How to get and conduct a showbiz interview

It seems that almost every other reporter wants to work on a showbiz desk these days.

The chance of hanging around with celebrities and getting the inside gossip is, apparently, an alluring prospect for wannabe hacks.

The problem, as so many soon discover, is that getting an interview with One Direction or the Kate Moss or whoever is flavour of the month is pretty near impossible for the majority of local reporters.

It has nothing to do with how talented the reporter is or how good the newspaper they write for, it is simply that demands on the biggest stars are great and the rewards for appearing in a local with an ever declining circulation are hardly worth their effort.

So you have to think your way around the problem and - as always - be ready to put in a lot of effort and your own free time.

Firstly, be realistic. By all means shoot for the stars but also be prepared to manage your own expectations because you can often get interesting chats with - at least reasonable - well-known names.

Remember that newspaper readerships are getting older, a faded popstar that was topping the charts before you were even born will, in all probability, still resonate with some, if not all, of your readers.

An older star - no longer worried about their image - is more likely to be candid about their life in the limelight. And there is also the possibility that next week they will pop up on Celebrity Big Brother or whatever passes for light entertainment in this day and age.... Or, almost equally applicable and seemingly likely, for them be arrested.

The place to start is the local theatre, arts centre, venue, festival organisers or even a TV chef restaurant opening. Large provincial towns can often attract a mix of upcoming talent, desperate for any gig as part of their path to stardom and B-listers eking out an income. Smaller towns can be surprising. Those far from big population centres with poor transport links and small venues can attract big talent, especially if they are preparing for a big tour and need a "live" rehearsal.

For any, half decent interview, you will need space in the paper. If big interviews are not a regular feature it's worth making the case for them. For a start, the venues are probably already advertisers. What's good for them is good for the paper's revenue.

And whether you like it or not, celebrity does sell. A half decent interview on the page will get read, it will also attract readers online because even the most forgotten stars tend to have a fanbase somewhere.... even if it is only a couple of people.

Once space is secured or even if it is not (there's always the web), approach the venue's pr or marketing officer. They will mostly be overjoyed to hear from you and will do their best to accommodate what you are after. It will also save you having to deal directly with the celeb's pr (if they have one) yourself - a distinct advantage, as you will soon learn should you eventually become a full-time showbiz reporter. If it is a big, well-known festival that attracts national coverage don't demand the headline act or nothing.

Building up working relationships is a key to bigger and better things for the future. Let them see what you can do and the value you can bring to them.

Arrange the whole thing well in advance of the event itself, lots of things can go wrong and last minute cancellations are not uncommon. Don't expect a face to face chat. The chances are they are playing one gig in town and moving on. The pros for the venue and the celeb themselves is often to generate more ticket sales. Running an interview after the event is of little use to the person arranging it on your behalf.

It may be possible for say the star of, say, a pantomime, who may be playing the same theatre for several weeks. But on the whole forget it.

Once arranged you must prepare. Simply calling them and asking how they are is not an interview. Read up on them, see what they have achieved, what they have been up to since hitting or fading from the spotlight, learn what their interests are and what they've spoken about in the past. Don't just rely on Wikipedia, although a telling question can be: "If there's one thing you could change on your Wiki entry, what would it be?"

Don't whatever you do make the whole thing parochial. Do ask them if they know the local area or what they are hoping to see but don't make it the focus of the whole interview.

I once sat through a round table dominated by a tedious local journo (fair play to them), who even when the star admitted he probably couldn't find the paper's catchment area on a map, continued to bombard the (pretty big) celeb with questions about it. Frankly, the end result would have been tedious even for the most proud local reader.

Also don't go in there thinking you are next Jeremy Paxman, the celeb has given up their time to talk to you. Firing questions about some long forgotten affair they had will ensure it is cut-off pretty quickly. This is not to say, don't broach the subject, just don't make it your number one question. Filling a 1,000 word space with just a couple of quotes is a pretty difficult task, even for experienced writers.

Start gently, ask about the upcoming gig, bring up their interests and, if possible do relate it to the local area if applicable. If all is going well, move it on. "I was reading about...." is often a good way to take the interview to a wider remit.

It does, of course, help to have an interest in your subject but don't get bogged down in fandom or let it show too much during the interview. Unless writing for a specialist magazine/website you have to make the subject appeal to the wider reader.

