what the audience wants to know. (In terms of politics - the interviewer's questions must "crystallise voters' concerns".) This goes back to the phrase 'What's in it for me?' - the audience wants to find out the information they want to know - not some random facts. Ask relevant questions. The interviewer also needs to be well briefed - this will help to ask further in depth questions if the interviewee gives a short answer which lacks detail. This is especially important in political interviews as some politicians are not willing to provide full answers, but being well briefed as an interviewer can act as a weapon - they can use this to pull further information out of the interviewee. Technique is very important if you want to get the information you desire - especially when tackling tricky topics or politicians holding back certain information - you have to 'lur[e] the politician into opening up and then robustly challeng[e] them.'

These articles have given me some valuable tips into interviewing and reporting. Whilst they may not be the techniques we will use in our production, we can still take snippets of the techniques and implement them. As these interviewing styles are quite harsh - it also shows us how to avoid a harsh style in order to keep our production fun.