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Thursday, December 7, 2006 12:00 AM

I love journalism but I hate asking uncomfortable questions

Have I chosen the right field? Or am I too shy?

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  • Thursday, December 7, 2006 08:21 AM

    Do you have to ask uncomfortable questions?

    Do you have to ask uncomfortable questions to be a journalist?

    Now things may be different in Britain but although I have never been a journalist myself I have met lots and many use a technique of just chatting and then writing their impressions of the person together with research based material.

    Or you can write factual articles punctuated with a few quotes, I know in doing a radio documentary show years ago the reporter and I would present my factual material (locking ourselves in the basement of a 16th century haunted mansion house once, with only a hand torch for light while Judy told the story and I filled in historical detail) and then punctuate it with vox pops. In the haunted house show we just went back when the house was open to the public and asked visitors for their impressions.

    Think of different ways to approach things. The adversarial style of journalism often produces poor results from a readers point of view.

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