As with all interviews, tape it. Let the person know, legally you don't have to but it is polite.  To save hours of transcribing, make a note of the counter when particularly interesting comments are said. As importantly, listen to what is being said. If you engage with the subject you will get a lot more out of them. Taping, even short chats is pretty essential these days. Should the person accidentally put their foot in it by saying something controversial, it is much harder (although some will try) to deny it or accuse you of taking something out of context. Hold on to the recording for a few weeks after the interview is published.

Now sometimes interviews are very hastily arranged and you don't have time to fully, if at all, prepare. Don't try and bluff your way through, you'll be caught out and don't try and use it as an excuse if you've had a week's notice and couldn't be bothered. If you were too busy that's not the interviewee's problem.

If you found this article useful or enjoyable please RT, thanks.

Journalism Tips. 51. Writing stories. Why I think you should take I out.

Sir Humphrey: The identity of the official whose alleged responsibility for this hypothetical oversight has been the subject of recent discussion is not shrouded in quite such impenetrable obscurity as certain previous disclosures may have led you to assume; but not to put too fine a point on it, the individual in question is, it may surprise you to learn, one whom your present interlocutor is in the habit of defining by means of the perpendicular pronoun.

Hacker: I beg your pardon?

Sir Humphrey: It was... I.

So far we've gone through the basics of finding people, using FoIs and the basics of making contacts. More on these subjects in a later posts.

Now we come to the business of actually writing the story.

As a general rule of thumb whenever you are tempted to write anything that is to be read by more than a handful of people go through it removing the word "I" - unless it is in quotation marks and somebody else has said it.

This goes for most news, features and reviews... and an awful lot of comment too.

If you don't believe me (again only to be rarely used) try reading a paper at random...

Pick up the Daily Express and run through its news pages. Or The Mirror... or the Bridlington Post... or the Falmouth Packet... or The Economist... even i won't have news stories with the word I (unless it is about the paper's circulation - but let's draw a veil over this).

Unless you are a fundamental part of the story - and going along to an event does NOT make you a fundamental part of the story it makes you an observer - you should never use it.

Instead what you write should be about other people. It is part of writing as a journalist. It is not to say that gonzo journalism or first hand reporting will never feature in your career it is just at this stage it is best to leave it on the park bench, give it a lolly and tell it you'll be back in five minutes - then not return to that area for at least the next five years.

"I" is what Twitter is for... not readers of your news stories.

Similar when reading student articles interviewing someone vaguely famous there is far too much what a great honour it is for the interviewer to meet them. Why "it's not every day that you get to meet global superstar and singer extraordinaire Frankie Cocoza..." (at this stage I'd like to apologise to readers of this blog from outside of the UK for even introducing the concept of a Frankie Cocoza into your consciousness. Needless to say he is some irritating little no mark who once appeared on the UK version of X Factor).

Ask yourself: Who will be interested in YOUR experience of meeting a celebrity? What will they get out of reading about you? Why would they care?

Again, stop reading stuff online and read a few properly subbed features in a newspaper or magazine. See for yourself how they are done.

The word "I" may feature occasionally but it is not the main focus.

Now before anyone starts let's put aside the writing of the brilliant Liz Jones - yes, I did say brilliant. She had a style which is often mocked but it is incredibly successful - and well read - especially among her target audience. That however takes a lot of experience because that is what she is sharing as part of her hook for readers.

Or take Hunter S Thompson who shoe horned himself into his stroies to create Gonzo journalism. This was not done on the basis of a single interview or evening. He lived and breathed the life of his subjects - or er not in some cases. You simply haven't got the time - yet.

Perhaps more importantly once you remove the "I" from your copy you begin to write differently. It naturally changes your persepective. Your copy-style changes, and quite rapidly, to one more like that of mainstream media.

To break my own rule: I once picked up a college magazine. And every single article featured the vertical pronoun and tucked away behind the reviews and the going out pages and editorials and lengthy articles of Developing World debt were two pages on the forthcoming student elections.

An important subject for most students, one might think? Perhaps an interview to hear the voices of somebody else in the paper? A meaty subject worthy of spending some time over...? Of course not each candidate was given 30 words to say what they would do if they won office.

I consoled myself with the fact the reviewer of James Joyce's Ulysses happened to enjoy it.

Update: A former colleague who has asked to remain anonymous sent me this rather glorious tale that illustrates the above beautifully...

