PART I: MASTERING THE TOUGH INTERVIEW

The Three Different Types and Goals of Interviews

Too many journalists think all interviews are the same; by not understanding the three different types and goals of interviews, they get none of them accomplished:

- How to do the informational interview to get the background and info you need

- How to do the emotional, gut-wrenching human interview to get the raw drama you need

- How to do the tough accountability interviews (when sometimes the questions can be more important than the answer)

- How to combine all three when needed in the same interview

Good Interviews Must Follow the Same Rules as Good Story-Telling

Single Focus

Master the Basic Techniques, Tricks, and Pitfalls of Questions

Most of the workshop time is devoted to the six basic rules of interviewing:

Hands-on lessons, with video and audio examples. We use famous interviewers and famous subjects to see what works, what backfires and how to improvise

Please bring a sample of your best/worst work to dissect and analyze.

PART II: TELLING YOUR STORY VIVIDLY

Story telling: How to weave your research into a compelling human drama

- Beginning, Middle, End

- The Four C’s: Conflict/Context/Character development/Conclusion

How to organize complicated investigative projects

The Ethics on Investigative Journalism: How to Avoid crossing the line. Where is the line?

Turning Your Investigation into a Book