Earlier this week, I filed a story that had been causing me headaches for several weeks leading up to deadline. The first few times I called the story’s key source to schedule an interview, his minions told me to email him or call back later. I did both and still didn’t hear a peep.
Finally, I spoke to someone who agreed to set up an interview later that week. But when I called on the appointed day, I was told that this source would be out of the country and in communicado for six weeks! Conveniently, he was scheduled to return to the United States the day after my story was due.
Great.
At first I was really PO’ed at myself for promising a story that now seemed impossible to deliver. This company’s website had so many press clips I felt certain the owner understood the value of media coverage! Guess not (because if he did, he would train his staff to take messages and not blow off journalists). Then I got back on the phone and tracked down another source within the company who was able to answer all my questions. Initially they told me that Mr. Jetsetter was the only person who could give interviews, but I persisted.
MIA sources are just one of the roadblocks that writers face. Here’s how to handle others.
1. You’ve tracked down a source but they just won’t cooperate. Maybe they’ve been burned by the media in the past or they’re too busy or they don’t think their opinion has value. All is not lost. Try one of these tactics.
- Offer to let them preview the questions. Sometimes this puts the source at ease if they know the types of questions you’re asking. I did this last year while I was working on a man on the street piece. If someone was on the fence because they thought I was going to pry into their personal life, I’d say “let me read you the questions and if you’re still uncomfortable, you can walk away.” Many of them agreed to the interview.
- Stroke their ego. Avoid making promises like “this will be such great publicity for your book” or “I bet you’ll get a ton of traffic to your website,” because mentioning a book or linking to their website is ultimately up to your editor. Instead, try telling them how much their advice will benefit your readers and why you chose them out of the dozens of other sources you could have contacted.
- Find another source. Often threatening to interview their competition will get the person’s attention, but sometimes actually walking away is the only way to get the job done. Most fields have enough experts that you should be able to find one who is media-friendly (read Finding Sources Through Social Media for suggestions).
2. You wrote the article, but there’s no artwork to go with it. In an ideal world, the art would never be the writer’s problem. In reality, writers are often expected to secure artwork and it’s often at the last minute. Sometimes a quick call to their PR rep will remedy the situation, but sometimes sources simply don’t have high-resolution photos to give you, which can put your article in jeopardy. Before you steal photos from someone’s Facebook page (a big no-no), consider these options.
- You and your digital camera. In addition to being a writer, I’m also a published photographer. My photos are far from professional quality, but they’ll do in a pinch. I’ve been meaning to take a photography class and take my skills up a notch.
- Your friend, the professional photographer. When I needed high-resolution images of a specific cocktail in a martini glass, I knew I needed to reach out to my network and find a pro. My editor (grudgingly) gave him an honorarium, but some freelancers also work out barter arrangements.
- Stock art. Often the mere mention of stock images will mobilize your source to scrounge up photos of their own. I’ve seen it happen multiple times. If not, some magazines will use stock art if they need to.
3. You have a day job, so you can’t schedule interviews during the day. Been there, done that, have the stress lines to prove it. Here’s how I made it work.
- Use time zones to your advantage. If your article is national in scope, then schedule evening interviews with sources on the West Coast (if you’re based on the East Coast like I am). Or if you’re somewhere in the Midwest, get up a little earlier to interview someone on Eastern Time.
- Conduct interviews via email. This one is a little controversial, but many full time journalists do this to save time. If you need a few quick quotes, then email is often the way to go (just be very specific on when you need the answers). Plus, you’ll never have to worry about misquoting someone!
- Write stuff that doesn’t require any interviews. Think: essays, short stories, reviews, roundups, op-eds, travel pieces, and so on, which are based primarily on your own experiences or observations.
4. You’re really passionate about an idea, but you can’t seem to convince an editor. Ask yourself the following questions.
- Am I overlooking something obvious? Review this checklist of 15 Reasons Your Idea Got Rejected if you’re unsure.
- Is there another way to cover this story? If you’d planned to do an essay, consider pitching it as a feature with an anecdotal lede. If your dating idea isn’t getting any interest from women’s magazines, think about reslanting it for men or teens instead. Also look at trade vs. consumer angles.
