{"id":4441,"date":"2020-04-13T11:12:18","date_gmt":"2020-04-13T15:12:18","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/fm.hunter.cuny.edu\/journalism\/?p=4441"},"modified":"2020-04-13T11:14:16","modified_gmt":"2020-04-13T15:14:16","slug":"pandemic-reporting-requires-remote-interview-smarts","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/fm.hunter.cuny.edu\/journalism\/index.php\/2020\/04\/13\/pandemic-reporting-requires-remote-interview-smarts\/","title":{"rendered":"Pandemic Reporting Requires Remote Interview Smarts"},"content":{"rendered":"\n
\"Journalist<\/a>
Journalist Eli Kintisch (lower left) is joined by panelists Andrew James Benson (upper left) and Jennie Butler (lower right) in a webinar to discuss “The Art of the Remote Interview”<\/figcaption><\/figure><\/div>\n\n\n\n

With face-to-face reporting still unsafe during the COVID-19 outbreak, remote video interviewing has become a \u201ckey tool in our arsenal,\u201d counseled journalist Eli Kintisch during an April 6 Zoom training webinar.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Kintisch, a youth media producer with PBS NewsHour\u2019s Student Reporting Labs<\/a>, which sponsored the session, explained that even during a pandemic, excellent interviews can come from the safety of your own home without the need for expensive equipment. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Webinar panelists Jennie Butler of mobile news publisher NowThis News<\/a> and Andrew James Benson from New York-based production company Inquire Films<\/a>, agreed with Kintisch and offered tips, techniques and tools for recording remote interviews during the hour-long session. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Butler suggested that reporters enlist interviewees’ help in setting up the best video possible.  <\/p><\/blockquote>\n\n\n\n

Butler suggested, for instance, that reporters start by setting expectations during a pre-interview, not just preparing your interviewee on how long the call might take and topics of conversation,  but also to enlist their help in setting up the best video possible.   <\/p>\n\n\n\n

She also said to consider having your subject record the interview on their own iPhone. \u201cEmbrace the hand-held camera,\u201d especially if you have them in their element, Butler added. Even if the shot is shaky, it will allow the viewer to feel the emotion behind the screen. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

She cited examples from the series Through Our Eyes, which offered a glimpse of life in Puerto Rico<\/a> post-Hurricane Maria, or the humanitarian crisis in Venezuela<\/a> in 2017. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Tips and tools for top interviews<\/strong><\/h4>\n\n\n\n

Among the other tips from Butler and Benson:<\/p>\n\n\n\n