I was eleven when my father first asked what I wanted to be. "A reporter," I said. My answer was instinctive, I had no real idea what being a reporter meant. Except it didn't depend on being good at what was taught at school.
I didn't count English (language and literature) since that was like being good at eating or breathing. How would I function otherwise?
Apart from Spotlight and All the President's Men movies tend to show reporters as low-life pests, shouting nonsense as someone is bundled into a police car. The truth is less noisy and more obvious. Most newspaper and magazine articles are based on asking questions and transcribing the answers. What could be easier?
Let's elaborate. Time available is usually limited. The interviewee may be reluctant. He/she may not like you. The subject may be obscure so you begin by asking questions about a void. What then is a fruitful answer and what is mere boiler-plate? An unexpected answer may force you to change your strategy. It is highly desirable you don't reveal your ignorance. These difficulties are heightened if you're a clever-clogs like me and are interviewing a monoglot French person.
Even wholly co-operative interviews require mental agility. The unco-operative ones are more like a duel. I enjoyed interviewing and miss it now. Obviously a lifetime of interviewing is unlikely to produce a congenial social animal. VR may confirm this. The price I paid.
Why then? Because revelation is addictive. When two dim facts coalesce to become a clear new fact. The slow but rewarding way understanding develops over an hour’s chat. Because being informed is better than being uninformed.
Aahh. The blank notebook, the coffee cup pushed to one side, the tentative first question, the sign that points: Somewhere.
FANCY BEING INTERVIEWED?
Share My Garden comments (see below) "You could always interview some bloggers." Then goes on to list some alarming - almost certainly tongue-in-cheek - posers.
Don't worry, I wouldn't be asking those questions. But if anyone's up for being Skype-interviewed on a mutually agreed neutral subject, and getting to read the resultant piece before it's posted, I'm willing to discuss a game-plan. Neutral doesn't mean uninteresting, by the way.
MY FAVOURITE?
Many were non-Brits, especially Swedes. But here's my favourite Brit
(Note: Britain includes Scotland, for those who are puzzled)
Yes! A reporter's job is so multi-dimensional, given the subject, the interviewee, the attitudes, the context. All of it challenging and sometimes revelatory. I always wanted to be a teacher, but never got my dream. I did get to TA while I was in grad school. and I did get to advise students for most of my real career and that had a bit of "teaching in the moment" to it.
ReplyDeleteYou could always interview some bloggers. How much do we give away? What do we hide? How transparent are we? Do you make a judgement on the strength of one post? (I do, but I may have it all wrong.)
ReplyDeleteMy father never asked me what I wanted to be, but my mother could not understand why I wasn't an artist after I left art school. Cue quotes from a Hull poet.
ReplyDeleteWho was your most fascinating person to interview?
ReplyDeleterobin andrea: Journalism took me round the world and brought me into contact with many people who had a story to tell (Celebrity racing motorcyclists. Head chef at the World Health Organisation in Switzerland - DT's favourite international organisation. A British ex-cabinet minister. "Someone important" at the French embassy. And at the Canadian embassy. A shed-load of department heads at a huge international company in Japan. Star of a famed children's TV programme. Chief logistics expert with TJ Maxx, the US clothing chain.) By being bloody-minded in certain types of interview I ended up in places where my peers were disdained. A minor world but mine own.
ReplyDeleteShare my Garden: Your comment has gained wider dissemination (see addedum to post).
Tom Stephenson: I'm glad you say "quotes" (ie, plural) from the Hull poet; I'd be spoilt for choice. But your gnomic comment raises more questions than it answers (pretty good in only 31 words). Did your mother disapprove of your subsequent non-artist job?
Bohemian: Before Tone Deaf I used to run a blog called Works Well. This post dates back to those days:
https://bbworkswell.blogspot.com/search?q=Linn
Interviewing people with the intent of getting them to dig deep and reveal more than just the pat answers. That sounds like so much fun. I bet you were good at it. I'd love to read some interviews you conduct with bloggers. I "might" consider being interviewed if the mutually agreed upon topic was right. But it wouldn't break my heart if you chose others. My computer is in my quilt/work room and it is so messy.
ReplyDeleteColette: Yeah, digging deep is fun. But it tends to be grown-up fun. It requires a responsible adult to ask the questions, and an honest adult to provide the answers. But, if this thing ever gets off the ground, that would be for later, and it would have to be hemmed in by a few rules agreed by both parties. We're not looking for nervous breakdowns.
ReplyDeleteAn agreed neutral subject could well be car driving. Sounds dull, sounds everyday. But it's got great potential. Do we become a different person when we drive? Are we secretly ashamed of what we do behind the wheel? Are we skeered in the dark?
But that's just one of an infinite number of subjects. Take Colette's admission. We'd Skype in her quilt/work room and the first question might well be: Why so messy? Except, that, to me, sounds just a little bit too adversarial. Instead, say: Hasn't the world got enough quilts?
Any interest stirring?