Best way to interview without a recorder

I have the Sony ECM-TL1 Electret Condenser Microphone. It's awwwesome.

 

As an aside, I recently interviewed for a job where I was told by the SE that he didn't allow his reporters to use recorders unless the subject being interviewed requested it.

Everything had to be done from notes. He felt that transcribing tape slowed the writing process down too much.

 

I'd rather take an extra 10 minutes and be completely accurate than risk misquote someone for the purpose of being done quicker. I take notes while the recorder is going, so I can go back to the important parts to cut down on some time. But I always make sure I've got my recorder before I leave me place.

 

I think on some stories, writers get bogged down. If you are calling 10 people for a possible comment in a 18-inch story, I don't think you need to record the conversations.

If you are doing a Q&A or in-depth interview, you absolutely should record it if at all possible.

 

I kind of agree with this, though I would never make a hard and fast rule against using a recorder. But I've seen the guys in the press box -- they have 30 minutes of tape to transcribe before they can even think about writing their gamer. They never make deadline.

If you can't go into a post-game locker room and get a few punchy, one- or two-sentence quotes down verbatim on a notepad, I don't know what to tell you.

That said, I typically use a recorder on stories where I have more time.

 

If I need to interview someone over the phone I inform them that this conversation will be recorded and then I get them on the speaker phone.

But this only works in your own office or in a private conference room etc. If not your own shorthand works great after working on it for a few weeks.

 

Sirs, Madames,

Years back I went out to Newfoundland to do a feature on Bob Cole, the Hockey Night broadcaster and a famously print-media-shy guy. After meeting up with him in St John's after a lengthy dance to piece this together I start working down my list of Qs. 1. Are you from St John's? 2. When were you born?

At # 2 he looks at my tape recorder--might as well as been the devil's pitchfork aimed at his rectum--and freezes. "We're into some difficult territory now," he said.

So I put away my tape recorder and notebook. Only hope of him opening up. I had told him I was quite ill when I went out to Newfoundland--true, I had the flu--but every 10 or 15 minutes I took a break and went to the john (letting him think I had the stomach flu) and wrote down quotes.

Msg: Do whatever it takes and listen hard.

YHS, etc

 

I agree, recording slows the writing process. I take notes while I record and you knowthat way where the punchiest quotes are. You remember the gist of them and check them for exact accuracy later.
It's rare anyone resists being recorded during a phone interview in my experience. It protects both the reporter and the subject.

 

seems like micromanaging to me. everyone has their own way of doing things how they feel comfortable.

 

I worked part-time as a legal secretary through college and learned to type pretty fast (I hit 90 WPM at my peak times --- with few errors).

It's helped tremendously with transcribing interviews, and especially when I have the telephone receiver cradled between my ear and shoulder.

 

I use the recorder frequently when I'm interviewing more than one person at a time and when I cover meetings on deadline.

The secret to using a recorder on deadline is to take notes and to mark down the exact time on the timer when you hear a quote you want to use. I paraphrase from my notes and if I didn't get the quote exactly - which happens a lot during speeches - I just ff recorder to the quote. Transcribing the whole damn tape is pointless and a waste of time.

As for shorthand, mine is a series of abbreviations developed over the years that no one else can understand. I don't try to write every word down someone says if I'm just going to paraphrase. By abbreviating and paraphrasing, sometimes I'm done writing before the person is done talking.

If somebody says something I want to quote, obviously I write that down word for word.

 

I use a recorder as much as possible unless the time is short for transcribing.

If possible I will put the recorder on a desk or out of view to make it less obvious. They know I am recording; it's just not glaring at them.

Then, we talk. I listen. I maybe don't write anything down for a few minutes. Depending on the interview's intensity or brevity, it's a conversation. We dive into serious stuff and maybe BS about others.

But I do take notes while recording and occasionally scribble a few things. These are the big ideas, themes, issues, names or whatever jumps out. If the recorder fails then I have things to go on when I call back "to double check on what we discussed."

For phoners, "learn to type faster" is true. Start typing and don't stop. If you need to practice then call your wife or chickie and practice while you two are talking.

Don't worry about spelling or grammar. Bang it out and keep going. If you have a "fast talker," repeat an answer or tell them you're making sure you get it down. Slow talkers are gold.

The telephone recorder thingy can be great. Don't forget to check your state's laws or newspaper's policy about informing someone they are being taped.