Too many stories depend almost entirely on officials for information and sound bites. Watch a newscast or read a news site on any given day and notice who gets to talk. Are most of them people with titles and business cards? Would those stories be more interesting, engaging and authentic if they included other voices?
Maybe. Including “vox pops” or person-on-the-street sound bites or quotes won’t automatically make a story stronger. Often, they’re just window dressing. I can’t count the number of times I was sent out to get citizens’ reactions to some development or other and most of the people I talked to had no idea what I was asking about.
Does that mean the public is stupid or woefully uninformed? Not necessarily. At least half the problem with this kind of reporting is that we ask the wrong people the wrong questions.
Choose the right place
Where do you go to find people for reaction stories? A public place near the office with lots of people, right? It probably shouldn’t be a surprise that few shoppers or commuters have informed opinions about every issue you could possibly bring up.
When you’re working on a reaction story, you’ll have better luck getting usable sound or quotes if you find people who actually care about the topic. That means you have to go to a place where they’re likely to gather. Need parents for an education story? Try a school parking lot or a soccer field. A health study? Ask people going and coming from a free clinic instead of a supermarket. It takes more effort, obviously, but the payoff is usually worth it.
Ask the right questions
Finding the right people is only half the solution, though. You need to ask questions differently than you would when talking to officials or other people who are accustomed to being interviewed. Don’t start with an agenda and ask them to fill in the blanks. It’s almost never productive to ask what people think of a pending proposal to…whatever.
Ask open-ended questions about the topic in general to learn what people are really concerned about and what they think should be done. If they don’t tell you what you expect to hear, maybe that’s your story.
Stories, not anecdotes
“Real people” often show up at the top of stories and never appear again. You know the drill: “Joe Smith has been looking for work for seven months, since he was laid off from his job at the manufacturing plant. He’s not alone….”
Anecdotal leads turn people into props or window dressing. If you really want to tell a character-driven story, the story has to be in large part about the character. And that doesn’t just mean bringing him or her back at the end. You know that drill too: “For Joe Smith, the bad news on unemployment means he’ll have to keep looking.”
Stories are stronger when characters get more than a hello and goodbye. An anecdote may be a good way to hook the audience but central characters will keep them reading or watching all the way to the end.
Our fearless ND, Marsalis Parsons (now retired) always insisted we got out and talked to “real people”. Talk to them, don’t interview them. Even if they don’t want to go on camera, talk to them. Gather information and opinions before you move on. We forget that they can still have much to say. Sometimes you get an opportunity to ask again for the on camera statement. At the least this effort can add to the story background and help shape your next conversation.
One of my favorite places to seek out willing participants is the Laundromat. There is a great stratum of folks to talk to, and besides, it’s a captured audience that won’t leave their laundry behind! I learned this looking for endless reacts during the New Hampshire presidential primaries. There is just something about people airing their laundry in public that makes them more willing participants!
Love the laundromat idea, Bob. Some print journalists I’ve worked with like to talk to bus riders–another group that’s sort of trapped. You’re absolutely right that when it comes to “real people” it’s a much better idea to have a conversation than to conduct an interview. I always suggest avoiding the word “interview” altogether because it reminds people of the stress of a job interview. Not good, if you want them to make them comfortable.
I like this article. It seems to me that since journalists are supposed to represent the “real people”, it is common sense to talk and listen to them. Official types are usually just going to dish out some mumbo-jumbo. “Real-people” help to sort through this. Was Mark Twain the great American humorist and novelist because he listened to public relations types and re-hashed what they wanted him to write? No, he wrote about “real people” in a way they could understand, and he did this by observing and talking to them. And remember, Twain began his writing career as a journalist if I’m not mistaken.
Great suggestions, but schools do not allow reporters (certainly those with cameras!) to hang out on their property. If one is able to convince the school district spokesperson to find a principal who will allow a reporter or reporter/photographer team to go to a school, you will NOT have free access to whomever you want wherever you want.
The school district spokesperson, or the school’s principal, will be at your side with every step (not a bad thing, they are just doing their jobs). You may get 15, even 30 minutes, on the school property, but if during that time you have not met a parent who is willing to be interviewed then the school spokesman is not terribly interested in letting the reporter hang out there longer. Again, they are not being unkind, but finding a person who is willing to be interviewed (especially on camera) can take a while. And if the subject you are covering is viewed as “negative” or “controversial” in any way, there is no chance the school system will allow you on the property. Which is why we often try to snag interviews with people while we’re standing on the (public) sidewalk near the school. Or at the gas station near the school. But Lord help you if you’re in a rural community where cornfields and cows surround the school for miles.
Same thing with clinics – it is unlikely that the clinic’s public relations department (or even the staff) will allow a reporter to step on to the property to interview people (that’s not true if you’re there to interview a specific physician about a specific topic). Particularly, again, if the topic is considered “negative” or “controversial.” And that is doubly hard if the reporter works for a television station — the concern about HIPAA laws means there are constant admonitions not to videotape (purposefully or incidentally) people heading into the clinic. And often the people using free clinics do NOT want to be seen on camera. They will literally RUN. And clinics don’t want that.
Often people standing at bus stops react the same way – many people are reluctant to be publicly identified as someone who uses public transportation (not systems such as the Metro in DC), particularly because there can be a stigma (“you ride the bus because you can’t afford a car”) associated with that.
Often people are extremely reluctant to be interviewed – especially on camera — for any story that identifies them as unemployed, or without much money, or needing public assistance, or without health coverage. Walk into a career services center or an unemployment office with a camera, and watch people scatter or hide their faces. It happens all the time.
Which is not to say it is impossible to find people in any of these situations. But by no means are there not hurdles that need to be overcome.
You’re absolutely right, Carson, that reporters face restrictions on private and government property. I’m just suggesting they look for people to talk to near locations like schools and clinics. Thanks for pointing out that it’s best to say on public property when doing so. The other issue you raise about how hard it is to get people to talk is legitimate, too, but there are ways to improve your odds. I’m thinking it might be a good idea to write a new post to highlight some of them.
This is indeed a good piece of writing for journalists. In Pakistan print journalists are often blamed for “table” stories as the real spirit is found missing. This can only be achieved by talking to real people for which extra efforts need to be made but certainly the results are great.