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Presenter: Caroline Jo Burge

Faculty Sponsor: Heesoo Jang

School: UMass Amherst

Research Area: Journalism

Session: Poster Session 5, 3:15 PM - 4:00 PM, Auditorium, A83

ABSTRACT

In the field of journalism, conducting an interview is a fundamental process that contributes meaningfully to articles. Interviews can be unpredictable interactions, as there is no way to accurately predict how an interviewee may respond to different topics, and access and availability, especially for a longer period of time, are never guaranteed. Additionally, following up on interviews is never a given. For these reasons, making inquiries and interacting with interviewees in a personable, inquisitive, and thoughtful manner is incredibly necessary. This past fall, I had the opportunity to write a long-form profile on a UMass athlete. Beginning this project was a daunting task, as it is a big responsibility to tell someone's story, and that's only possible if you ask the right questions. The act and art of interviewing leaves little room for extemporaneous or misguided questions. Formulating queries with intention can directly affect the thoroughness of an answer. Beginning with essentially a blank slate, conducting background research and formulating well-rounded interview questions gave me the best insight into their life. From there, speaking to a range of people close to them was extremely enlightening and crucial to finding threads to follow. Beyond this, piecing together research, quotes, and commentary to produce a reflective piece is a subtly complex creative process. The experience taught me the invaluable lessons of big-picture thinking and attention to detail in all steps of the interviewing and writing process. Through these principles, journalists can create well-developed articles that accurately articulate information and include personal anecdotal attributions.