J Station

Nowadays a ‘reporter’ is a person who is also a photographer, a layout designer, a proof reader and a copy editor.

If you can take a photograph of what you report, which is a very basic necessity of a reporterof today, it saves a lotof time for you. You need not search for one picture that tells your story visually, from a series of clicks taken by the photographer in his digicam.

You can have it in your library for any follow up action on the same story later.

You can decide the focus  of the subject which can suit both print and online edition of your publication.

I can list at least 10 advantages of a reporter being a photographer! Some tips here if you want to photograph your report:

1. Shoot from other than your eye level too. That will show magic to the readers.
2. If you are reporting about a place, building, institution, take the photograph along with humans in it.
(E-g) If it is a school, the kids running down the stairs during the lunch break could be the best photo.

3. You don’t need to leave space on all sides of the frame. Concentrate on the subject.
4.What clues from the picture can you give to the reader about the place of shot? Think and angle well.

Finally a tip for your report:

If the photos are marvellous and tell the story beautifully, avoid writing long. Let the pictures say what you want to!

You do it with every story you file.
You talk to people and file your report basing on the information you got from the other person.
Then, what’s special about interviews?

Interviews are independent stories or reports as against talking to people as part of a main story.
The subject is the person you interview and the story of that person brought out through you!

All about ‘Interviewing’ will be posted in three parts in this blog.
That speaks of its importance.

Preparing for the interview is the most important aspect of this task.

Preparing yourself for the interview, preparing the person who you are going to interview and preparing the background papers for the interview are the parts of preparation.

It is for the interviewer to research and know the information about the interviewee. Biographical as well as his or her area of specialisation.
Also important is a bit of knowledge of the subject or the area of specialisation of the interviewee.

To prepare the interviewee, a convenient time, place and a brief introduction about what your interview will focus on, should be conveyed to him.

And your background papers – the basic research you have done about the person and his work in a notepad, the relevant paper clippings if your interview is going to be based on a specific issue the interviewee has raised or he or she has been in the news for.

And the usual advice you would receive from any seasoned senior journalist or your editor – carry  a recorder but assume it is not working! So a convenient notepad and a pen are a must!

My first interview assignment was with an artiste. As I mention quite often in this blog, I have been lucky to be guided to what I had to ask the interviewee and how the interview had to proceed and in what direction. If any mention of unusual references came within the interview it was a bonus.

Here is my first interview. The last but three question were the bonus ones!