Citizen Journalism

Interesting link from Mini Media. Raises some good questions.

http://minimediaguy.org/2007/02/26/tips-for-citizen-journalists-how-to-manage-sources/

Interesting point of view for someone who’s just starting out in Journalism. The paradox is that nobody is think you are credible if you don’t have sources, but you can’t get the needed credibility without sources.

I think its more important than ever now that those in the Media are prepared to “sell” both themselves and their industry. Journalism has taken a hit in approval lately, and I think its the responsability of the new Journalists to repair some of their industys “cred”. This means not taking cheap shots, writing slanderous articles, or being generally bottom feeding human beings.

I’ve worked in retail and serving before and I find some of the same tactics you use to get good tips can be used to get good interviews. Be polite and engagin while engaging your interview subject in conversation. Reading a laundry list of stale questions isn’t going to set you apart. You have to build trust and rapport before a person will really want to get into the story.

Mirroring is huge. I don’t care about what people tell me about how this is “weak”, because my own experience in the entertainment industy has taught me otherwise. If you’re going to be interviewing a group of blue collar oil workers then conversing about  about sports or drinking nights is going tomake you feel to them like much more of a equal. Match gruff with gruff, soft spoken with soft spoken and etc. Learn to read and respond to body language, it’s the best thing I ever learned and some of the most applicible to Journalism.