She wrote:

This brings to mind a story told by an old editor of mine after a terrible accident involving a ferry when a number of lives had been lost. He was told at conference by the head of news that one particular junior reporter was at the hospital bedside of a survivor who had given a blow-by-account of the horror. "Great," said my old editor. "Let's clear two pages for a first person piece." Three hours later, when the 1,500-word story was submitted, it read something like this: "I was awoken at 6.30am by a phone call from my news editor. 'Get down to the ferry station', he said, with some urgency in his voice. Immediately I grabbed my notebook and my camera and headed out of the apartment, grabbing a bagel en route." And so it went on and on and on....

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Reporting Hints 42. Finding/Tracing people (part one).

There is an art to tracing people but it is very hit and miss and it can take a lot of time for not very much reward.

However that doesn't mean we shouldn't try. Naturally it helps to get all the information you possibly can on the person. It helps too if you are methodical.
So let's start with the basics:

Write down every scrap of information you can as you learn it. Make sure you include the source of that information in case you need to go back and check at a later date.
If you've found it online I suggest keeping the web address somewhere safe, it can save hours of work retracing your steps.

Names.

Not something you can take for granted. First off, you have to worry about spelling. There are, for example, around 14 different spellings of the name Mohammed - which if you think sounds pretty hard to trace wait until you hear there are 18 variations of the name Chantelle (in no particular order: Chantelle, Chantel, Chantal, Shantel, Shantelle, Seantel, Shauntelle, Shontelle, Shontal, Chantalle, Chawntelle, Chauntelle, Chantille, Chantielle, Chantell, Chantele, Chantalle).

Add to the this shortening of names. Jo could be Joanne, Jo-Anne, Josephine, Joan, Jocelyn etc etc.

Of course that is assuming that the name they go by is their first name. They may use a middle name instead of their first name. Surprisingly more common than it sounds (David Law, James McCartney or even William Pitt are some more famous examples - that's Jude, Paul and Brad(ley)).

Then you have street names, pseudonyms or nome de plumes (pen names) (think David Cornwall better known as John Le Carre); stage names (Michael Caine  -  Maurice Micklewhite), nicknames, avatars etc etc. It might even be an initial.

Surnames aren't particularly straight forward either. As well as the above you have to take in names changed by Deed Poll, married names, double barrelled names, and maiden names. Also re-marriages and, as above, misspellings.

Misspellings, even on public documents, are in far more common than you might believe. Keep this is mind especially when dealing with unusual names.

If you can get a middle name(s) it can also be useful in tracking people, especially those with common names. But remember many people drop them or simply don't use them on every document.

Ages

A date of birth is a big help. Remember in the UK it is day, month year unlike the US where it is month, day, year. Failing that it will help to get even a rough description. Are you looking for someone in their 20s or in their 70s? However never forget people are not always as observant as they like to think they are. So don't rely on it entirely. It is not unknown - or rare - for an eyewitness to describe someone as a "young girl in her 20s" when in fact the person you are chasing is actually a woman in their 40s.

Again make sure you keep a note of any scraps of information that come your way. As we shall see later it can come in handy when making connections. And even if it later transpires the information is wrong it means you can cross off avenues you may have otherwise have wasted time on


In the next part we look at where you can start finding names.

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How to be a journalist 40. The death knock (Part Two)

In my last post I dealt with how reporters should deal with a death knock. As always there is nothing - or at least very much - revelatory for experienced journalists. But then these tips are aimed at juniors and trainees who may yet have covered one. Again this is not an exhaustive list and all comments, suggestions and observations are welcome.

This latest posting concentrates on how to build up a picture of a person's life in a few questions. Again every circumstance is different so while this tries to cover everything you will still need to think on your feet and listen to the answers given.

You will also need to be aware of any on-going police action and/or the potential to libel. It will be part of your job to explain why you won't be able to include all their quotes. You could not for example quote a claim that a widow that a driver involved in a death crash was not paying attention. That is up to a coroner/court to decide. If at all possible steer them to something that will make a more general point without being unusable.

All of this said you are still looking for a line. This is not about simply writing a formulaic story along the lines of:

A family last night paid tribute to....

We could/do all write this a hundred times over. Sometimes the tragedy in and of itself is simply enough but keep in mind the family details are not revealed straight away in most cases. It could come an edition or two after the original story.

