Dear dimwit on the phone

[BillyT]

dirtybird: I always talk to them both.

I might not use a quote from the out-of-town quote unless it's good.

 

[Bamadog]

I've found that some high school kids can be very articulate and others do have trouble coming up with two coherent sentences. Usually after a little time on a beat, you figure out who the good talkers are.

I was never much for interviewing the 8-year-olds, though. A colleague once did a piece on some age-group swimmer phenom and almost all the quotes were from coaches or parents. Asked him why and he shrugged "the kid just wouldn't talk". At least he tried.

We've got a few kids here that getting something decent from them is like pulling teeth. Hard to do a good feature on someone won't open up about anything.

Two years in a row, I've written a story on girls' doubles teams that made the state tournament. In each case, one girl would barely speak and the other was a blabbermouth. The second time, the coach asked the blabbermouth to come over and talk to him and I continued with the shy one, who was able to muster a couple of decent quotes.

Coach admitted that was why he called the blabbermouth over. Their dynamic was the same in practice: Blabbermouth dominated but shy one would open up once Blabbermouth was gone. He was trying to do me a favor, figuring the same thing would happen with the interview.

Nicely played, coach.

We had a running back at a shop many moons ago who said absolutely nothing. I still chatted with him every day casually at practice, trying to get to know him and establish a rapport. Finally, we started talking about video games and he opened up and had no problem talking about just about anything. The great thing was he was a 1,500-yard rusher and would never talk about himself. Scored a game-winning TD in a playoff game and wouldn't take any credit. Well-played, sir.

 

[MightyMouse]

dirtybird: I always talk to them both.

I might not use a quote from the out-of-town quote unless it's good.

Agreed. It's always good to talk to as many people as possible -- especially from both sides. That doesn't mean you have to use quotes from everyone you talk to, though.

 

[Illino]

I think this brings a new definition of dimwit: http://www.sanduskyregister.com/betweenthelines/sandusky-city-commission/warning-former-erie-county-auditor-uses-profanity

Holy smokes!

 

[sgreenwell]

Off-topic: You have to imagine The Sandusky Register is probably a bit Pished about all the recent developments at College Park, kind of like the makers of the AIDS diet bar.

 

[BillyT]

No, Mr. Summer Concert promoter, the fact that your weekly community concerts started before Town Next Door's, does *not* mean the photo of your band should run every week instead of theirs.

 

[rtse11]

Off-topic: You have to imagine The Sandusky Register is probably a bit Pished about all the recent developments at College Park, kind of like the makers of the AIDS diet bar.

Why, what's going on at the University of Maryland?

 

[sgreenwell]

Off-topic: You have to imagine The Sandusky Register is probably a bit Pished about all the recent developments at College Park, kind of like the makers of the AIDS diet bar.

Why, what's going on at the University of Maryland?

Oh, you don't wanna know... (Yikes, what a brain fart on my part though.)

 

[dixiehack]

Randy Edsall won't let any writers transfer to Zanesville.

 

[Bamadog]

dirtybird: I always talk to them both.

I might not use a quote from the out-of-town quote unless it's good.

Agreed. It's always good to talk to as many people as possible -- especially from both sides. That doesn't mean you have to use quotes from everyone you talk to, though.

At my shop, we have our gamers, which are done on the fly on Friday night and clock in about 12-15 inches. 1 or 2 quotes max. Just a lot of play-by-play. Not a lot of room for quotes. When you've got 15-20 minutes max to write (less for me since I'm also putting the paper together sometimes), that's the best you can do.

But when we do our folo stories for Monday, they tend to be more analytical and have more quotes and thus, more color. I think it's the best approach.

One thing I've found is the best players to interview on offense are linemen. They're so happy to have anyone recognize what they do so they always talk. They're usually pretty smart (a couple of linemen I've known were valedictorians) and have plenty to say. One of the best stories I ever wrote was about a team's offensive line, which averaged about 290 across and manhandled opponents into submission. The quotes they gave were clashic. And four of the families ordered mounted plaques with our story and art on it. Can you say new revenue stream?

 

[MightyMouse]

Been on vacation for the last week, and I had a gem waiting on my voicemail from last Wednesday when I got back, asking me why we didn't list the MLB games being played last Wednesday and Thursday.

"The schedule in your paper goes from the All-Stars right to Friday. Is that a mistake on your part?"

Sometimes I'm embarrashed to be a member of the same species as these people.

 

[Gator]

Been on vacation for the last week, and I had a gem waiting on my voicemail from last Wednesday when I got back, asking me why we didn't list the MLB games being played last Wednesday and Thursday.

"The schedule in your paper goes from the All-Stars right to Friday. Is that a mistake on your part?"

Sometimes I'm embarrashed to be a member of the same species as these people.

You'd better warn him ahead of time that it'll also go from World Series right to spring training.