METHODS OF OBTAINING INFORMATION

A journalist embarking on collecting information from pre-determined sources faces three main problems: choosing the most reliable way to get data; recording the information received with a sufficient degree of reliability; ensuring safety at work. We have already dealt in part with the methods of extracting information when we talked about the nature of journalistic knowledge. We now turn to them as a tool for reporter labor.

Usually, media workers use the three most common methods: interviewing, observing, examining documents. Among them, the least reliable are interviews and observations, in the use of which the subjectivity of the journalist and the objects of his interest manifests itself, and it is difficult to overcome. However, most of the materials are still prepared on the basis of conversations with people.

Interview. The success of the interview depends on many conditions, and in the first place from well-done pre-homework. It includes the most detailed acquaintance with the topic and with the interviewee from various sources and methods:

Ø a survey of those who know the future interlocutor well, including colleagues in the editorial office who have dealt with him;

Ø the study of press materials, if it has already become the subject of interest of journalists;

Ø familiarization with the results of his professional work;

Ø self-education, that is, the acquisition of sufficient competence in the area where the interviewee is a dock;

Ø search for biographical information about him;

Ø determination of his passions, habits, circle of friends and interests.

A student of journalism, preparing a thesis on the work of the writer Leonid Zhukhovitsky, re-read everything that he wrote what was written about him, all his interviews, interviewed people who knew him in one way or another. The conversation turned out to be very productive, the interviewee was talkative - and only because the interviewee was “bribed” by the awareness of a young journalist. Here is an example with the opposite meaning. The famous Spanish poet Federico Garcia Lorca agreed to an interview with a young newspaper woman. He willingly answered her questions and several times mentioned the name of his friend, also a very famous composer, Falla.

- And who is Falla? - replied the journalist.

The poet paused, then got up and opened the door, asking the guest to leave the room. Tears appeared in the girl's eyes: she understood her mistake. But it was too late.

The result of homework is to ensure that the subject of the intended conversation is important to the interlocutor and to compile a list of questions. One should always think over this list - so the journalist insures himself against banal, many times already asked, incompetent, inappropriate questions. In addition, the interlocutors are not very fond of when they are told “from the kondachka”, without preparation, they view this as disrespect for themselves. And the most qualified "respondents" will not fail to take advantage of the interviewer's mistake, and they will even make fun of the clumsy one.

After preparation, it remains to arrange a meeting, sometimes with the main directions of conversation. Professional journalists, as a rule, seek to arrange a meeting in private, because in the presence of other people the interlocutor becomes more prudent and restrained in his judgments. And the sincerity of the answers is perhaps the most important thing in the interview.

One of the serious problems for every journalist is how to establish a trusting relationship with the interviewee. Achieve this in different ways. However, there are generally accepted and proven psychology of communication techniques. Anatoly Agranovsky often recalled the advice of his father, also a high-profile newspaperman: go for the first interview - speak for yourself, for the second - listen. What is the point here? In that the interlocutor needs to know who is asking him what his intentions are, and on this basis to determine: trust him or not, talk about everything or keep silent? Therefore, the “demonstration”, “self-presentation” of a journalist helps to achieve favor and desire to tell. A guide for beginning interviewers can be the work of the famous manipulator Dale Carnegie "Six rules, the observance of which allows people to like". However, the advice of Walter Bingham and Bruce Moore is more appropriate [1]:

Ø find and use pleasant associations;

Ø Let the interviewee feel at ease and be ready to talk;

Ø Do not ask questions directly until you are sure that the interviewee is willing to give the desired information and give it accurately;

Ø listen;

Ø Allow the other person to tell their full story, then help add it;

Ø Be honest and sincere, which is much better than being cunning and clever;

Ø avoid the role of the teacher;

Ø do not be bold.

An important part of the interview is the actual questions and their presentation. Recommendations of the same authors:

Ø Try to put questions so that they are easily understood;

Ø do not suggest answers to your questions;

Ø if you propose alternative questions, formulate them so that neither the one nor the other is acceptable to the interviewee;

Ø help the interviewee understand the responsibility for his statements;

Ø keep important questions in mind until adequate information is obtained on each of them;

Ø comprehend the meaning of each statement;

Ø check answers whenever possible;

Ø Separate the facts from the findings;

Ø Record all data right there or as soon as possible after the interview, as people usually do not know how fast the forgetting occurs.

And finally: at the end of the interview, follow the additional information or new directions in the random comments of the interviewee. At the end of the conversation, the interlocutors usually relax and often say what they carefully avoided during intercourse. It happens that the most interesting thing for a journalist is in these notes characterizing a person from unexpected sides. Therefore, you should be especially careful when the conversation ends. By the way, an interview is a great way to observe, record the details of the behavior of the hero, character, interviewee, which can later be used or played around in the material.