By then the immediate family will be aware, so too many of the extended family and friends as well, possibly even wider still. Or it has been revealed by a rival news organisation. All of which means that sticking to the formula is no good and why you need another line.

So assuming that you have managed to get a chat with the family and have checked relationships of the people you are talking to and double checked the details given to you what should you be asking:

1. Establish all the immediate family members and their relationships. You need names and ages. Don't assume this is all the family. You will also need to establish length of relationship to a partner. If their parents are still alive, any other family. If they are young you want to know about boyfriends or girlfriends has the family spoken to them? You want to get the general reaction from the family. I try to avoid asking "How do you feel?" and try, "I can't imagine how you feel, how would you describe it?".

2. Can you describe their personality? This isn't all about facts, it's about pure emotion. It covers a great deal of very personal information and what you are trying to do is convey their life in a few words. This is a catch-all question it allows the bereaved to talk in an open-ended manner about the deceased.

3. What were their hobbies/interests? Again this is detail that fleshes out a life. It also, as with many of the questions, can provide fresh avenues to chase. Most of the time this will simply not be necessary but never rule it out entirely. It may be worth asking if there is anyone else they think it is worth talking to.

4. What did they do for a living? And previously? Again this is about establishing the person's existence. Not everyone is defined by their work but some are and - for good or for ill - many people will be able to create an image of that person based on their work. Did they go to university? Previous employment etc. It's a sad but usually true that if the deceased is young, public school educated and went to Oxford or Cambridge the story is more likely to be picked up by nationals. For older men (born before 1945) it's worth considering if they conscripted into National Service. For children you will want to be establishing the school and favourite subjects.

5. Were there ever any worries about the situation in which they died? Does the family think they will take any action - legal/civil - in regards to the death? For example, a cyclist may have always been concerned about the particular junction in which the accident happened and had voiced those fears. Or perhaps they had had several near misses over the years or been involved in a non-fatal accident not so long ago.

6. Were they from the area the family home is in? Essentially this is about establishing their deep background. They may have moved there for work, or an immigrant looking for a better life, or to study or any other of thousands of other reasons. If so how long had they lived there for? Or they may simply have lived there all their lives. In the case of children why did their parents move there.

7. What were their hopes and dreams? This is about showing 'a life interrupted' a life that could have been if it had not been struck by tragedy. This is particularly poignant of younger lives that have yet to reach full potential. If not married consider asking if marriage plans had been discussed.

8. Have they ever previously appeared in the news before? We're back to catch all questions but remember the person you are interviewing has been through a great shock. Without knowing anything about the deceased you have to cover as much ground as you can in as few questions as possible.

9. Can I have a photo? Preferably one with the family and ideally one of them looking smart.

10. And finally. Is there anything I have missed that was important to their life that you would like to get across? Personally I also add if they would mind me calling again and always ask for a mobile number. This is where explaining that if you can check back the details with them can be useful.

I think I have covered most of the important elements, as always, I may have missed something crucial and would appreciate any comments adding to this list.

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How to be a journalist 39. The death knock (Part One)

Without doubt one of the hardest, most emotionally draining jobs for the average reporter is the death knock. It is not, as many critics of the Press will have you believe, a simple act of voyeurism into grief. If you believe that you are in the wrong job - many do and many leave.
And if you find it is not emotionally draining than you ought to see someone about it. I've yet to meet anyone who doesn't feel that way.

The fact is we do an awful lot of these and you never quite get used to them. Not once. So why do we do them? A successful death knock will stop a death becoming just another statistic. It's much harder for those in authority to dismiss numbers than it is to ignore individuals. Bland excuses can be made, figures fudged, the truth bent, things swept under the carpet. Try doing that with a real person - an individual who has experienced pain.

It can also act as an obituary, sometimes but not always, something the family will want to hold on to as a keepsake.

And in the meantime, you as a reporter, will be accused of all manner of despicable behaviour. You will, for your efforts, be accused of intrusion, of being scum, of being a vulture, of preying on grief, of only being interested in selling papers, of being uncaring, of being these and many, many more things.

