Interviewing and Computer Assisted Reporting

Chapter 9:
1. Which would you choose: a direct quotation that is accurate but unclear and embarrassing to the speaker, or one that is clear but is inexact and makes the speaker appear more eloquent than he or she really is?
Well it would depend on my agenda, and whether I wanted the speaker to appear eloquent or not. Generally however, I would choose the unclear but accurate quote and try paraphrasing or focusing on particular parts of the sentence to help convey the message.

2. Is it ever justified for a journalist to intimidate a source with a threat of ‘public exposure’ to get important public information?
Yes, especially if they were bluffing.

3. Is it a reasonable strategy for a journalist – male or female – to use ‘personal chemistry’ to get information from sources when there is public interest at stake.
Obviously there are instances where it is reasonable and when it isn’t. In principle I find it reasonable, but there are guidelines that should not be crossed.

4. What potential dangers could come back to haunt a journalist who gets too close to a source?
If the journalist sells them out and reveals information the source wanted secret, or if they write with extreme bias.

5. Who is the more inarticulate, word-mangling public figure regularly in the news at present? Should you feel sorry for them and clean up their direct quotes or let them stew in their own frying pan.
George W. Bush. Let him stew!

Chapter 14:
1. Read the cover story of last weekend’s edition of The Weekend Australian Magazine. Discuss the introduction, the intro sentence, and the writing style. Was there a justifier? Did the closer tie back to the introduction?
The intro sentence immediately established the article as a feature article as opposed to hard breaking news. The closer didn't really tie in with the introduction at all, and I did feel the writer gave a clear justified purpose for writing the story, however it occured more within the second sentence.

2. Should newspapers give more prominence to feature stories? Is promoting good writing a way to increase newspaper sales, or do you think people are too busy or too interested in hard news to really care.
It would have to depend on the newspapers target audience, but generally there could be more feature article content. However in terms of prominence, I don’t think features articles should ever be given front page over hard breaking news. They belong later on in the publication.

3. Should newspapers be expected to limit cheap ‘imported’ features about Hollywood stars and foreign royalty to make room for Australian writers and subjects? Or should the guiding factor be perceived to market forces?
Obviously it would depend on the publication, but I think the subject and content should go according to what the audience desires. If they are patriotic and want local news given special prominence, then so be it. If not, then not. I don’t feel that Australia should be included more just for the sake of it, unless the publication is actually intending to be representative of national news.

4. Would you like to be a full-time feature writer? Why or why not?
Yes, because I’ve always preferred subjective writing to objective.

5. How does being a feature writer differ from being a columnist?
A columnist usually has a consistent theme or topic for each edition, and is also more often focused on the opinions of the writer as opposed to a human interest story.