Steve Dawson Writers Fortnight Session

This session has really given me a deeper understanding and more insight of being a journalist and hosting interviews. One of the major takeaways was how he had mentioned how to talk/write a story. Even though he presented all the facts needed and its an interesting story, he had to still try to write from different angles. Chances are that other journalists are going to write about the facts that were made public on this issue. But if you have a new or a fresh perspective on the issue, it can really grip readers. As Steve Dawson said, “Nobody wants to read something they already know.”

But the main focus of this session was how to give a good interview. What kind of questions to ask that will give you something interesting to write about. I think that all of the tips that he had given are really useful tips, but in reality are probably a lot harder to do in reality. They aren’t new or anything, we’ve all definitely seen them before. But its a skill that takes time to develop, even though I might have learned these skills yesterday, it doesn’t instantly make me a better journalist.The thing he mentioned the most throughout the whole session was of being professional, having respect for yourself as well as the interviewee and I think that this is really critical as it can basically make or break what others see in you as a journalist. This really stuck with me because i’ve never really thought about it in that way. Even though this person might be someone you really look up to, its still your job to be a professional. Although Steve Dawson found this as his dream job and passion, to me it would still seem like lots of hard work. Maybe would also enjoy being a journalist about a topic I appreciate very much, but I don’t have that strong connection to sports like Steve Dawson did.