She wasn’t an axe wielding maniac and there was no carnage. . .externally.
Internally, it felt like a train wreck. I did not care for the experience. I was incredibly uncomfortable and the further the interview went the more difficult it became. I think I expected the interview to be along the lines of a structured conversation and less like an oral exam. I tried to answer the questions, but while a lot of words came out, I’m sure I sounded like a moron. I guess at this point the best I can hope for is to have said nothing remotely interesting. Dan, you gave some fantastic advice, as did Windviel. I truly wish I’d had the chance to read it before the interview. Had I known it wasn’t important to answer all the questions I probably would have said that many were irrelevant to my experience and probably would have felt less unsure of myself. I’ll chalk it up to a learning experience.
Like you, Vera, I wasn’t entirely thrilled. The journalist seemed nice enough, I just had a hard time with it. Many of the questions felt as though they were an entire topic unto themselves, I felt a lot of pressure to have concise answers. The whole experience just reenforced the feeling of being a lousy speaker.
I blog because here I can speak clearly. I can take my time and know the words I’ve chosen are right. I can mull questions over and most importantly I can, not that I always do, but I can proofread. It is in this format that I feel the most comfortable.
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I met with the reporter last Thursday at the Knit store downtown, and I crocheted while I answered questions.
So many were so quantitative. What percentage this?…how many that?, and I didn’t know the answers, but that didn’t really bug me.
She also had a lot of “do you see your blog changing journalism?” type questions, which for those who read my blog know I generally keep it to my crafting life- no earthshaking there.
I felt that if she had read my blog as she claimed, she would not have asked that question over and over again.
Her question about other black bloggers took me for a loop.
I did ask her why she asked me that, and she said that she wanted to get different points of view which is okay in and of itself for a reporter, but I ended up feeling that perhaps my views weren’t what she was looking for in an Afican American blogger.
Was I not angry enough? Was I blogging about trival–non racial things? I could be totally wrong, and perhaps I’m being unfair but that was my impression.
She was nice enough and all, but we didn’t connect, and I’m pretty sure I won’t make the article.
True story:
Janet and I attended a blogging conference last year (completely as amateurs, not as pro-jos representing the paper) and a reporter approached me and asked for an interview (I tend to say yes to interview requests, because I’ve been in her shoes and I know how uncomfortable it can be). Anyway, tt was a random-blogger interview: What do you write about? Why are you here? Where do you think blogging is going? Generic stuff.
At the end, she asked me the boilerplate stuff: Age, residence, profession. And when I told her I was a journalist, she perked back up again, started asking more questions.
So I stopped the interview and said, “I’m glad to talk about these subjects with you, but you’ve got to understand that I’m not here representing my employer, I’m here as a blogger, not a reporter, and my focus is on my blog.” She says, “sure.”
Story comes out the next day, and, sure enough, there I am. I think the intro to my part went like this: “Journalist Daniel Conover drove up from Charleston to get ideas for his newspaper, The Post and Courier…”
So I’ve been there, and it does happen, and I understand the frustration. It wasn’t a big deal and I was able to keep it in perspective, but the truth is it was still a goof, and if it was my first time being written about, it might have felt quite different.
Conducting a good interview is an art, and even when you’re good at it, you won’t always connect in a comfortable way with the subject. But here’s the surprising thing: The better you get at interviewing, the better your writing becomes. It the difference between building a cabinet from plywood and building a cabinet from fine teak. Good reporters tend to be the ones who figure this out over time.
And in general, I’d say that it’s a good thing for bloggers to get some familiarity with mass media, because you’re going to bump into it from time to time. Most bloggers I’ve dealt with have a poor opinion of mainstream reporters, and the truth is, those blogger-based criticisms tend to be instructive and valuable.
Heather, yours is not an unusual reaction. You probably were far more articulate than you feel in retrospect. You are certainly lucid and well spoken in person. You do, however, see the points we tried to make about press interviews.
Vera has established her blog with a clear focus on her craft and value it brings to her life. The only issues of color which I have seen are those of the yarn. It is unfortunate that the reporter chose to treat Vera as a potential issue and not as a person.
This is not unusual. Many reporters feel the need to create a more interesting story by introducing elements which do not apply or exist. Following such an agenda, the reporter might ask where does the MUSTANG stand on abortion or what have we done for world peace in our blog.
That reporter is probably not out to get anyone, but merely following an assignment on a topic on which she is not well versed.
If any others decide to grant an interview it might be helpful to write your thoughts on a notepad to which you can refer in the interview and also note the questions asked for later review if it becomes necessary to refute quotations attributed to you. If a reporter will not allow that, walk away.
But, remember this: A well known politician once told me, ” Son, never go to war with anyone who buys newsprint by the ton and ink by the drum for they always have the last word.
More transparency: In describing local bloggers to Lucia, I told her that it was a diverse group in every way but one: It’s overwhelmingly white.
She asked why, and all I could do was speculate and reveal my limited knowledge. Besides, it’s really just an educated guess, because you can’t really tell what race a person is online unless they write about it or run a picture. So in terms of local bloggers who were both active and black, Vera was the only one I knew.
What’s misleading is that, in terms of her blogging, Vera is a craft blogger, not a black blogger.
Now, for print reporters who work in a market where half your available readers are black, you’re responsible for keeping those readers in your mind. It doesn’t mean there’s a racial angle to every story, but if you’re looking at a local blogosphere that is about 99 percent nonblack, “why” becomes a pretty interesting question. Is it possible that there are black bloggers out there and we’re not finding them?
If I were writing about local bloggers for print, I’d be very interested in why there aren’t more black bloggers here. I expected to find more. What explains the apparent difference? What can we learn from it?
Now, is that what this story is going to be about? I hope not. Is it worth mentioning for context? I hope so. Is it worth a follow-up story at some point? Maybe. Can I understand why Vera might not appreciate being cast in the role of spokesperson for an entire race? Absolutely.
I’m sure you did fine. At any rate, you looked very nice…;-)
Dan, thanks so much for the insight.
I don’t like being cast as a spokesperson for an very diverse group of human beings.
The question about the number of white bloggers vs. black bloggers is a worthy question, but neither one I was prepared for or could answer. She really should have been more upfront and done her homework.
I love blogging about my crafts and meeting like-minded people for the past two and a half years. I’m also having fun meeting local bloggers too.
I do know other African-American bloggers (not local) most, like me, are crafters who blog for the love our crafts and generally shy away from other topics. I do keep up with a few very political and gossip ones too. It’s all great fun.
I thought I saw another black blogger on TBB, but I can’t remember his name.
I guess I thought my blog was chosen because it’s cool and interesting, not because I’m black, so that was a little blow to my pride.
Ah, reality.
For a while we had a blog called “Reflection Eternal” that was written by a black man (he had his picture on the site), but he took it down. We also had a student blog by a black woman, but it went inactive. If you go over to charlestonpoets you’ll find some inactive blogs by black writers, and marcus amaker is black. Beyond that, there are all sorts of bloggers I haven’t met, so I don’t know.
For whatever it’s worth, Vera, I thought you had a great blog long before I met you — and this from a guy who isn’t even interested in crafting per se. This should tell you something.
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