Which is why you have to believe in what you are doing, in why you believe their story could make a difference. Not only for the family, in the short and medium term, but for others in the long run. And it can make a difference. And, no, I do not believe I am self-deluding. I genuinely believe - as you should - that as reporters what we do is important and can make a difference. Of course I am not saying it will prevent all future deaths of a similar nature; but in some cases it may help highlight and focus energy on a particular area, ie a rat run, a cycling accident at a junction, an industrial accident, a murder.

Also don't go making assumptions, that too is a very bad idea. Being sensitive is essential. Firstly, in order to show you are a member of the human race but also to win over a family's confidence.

Despite all of this we are still there to tell a person's story. If the door is slammed in your face you have failed. I say this because, hard as it is, you should do the knock. Simply not bothering or relying on social media is a disgrace to yourself and your trade.

So hopefully I've established why they are necessary. Many may well disagree, that is their prerogative.

DON'T:
1. Make assumptions. Each death should be treated purely on its own merits.
2. Ever say, 'I know how it must feel'. Unless you can back that statement up by talking about the death of one of your own loved ones and feel it may help in making a connection. In general avoid meaningless platitudes.
3. Rely entirely on social media UNLESS there is no other possible way of doing it. Even then ask to speak to family members in person or by phone.
4. Lack confidence. Yes, it is a nerve wracking experience for the reporter but a polite, professional manner is better than a stammering bunch of nerves, which will only make you sound shifty and not inspire confidence that you will be able to tell the family's story in a way they would want. Indeed a bad approach can and will engender distrust.
5. Be scruffy. Again, you are knocking on a door unannounced, this is about showing you are a professional.
6. Go mob handed to a doorstep. If several newspaper reporters, agency reporters, photographers, camera crews and radio journalists turn up at once send two trusted representatives who can then share the information. There is nothing like an undignified scrabble to upset the family. But trust in your fellow reporters is key.
7. Rush. If a family is good enough to talk to you give them the time they need to tell their story. If you have a deadline looming do explain you have to file but be prepared to stay longer.
8. Ever offer money for someone's story.

DO:
1. Apologise for disturbing them. This is your acknowledgment that you are an outsider at an intensely personal time but avoids the impersonal platitudes (I'm sorry for your loss etc) which the family may well find odd coming from a total stranger.
2. Follow the family's wishes. But if they ask you to go away do remember to ask if it would be possible to come back at some later stage. Ask when that would be convenient.
3. Check everything you've been told by the authorities. Including the spellings of the deceased's name and age. Police and coroners can make mistakes. If this is for print then errors cannot be easily rectified. That in itself can be very upsetting. Indeed even if a family say no to an interview it is still worth asking if you can double check the details.
4. Work out what you are going to say beforehand. It will allow you to make the key points as to why you believe their story is important and will, hopefully, reduce your nervousness.
5. Establish you are speaking to an adult and, where possible, their relationship to the deceased.
6. Remember a person did not become important the moment they died. They were important to their friends and family in life. Build up a picture of that life as best you can.
7. Ask for a photograph that best sums up their life. Preferably with their family.
8. Consider asking the family would they like to be read out any tribute piece. This is controversial in newspapers so check with your newsdesk and it's certainly not something that is advisable in every circumstance but I've rarely - if ever - found it to be a problem. A brief run through ensures there are no misunderstandings; that the details are correct; that you or the family have not left out something that is important; and it helps build up trust with the family. (You must explain it may be edited before going in the paper.)

NEXT: Building up a picture of someone's life on a death knock.

For further reading see Jackie Newton excellent blog here on death knocks.

And here's the Press Gazette report on her research. (I see that many of the negative comments have been removed.)

And here's a personal and view from Australian journalist Sarah Harris on why they are important.

And here's Roy Greenslade offering another view - note he didn't speak to the newspaper he was referring to in the story.

And another Roy Greenslade piece an extract fromThe phone hacking scandal: journalism on trial is by Jackie Newton and Sallyanne Duncan.

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Journalism Tips 35. Why every reporter should know their history.

