My Own Interviewing Strategies

by Kimberly Pena

Interview Strategies That I Use & Others Can Use As Well:

• Preparedness- by this I mean to do my research about my interviewee. You want to come in knowing what are you going to ask and how you are going to get the best answers from that person. Also you do not want to look ignorant, you have to let your interviewee know they are important and you came in prepared to talk to him/her.
• Know your platform- is it a three minute TV interview? A one hour radio segment? 15 minute off-camera interview? These are important answers to know because it tells you how you should approach the interview. Do you want to just dive write in to the important questions because of your limited time or do you want to work yourself in and have a nice casual conversation. You want to make sure you get the best out of your interview with the given circumstances you have.
• Ask open-ended questions- you do not want your interviewee answering your questions by "yes" or "no", you want real answers. Use words and phrases such as, what, how, explain, tell me more about that. You want to have a fruitful interview and have your interviewee tell you as much as he/she can. 
• It is about the interviewee- the interview is about the person who you are asking the questions to, not about yourself. Make sure you always keep that in mind. If you notice you are doing all the talking, stop and put the focus back on him/her. Everyone wants to know about that person, not yourself. Let your ego down and do your job.
• Be comfortable and make sure the interviewee is comfortable- if you are comfortable it helps ease the interview. You do not want to be tense and nervous because the energy could spread. Relax and just enjoy the interview. Your body language says a lot and you want your interviewee to feel as comfortable as he/she can possibly feel so the interview could go smoothly. 

The Reporter and Fan Issue Bullets

by Kimberly Pena

• I believe there are those sports fan who think being a sports journalist is about having with players and having fun at the games, but do not understand the work that goes into it. There is deadlines that have to be meet, interview players who at times do not have much to say.

• During games, your main priority is to get the story and not focus on who your favorite player is especially is he/she really did nothing to contribute to the game. 

• Fans also tend to take gists from players, like autographs and signed jerseys, however a sports reporter must remain professional and do his/her job. Gifts are unacceptable, except for free hot dogs that are meant for the media!

• It is important to dress as a professional to your job because if you take your job seriously others will take you seriously. Never wear home colors and dress as if you were going to work. This is something I found to be true during my internship at the Herald last summer. 

Six Worst Sport Clichés

by Kimberly Pena

In the world of sports media, there are many clichés that should be avoided. But we still hear it because they are clichés. These for me are the six worst clichés that I pledge to avoid at all costs.

• 'They're a great team on paper'
• 'They have to come together as a team'
• 'That was a Rookie mistake'
• 'They need to generate some offense'
• 'Their go-to guy'
• 'Jets will win the Super Bowl'- we all know that is not happening anytime soon.