Work at a press conference. Preparing for a press conference requires homework as well as an interview. From all possible sources you need to find out everything that is the initiator of the press conference. Next, prepare a list of questions. If you hand out press releases and other documents in advance, then take care that they are given to you. At the press conference itself should:

Ø clearly pronounce your name, surname and the name of the media you represent;

Ø ask questions among the first, as the time allotted to journalists may not be enough;

Ø to be attentive, as important information is often given between the lines in the subtext;

Ø to listen to colleagues' questions and answers to them, as comrades in the workshop may be more inventive and sophisticated.

You should not ask several questions at once, formulate cumbersome and lengthy questions, discuss with the respondent, the press conference is not a “round table”, you can express your opinion on the air or on the strip.

Both in the interview and at the press conference attentive listening is perhaps the most important sign of professionalism. And from all that is said by the interlocutor, a journalist, as recommended by G.V. Lazutina, it is important to fix: a) the actual data; b) opinions; c) explanations; d) suggestions and forecasts; e) speech signs of the interlocutor (characteristic features of the language) [2].

Observation , like an interview, is the most common way to get information. It allows, firstly, to collect figurative details about people, places and events, secondly, to check information or impressions received from other people, thirdly, to obtain evidence (evidence) that cannot be found in another way, fourthly , restore event for readers, listeners, viewers. A video camera and a camera are very useful tools for accurately recording what is happening. Some journalists, being in the epicenter of the event, slander their own impressions of what they see on the recorder.

In addition to simple observation, journalists often use the so-called included observation, when a member of the editorial staff temporarily changes their profession. This is done in order to delve deeper into the essence of what is happening in a particular area of ​​human existence.

Journalists "change" the profession for a long time. Mikhail Koltsov's reports “Three days in a taxi”, household sketches of “thrush” by Larisa Reisner were the first such experiments in the Russian press. Since then, correspondents did not become anyone: a uniform in the circus, a seller of the grocery store’s department, a homeless person, a prisoner ...

Two journalists from "Komsomolskaya Pravda" decided to sing in the underpass obscene chastushki sent to the newspaper by readers. The “concert” lasted only half an hour - the police interfered. But they managed to earn 25 rubles, a cucumber and two candies. The material was published under the heading "Tested for myself." The correspondent of another newspaper asked a friend prosecutor to “arrange” him in a preliminary detention cell for several days in order to get acquainted with the customs of this institution from the inside. After the "release" he published a series of reports, and ... the prosecutor was removed from work.

This case became the reason for a lengthy discussion about the limits of using this method of collecting information. First of all, it is necessary to agree on the possibility of the included observation with the management of the editorial board, then ensure the safety of information sources or those who helped you, and take care of your own safety. Finally, you need to consult with a lawyer.

The rules seem to be clear, and it is not difficult to comply with them. But journalists often work on the verge of a foul, or even directly violate the laws. Meanwhile, the Constitution of the Russian Federation proclaims the right of everyone (including the journalist) to seek, receive, transmit, produce and disseminate information in any way, but only in a legal way. The “sabotage” method of TV journalist Alexander Nevzorov, when he accelerates a car with a film crew of up to one hundred kilometers per hour, breaks into the enterprise’s territory and takes pictures until the guards come to their senses, may be attractive to those who are eager for reporter fame. case bears fully.

Examination of documents. A document, that is, information recorded in printed or handwritten text, on magnetic tape, film or video tape, is perhaps the most important tool in the work of a journalist. With its help, information obtained during the interview and observation is verified. It becomes an argument and evidence when a journalist needs to prove his case in court. Reliance on the documents makes the publication thorough and secure. A professional journalist uses every opportunity to provide himself with copies of the documents with which he has to work.

One of the main tasks that has to be addressed is to verify the authenticity of the document. It should be determined:

Ø whether the document has been prepared by a competent (by virtue of its position) and an authorized person for this purpose;

Ø whether the situation in which the document was drafted affected its content;

Ø whether the names of the officials are distorted;

Ø whether the content of the document corresponds to the text of the print (corner stamp);

Ø whether the document is signed by an authorized person for this purpose.

It is also advisable to set the date of appearance of the document and its number. It is said that in the era of the absence of such a large number of duplicating equipment, which we have today, Anatoly Agranovsky, studying official papers, copied the impressions of printing in his notebook, if necessary, to confirm: I saw this text.