In order to interview and write intelligently every decent reporter should be able to rely on some residual historical knowledge of their own. While Wikipedia may solve many of the problems while sitting in the office it is very little use while in the middle of an interview.
Similarly if you don't know what to ask Wikipedia for you are never going to find it. For example if there is a dustman's (or as they are know doubt called now a peripatetic disposable environmental logistical transition officer) strike and you know nothing of the Winter of Discontent than you won't be looking for it and more importantly you won't feature it in your story.
Some years ago I spoke to a reader while on a local newspaper and he complained: "The problem is that most local reporters are just thick. The editors are usually alright - but even then sometimes..."
It is not my view. Although given the paper I was working on at the time I could see how he may have reached that conclusion.
As a general rule of thumb I'd say it is worth having a detailed understanding of the recent (five years) events), reasonable background on the past 100 years and a decent amount of knowledge on overall British history.
You see, unlike science - people will expect you to know something about the past. (Scientists are a far more understanding mob than most people and they know the chances are that the day you flunked your GCSE chemistry was the last day you ever looked under a microscope. A little tip when interviewing anyone esp scientists about their work wait for them to finish their explanation before picking up your pen and then asking if they could put it into layman's terms for the readers...you understand the concept, of course, but you feel their words would be so much better. (This usually works until the day that someone responds that they WERE using layman's terms and your general ignorance is revealed)).
So why is history important? The chances are if you are working on locals you will have to cover the usual fare of anniversaries these are usually dull and uninspiring reads generally brought about by a complete lack of interest on the behalf of the reporter to the subject matter. By knowing of the events we can better understand the person's role in them and contextualise it within our story.
Again this is not about having a detailed history - we are still writing a story - but a general over view that stops us looking ignorant. It is a surefire way to lose the respect of the interviewee..alternatively a little knowledge can go a long way.

For a readable overview of British history it's worth reading This Sceptred Isle which romps through the 20th Century...there are also CDs and, no doubt, downloads.

Journalism Tips 34. Reporters out on the road: The essential kit.

On a previous tip I said you only need two things to do this job a pen and a piece of paper. Strictly speaking that is true but in order to make life a little easier you will need a few more things...as I've remembered having been put back on the road, albeit temporarily.

You see the problem is it is all a bit more complicated - and expensive. So let's take as a given the basics, pen and a piece of paper (nearly enough for most local newspapers but not entirely). What else then? A mobile phone - and don't expect the paper to pay for it. You will need one even on the most backwater of locals. Newsdesks will expect to get in touch with you at any time and the mobile phone is your electronic tag....but they are unlikely to provide it.

I worked at one paper where one of the reporters refused to give their mobiles to the newsdesk because they didn't want to be bothered. I believe they are now doing PR for a cats' home or something equally important. Don't even think it.

The fact is that despite the fact they expect you to have one most newspaper groups will refuse to cover your contract. They will - and should - cover your work calls but don't be entirely surprised if they don't.

The big change came in around the early 1990s, when mobiles then the preserve of national newspaper reporters started to be used more and more by the more ambitious local journos. By 2000 every reporter had one.

I also advise you get a smart phone...failing that you will need a lot of other stuff to lug around.

Namely:

A Sat Nav. In ye olden days when the A to Z was king I used to turn up to jobs hot, sweaty and late because of appalling sense of direction. But the advent of the Sat Nav changed all that. Today I turn up hot and sweaty but, crucially, on time. It's saved a lot of leg work. Of course even the Sat Nav has had its day and you will find maps on most decent mobiles.

A camera. I've spoken too about the need for a camera, photographers being short on the ground thesedays. The importance of photographs has risen dramatically as we slowly migrate to online. An Internet story without a photo is pretty much a dead story. Being able to send pix from the scene - and the faster the better - is a hugely useful for the online team. Many phones also do video...even better. Of course the quality doesn't have to be tip top - this is about supplementing photographers not replacing them.

A lap top - WITH Internet access. Filing from the scene, especially if you work on a daily is essential. You simply can't rely on being able to get back to the office. And if it's a big on-going story then you shouldn't do. But it will probably need a dongle (or whatever they call them in the US) and that will cost. However a smart phone should be adequate to file, although certainly not perfect. 

A dictaphone.  Pretty useful it is too, especially when you discover that your shorthand isn't 100wpm after standing outside in -10º for five hours or when you are in the middle of a riot, it's actually less obtrusive, more or less hidden in the palm of your hand. But also when door knocking it's useful. Writing things down in front of people can make them nervous, they will become more aware of what they are saying and you will lose eye contact every few seconds to jot down what they are saying. Again most phones have them built in thesedays so it's all rather surprising that court security staff don't take them off you when you go in...unlike the dictaphone because you are not allowed to tape court proceedings.

