Teaching Journalism

Teaching interviewing requires more than just giving students lists of dos and don'ts. Playing examples of television and radio interviews to illustrate the good and bad habits of interviewers is usually more effective. If you want to add some humour to the lesson, here's a blog post with a link to an old comedy sketch. It illustrates a common mistake by rookies, but one made, unfortunately, even by some pros: being a slave to a list of questions without listening to the answers.

A list of useful tips about preparing for and conducting effective interviews for reporters prepared by Paul McLaughlin, one of Canada's well-known instructors and authors on interviewing for journalists.

Pulitzer-prize winning reporter, Eric Nalder, formerly of the Seattle Times, now with the San Jose Mercury News, has given workshops on interviewing to reporters for years. His tips for doing great interviews are posted at various sites online.

An August 2006 feature on John Sawatsky from National Public Radio. The page includes an article on Sawatsky's evolution from journalist to journalism prof to expert on teaching interviewing to journalists around the world. It includes an eight minute radio piece on what Sawatsky does, including clips from his fans and critics. It also includes an hour-long audio interview with Sawatsky, as well as excerpts from his presentations. In addition, the page includes clips from some of Sawatsky's favourite targets such as Larry King and Mike Wallace rejecting Sawatsky's approach.