- Who is my audience and could I reach out to them directly with a blog post or ebook? Self-publishing is becoming increasingly popular, in part because it eliminates assigning editors as gate-keepers. Try to explore any paying market options before posting something on your blog for free. But at least with DIY options like blogs and ebooks, you have a guaranteed outlet for sharing your ideas.
Writers: what roadblocks have you encountered? How did you handle them?
Flickr photo courtesy of Björn Sahlberg
Hey -really interesting tips here!
Question – are there…ethical(may be too strong a word?)…issues with #1 tip 1? Or does that only really come into place when you give the interviewee edit rights to the completed interview?
Thanks!
Sid.
@Sid: I think you're talking about letting the source preview their answers or the article, which is different from telling them the questions in advance. Now, in some cases, if you're trying to get them comfortable so you can work up to a big personal question (like, "did you really cheat on your wife?"), that won't work. But if you just need to ask a few innocuous things, it can help the source to understand the scope of the interview questions. Depends on the type of article you're working on.
Hi, I'm not big on letting the sources see their questions first. I usually will write them a paragraph outlining the types of questions I'll ask, but not the questions themselves.
Why? I don't want scripted answers.
I like your time zone suggestion for people who work during regular business hours and I often do email interviews for the short turn around pieces. I find that very busy people will usually respond more quickly to email. You do have to be very careful though.
Your questions need to be more pointed, and if you're looking for quotes, you often need to let the source know that they need to "speak" in a conversational tone.
Good post.
I use e mail for short quotes sometimes, as well.
Usually I am quite specific in what I want to know through e mail, but right now I'm experimenting with asking several sources one very open ended question, and it's proving quite interesting — even those who say no,I'm not going to be able to do this because I don't have time to give the thought it requires right now have then gone on to 'dash off' what turn out to be very insightful ideas.
Susan, I'm wondering how you handle following up if people say they will answer follow up questions — and then don't.
@Kerry: That's a great question and an issue that I wrestle with all the time! One of the benefits of phone interviews is that this a lot less of an issue. With email interviews, I usually set an artificial deadline so I have a few day's wiggle room if someone is late or completely flakes out.
If I sense that someone is not going to come through on time, I might send them an email a few days before the deadline I gave them saying "just wanted to make sure you got those questions and we're on track for X date. Let me if you have any questions, and I look forward to getting your answers." Other times, I don't wnat to be too pushy and I'll wait until that day to send a reminder. But I try to never let it go to the point where I'm in danger of missing my deadline!
Susan-
First, loved the photo. A graphic display of what it feels like to be blocked on an article. Great idea about letting the expert see the questions. Hadn't thought of that one.
judy
GREAT post, Susan!
If the article is something controversial and I've tried endlessly to get someone (like I did with an Enron story I wrote), that becomes part of the story. If it's one of those stories that isn't controversial, I do what you did – I circumnavigate the red tape.
I bet money he contacts you this week wanting to comment. I've had that too often to think it's coincidence. They want to appear congenial and available without actually doing anything.
Sid, Susan's right. You can let them see the quotes, too. I have. But they NEVER see the article before it's printed. If they want that, the editor must approve it (ha!). I never ever honor those requests because it's putting too much control in their hands and allowing them to tamper with someone else's product.
@Judy: Thanks!
@Lori: That's a great point about Enron and other controversial topics. I don't tend to write about a lot of controversial topics, but it was definitely suggested to me that I mention the MIA owner for this piece. That seemed a bit outside the scope of the assignment, so I didn't. I've also heard writers who tell sources "we're going to run this article with or without your quotes, so you'll want your side of the story included."
Great article once again! If you have a day job and you have to conduct interviews when you're at work, what do you suggest is the best way to tape these interviews? I prefer face to face with a dictaphone or via Skype when I'm at my home computer. I find it very hard to make handwritten notes that I can read after the interview!
@Gillian: It depends on your employer, but I tried not to conduct interviews at my office, because I didn't want them to think I wasn't committed to my job. I'd just be careful if you're doing outside work on company time.
I can totally relate. Sometimes I get jazzed about writing a story and then so many things fail that I end up feeling like I'm ripping my hair out. I do agree with some of the commenters here that you should not show sources the questions in advance though. If the source isn't cooperating, fuck them (well, not literally) and find another/better source. So many people are glad to help. Of course, this is difficult when your editor has asked for a SPECIFIC person and that person becomes unavailable. At that point you call your editor and figure out Plan B.