Now if you are relying on all this stuff you will also need a spare battery...unless you have an Apple in which case you will need FIVE spare batteries. Actually you won't because Apple don't have replaceable batteries. So in that case you will need - and believe me you WILL need - an external charger. Speaking of chargers if you are driving it may be worth investing in a dual cigarette lighter socket so that you can charge two devices at the same time.

When on the nationals I used to take two mobiles and spare sim cards just to be on the safe side. The loss of a mobile is a major headache and is not appreciated by the desk...so what if you were mugged, no one cares. 

Indeed on the nationals you need a whole heap of extra stuff you probably won't need on locals or regionals. An overnight bag with at least a week's worth of clothes, although even that may not be enough. One reporter - whose I fortunately cannot remember - once complained: "I've been turning my underpants inside out so many times they look like a humbug..."

You also need your passport on you at all times. I carried mine for two years without ever going abroad until I was sent to Dubai and only just made the flight...it would have been a fairly major downer to have missed it.

But all reporters need to have enough cash - as in real notes - to get the teas in. A cashpoint isn't always available but (again on nationals you will probably need a working credit card). Also a small sack of change (unless you are in London or Cornwall) in which case a large sack of change for parking. Never underestimate just how much you will need...it will never ever be enough.

A radio is useful too. Oh and a book...for the really long jobs (mine was usually the Good Pub Guide but McNae's Essential Law is probably a much more useful item).

Other assorted items that are handy to have around. A stout pair of boots, wellingtons, a large coat, sun tan lotion, expenses forms and an umbrella.

And naturally I have forgotten something. We always do...

I did: It's also worth having an electrical extension lead and additional sockets (trust me you will need them one day).

Anything else?

28. Look for stories while at college, write it and tell the local paper. You never know if there's a job coming up there.

As a student journalist you should be writing news or taking photographs for the college newspaper/website/radio (obviously not taking photos for the radio station - that would be pointless).

Please note that I said news. Not reviews, not musings, not comment, not a column, not analysis, not poetry, not critiques, not op eds — just news. Let me be more specific local news.

Hard though you may find this to take no one is interested in your views on the unfolding crisis on Syria as you saw it two weeks ago but finally got round to writing it between lectures.

Neither are they going to read your 2,000 word piece on the plight of women in the Gobi Desert - even the friends who say they have, haven't.

(Press Gang: It's sort of relevant)

It's all very well wanting to be a Guardian journalist — but all you will learn by writing such articles is why the Guardian isn't very well read and how to haemorrhage readers...just like the Guardian.

(By the way unless you are reading this from Oxbridge they probably aren't going to be too interested in having you anyway - it's all rather patrician is our Guardian.)

You will learn nothing about journalism or being a journalist and will bore the pants off of any editor when they try to read your oh-so-worthy cuttings. Actually they won't even look at them and anyway the point of this blog is to steer you towards a job without much need for an interview.

And trust me it works. I know.

Like countless journalists my career began in the student newspaper. If anything it was a wheeze thought up by a friend to get us out of any real work experience (odd since three of us went and remain in the media - probably a far higher ratio than any who did it properly).

Since none of us had a clue about newspapers we went charging into it. Our first big story was that sabbatical officers had all been taking huge loans from the Student Union off the back of their wages - so large in fact that they wouldn't have been able to pay them back out of their remaining pay.

Thus fulfilling the first rule of student journalism (the paper was paid for by a Union grant)  - bite the hand that feeds you.

The fact it I had a source, we dug through files, we asked questions - if only we'd known it we had stumbled across investigative journalism.

The story made the front page of the local paper - and yup, I was hooked. Journalism was simple, fun and I enjoyed it. I've spent the next 20 years trying to maintain that...it hasn't always been easy.

But what does this all mean? The first step is that your student newspaper/website/radio is your first step to understanding journalism - you can make all your mistakes (hopefully not too many legal ones) and not too many people will care. More importantly you can learn the tricks of the trade.

Want to be a political reporter? Attend student council meetings. Get to know the student union, find out what's happening with the block grant.

Want to do investigations do general news and make contacts - they will soon start telling you things you can devote more time too.

And as for those worthy pieces?

I can assure you an article about Student Union bar price increases for next year will be read a 1,000 times more than a piece on the West's Imperialistic ambitions in a post-dictatorship Middle East. Honestly if I wanted to read that I'd pick up the Economist and read it by someone who has been there and interviewed the leading players not some spotty oik with pretensions of being an armchair John Snow.

