How to Write Great Questions News Gathering

who, what, when, where, why, how 5W’s and H who, what, when, where, why, how These are the building blocks of interview questions. They also can help you find an angle or focus to a story, figure out who to interview, and decide what you need to research.

Story Angle This is the specific approach or focus you will take to your topic. “Football” is a topic. Possible angles could be a game report, a season trend, or a player profile. “Fashion” is a topic. What to wear with boots in Florida is a story angle.

Story Angle Timeliness Proximity Conflict Consequence/ Impact Every story should have an angle or focus. Use news values to help you determine the best focus for your readers: Timeliness Proximity Conflict Consequence/ Impact Celebrity/ Prominence Human Interest Novelty/Oddity Currency

Story Angle: Rule of 8 News Values 1. Did something interesting just happen recently? (timeliness) 2. Did it happen nearby? (proximity) 3. Does it affect the readers or viewers, or have some consequence for their lives? (impact/consequence) 4. Is someone who is well known involved? (prominence/celebrity) 5. Is it odd, rare, weird, a “first” or otherwise outside the ordinary? (oddity/rarity/novelty) 6. Is there a conflict or disagreement? (conflict) 7. Does it tug at the heart strings? (human interest) 8. Is it related to something everyone is talking about in social media or other news media? (currency) Remind students that each of these things can be an angle for the story, or send them in a direction for their interviews. They should always be on the lookout for these things.

Story Angle: It’s all in the questions you ask. What happened? What’s important or surprising about this? What might happen because of this? When has this ever happened before? Why did this happen? Who cares? Why did this surprise me? How did this happen? How does this affect people? HANDOUT : The 5W’s and H questions

Questions: Closed-ended and open-ended Closed-ended questions elicit yes or no responses or short one- or two-word answers. Open-ended questions require more fully developed responses. Open-ended questions produce the best quotes and information. What are some examples of each? Pause here to let students suggest different questions and test their understanding of the difference between closed- and open-ended questions.

Two-part questions Sometimes you need to ask close-ended questions to get facts or basic information. Expand them with logical follow-up questions. For example: “What famous person would you love to meet?” “What would you talk about?”

Other types of questions that produce great answers   Hypothetical: “What if …” Propose a scenario and ask your source to respond. Statistical: Ask your source to respond to statistical information, especially if the statistics are surprising or out-of-whack.

Other types of questions that produce great answers From outer space: Even when you know, act like you don’t. Your source will explain it to you and you’ll have a great quote.   Devil’s advocate: Take a position you know your source does not agree with, and ask your source to react.

Other types of questions that produce great answers Personal experience: Ask your source for examples of his or her own personal experience with your topic. Or, tell your personal experience and ask your source to react. Not a question, but a request: Tell me about a time when … Describe what happened when … Tell me more about that.

No-fail follow-up questions Why? Can you tell me more about that? Would you explain … How did you feel when that happened? What did you (or do you) think about … How did that happen?

You try … Pair up with another student, preferably someone you don’t know well. Have a brief conversation with each other and try to find a specific story angle that you can write about. TIP: Ask open-ended questions to find out what’s special about your partner! Teachers: An option for reluctant students is to provide the HANDOUT: Finding Out Who You Are, which provides the questions and makes them think about the difference in answers between open- and close-ended questions.

Assignment – Research and Write Questions For homework, do some basic research and find out key information about your source and topic. Then develop a list of open-ended questions for a follow-up interview. Make sure you have covered all 5W’s and H.

Assignment – Research Tip Think of the overall topic. For example, if your source is a skateboarder, research local hotspots for skateboarders, skateboarding tricks and skateboarders in the news. Try reading articles that others have written about skateboarders. What did they ask?

What’s next … Next class meeting, you will interview each other for 15 minutes each. Make sure you can record your interview with an audio device or recording app on your phone. You must also take notes.

After the interview Transcribe your interview for homework. Make your quotes copy-ready. This transcription should contain a brief introduction of background information on your source.

Other sources You should always strive for a minimum of three sources in every story. The main/key individual (that’s your partner) An expert – to provide credibility and background. Usually an adult. A back-up source to corroborate or confirm what your main source said. - OR - A contradictory source for an alternate point of view.

Other sources Find two more sources who can add to your story and write questions for them. Possibilities: Coach or teacher Mom or Dad Best friend or good friend or old friend Team member Brother, sister, cousin, other family member Turn in notes from these interviews, too.

Final Assignment – Turn in: Your research notes. Your questions and transcribed notes/quotes from your main source. Make sure you include your partner’s name and grade level! Your questions for two additional sources (say who they would be). In addition, you must answer this two-part reflection question: Which of your questions got the best responses?  Why do you think those questions worked better than others? Teachers, you may add a deadline to this slide or other information you require. A rubric is provided to grade the notes.

Optional assignment follows.

Profile Story Following the evaluation of your interviews, write a 250-350 word profile story about your partner. Focus on one angle about your subject that makes him or her special. This is an optional assignment Writing questions and interviewing were the skills taught in this lesson. . If you give this assignment, you should require student to conduct the two additional interviews. As these will be profiles of people in your class, you could publish them for others in the class to read in whatever platform you choose (Google docs, EdModo, a private web site, posting on the wall, a class booklet with photos, etc.)