In addition, a professional approach requires verification of the information presented from other sources (survey of employees of the relevant department, experts, other people involved in the content of the document).

It is also important, getting acquainted with the text, to clearly separate the events in question from its assessments, facts, and opinions about them. Using separate fragments of a document in a publication, one should take into account the general context in which this document functions.

An ITAR-TASS correspondent working in the investigation genre Larisa Kislinskaya published in “Top Secret” the material “Who“ ordered ”Otarik”, which she built on extracts from the testimony of a certain Y. Vorontsov. The latter said that one of the former deputy prime ministers of the Russian Government was involved in the murder of businessman Kvantrishvili. However, as an employee of the Judicial Chamber on information disputes, I. Yeremin, writes in the journal “Journalist”, from the explanations of the Moscow prosecutor’s office, Vorontsov was found to be insane, there were no criminal cases against the persons appearing in his testimony. . Thus, the document, torn from the general context of the events, led in legal terms to a distortion of the essence of the matter.

Making extracts from the document, writes G.V. Lazutina, a professional journalist always:

Ø records the exact name of the document, its author, date and place of publication;

Ø quotes withdrawn text fragments and indicates pages;

Ø marks with special signs his own thoughts and assessments that arose during the reading;

Ø at the completion of the work, it specifically checks all the quotes, names, numbers, surnames, names and other information [3].

The listed rules are relevant when working with any type of documentary sources. There are specifics of working with personal documents, which include diaries, letters, wills, and others. The main requirement: you can dispose of all of them only with the permission of their author or owner. Only letters received by the editorial board by “self-flow” do not require the consent of the authors, so journalists have the right to use them fully or in abbreviated form. If, however, in the letter there is no special request not to publish or not to name the name and the name of its author. In addition, the information set forth in such letters requires verification.

Sociological methods of obtaining information. In the practice of mass media, a technique borrowed from sociology is sometimes used. In particular, the survey is used to study opinions about the newspaper or broadcast channel, the audience's views on significant public issues, as well as to collect additional statistical material. It is important to competent (from a methodological point of view) the preparation of the questionnaire. Otherwise, the results of the survey will be untrue. So, sociologists discovered the “potato effect”, the essence of which is as follows. The population was interviewed about the frequency of eating different foods, but they forgot to include potatoes in the list of products. As a result of the questionnaire, it turned out that none of the respondents eat potatoes at all.

Content analysis of texts, that is, content analysis, is intended to obtain quantitative characteristics of a phenomenon — for example, the frequency of appearing on the newspaper page the name of one of the candidates for deputies in comparison with another, the frequency of occurrence of a topic, etc. This method brings significant benefits when studying the reader's (listeners', audience) mail, which makes it possible to understand the thematic preferences of the audience, its typical claims to the editorial board and wishes. The method of content analysis requires a clear allocation of units of the account, without which the statistical results and conclusions may be incorrect.

Journalistic experiment. The essence of this technique lies in the fact that the journalist creates a situation that causes people to exercise their "canned" before the experiment quality. The journalist of the "Evening Gazette from Yekaterinburg" decided to bargain ... with her husband right on the street. The buyer was not found, but the reactions of those interested in this exotic product made up the text of the report.

The experiment also makes it possible to detect unobvious processes and patterns in the work of institutions and enterprises. Anatoly Rubinov, the recognized inventor of such "productions", called them operations. So, one day he sent from Moscow to his own correspondents of the Literary Gazette in different cities a hundred numbered letters. The goal was to understand why letters go so long and on what the speed of delivery depends. The experiment was skillfully organized, and the material published under the heading "Labeled atoms" was not only informative, but also very effective: the postal department made some changes in the technology of work, in particular, envelopes with stylized numbers appeared - the ones we use and today.

Tactics of collecting information for critical and (or) investigative material. Starting the study of a hot topic, professional journalists are guided by the following algorithm of actions:

Ø first get acquainted with information from publicly available sources;

Ø then compile a list of names and organizations that should be visited;

Ø This list includes people who hold different points of view on a problem that interests a journalist;

Ø prefer to use only legal means of obtaining information;

Ø operate according to the “open visor” method (V. Agranovsky), which ensures the right of the “adversary” to protection and gives rise to a sense of justice [4];

Ø try to get rid of the guide, which is supplied by the journalist at the enterprises and organizations;

Ø conduct conversations with sources of information in private, without the presence of third parties;

Ø put a “courtesy visit” to the authorities, in order not to be accused of not meeting with the management;

Ø stock up with the necessary number of documents or their copies, eyewitness accounts (at least two) about certain fragments of events, problems, topics.