This is not to stamp on people's ambitions. But to give a good grounding in the basics.

23. 99% of national newspaper showbiz journos start by doing news and learning the trade basics - including this ex one.

One of the most depressing things I picked up from returning to local papers were the number of journalism students who claimed they wanted to cover showbusiness - without having the foggiest idea of what it actually entails.

There is absolutely nothing wrong with the first part of this. I know and admire many brilliant reporters who cover this area of the news agenda.

And whatever Hugh Mungo Grant (a man who was quite willing to pay an impoverished mother desperate to cover her utility bills to perform a sex act on him - a fact that appears to be forgotten in politicians' haste to laud him as some latter day crusader against newspaper ethics) may say it is important to cover a wide spectrum of heavy (hard) news and light (soft) news.

It is easy to dismiss showbusiness as frivolous - because it largely is. But the skills in being a good showbusiness reporter should not be dismissed.

I know not least because I did it myself - albeit incredibly unsuccessfully and under duress.

I could not muster the day to day enthusiasm required to be a good showbusiness reporter - I did have my moments but they were, I admit, few and far between.

It is telling that now I don't have to show an interest in the subject The Spectator and The Economist are my usual reads rather than Heat or Hello. (I'm not even sure about the Radio Times, if I'm honest).

You may think when you dash off 300 words of your thoughts about the latest goings-on in the Big Brother house on your blog that this is "showbusiness journalism".

Let me break this to you gently...it's not, it's shit. Gentle enough for you?

No one - and I will repeat this later on in the blog - gives a stuff what you think about Big Brother or Justin Bieber or Madonna's music or the films of Quentin Tarantino.

Because it is just your opinion. And what's your opinion worth? Well, I think at the last count naff all. (I'm using so many alternatives to swear words I may do an 18+ journalismtips - what do you think?)

So before you start writing your blog all about your views on what piece of crap you've been watching - think this. Why would it impress a showbiz editor? And does it stand out from the million other navel gazing vomit spewed onto the Internet?

And if the answer is: Haven't a clue. Wonder why you are starting it. And wonder too what you can do to change this situation.

Finally learn the basics, they are all applicable to showbusiness reporting and without them you are just another airhead wannabe.

(Unless, of course, you happen to have access to celebrities that no one else has...you haven't? Oh, then you ARE an airhead wannabe.)

But let me be helpful. What to do that would make a difference and help you achieve your ultimate goal?

If you are reading this from college get to know the Ents Secretary and the editor of the college newspaper or website. Find out what are bands/acts are coming up. Get ahead of the curve. You've got your first "showbiz story" (look, you're starting from the bottom here).

Get in contact with the act's management and ask for interviews - you will get a lot of knock backs and disappointment (yes, welcome to the world of showbiz).

Ask about music and their personal lives. What's it like going on tour? Have they been to your town before? Read, read, read...the big interviews in the red tops - see what they are doing.

When they arrive on campus - get pix (they may be the biggest band in the world next year...ok, probably not. But why risk it?)

You'll notice that so far your opinions don't come into it - there's a reason for this.

Get to know the staff at the local arts centre - it doesn't have to be the big one with 3,000 seater events. Meet with the Ents editor of the local paper...and ask if you can do reviews - of everything - in exchange for free tickets. Yes, even the local am dram (showbusiness isn't just music, or fim or TV).

(Just remember never rundown a local am dram - it really should have been my first journalismtip - they can be such hateful people.)

Find out who the local celebs are try and make contact - plead for interviews with their agents for your college mag (you're building contacts all the time and learning to network...the bloke who manages the 1980s micro-celeb may well be best mates with this year's big teen boyband).

These are the skills you need. Sitting in a darkened room, lit only by the glow of the laptop pouring out your views to all and sundry is a sad and worthless activity which will...get...you....no...err...where.

And certainly don't go to a local newspaper and expect anyone to be impressed by you revealing your ambition - just expect to be laughed at (not always to your face).

More importantly when you get - even small stories - get in touch with the showbusiness team of the paper you want to work for...even more so if you have photos.

NOTE: As always if you find @journalismtips useful or even mildly amusing please RT. Thanks.

22. When interviewing listen for other stories. You can often get one or two page leads from incidental comments.

The biggest problem for local newspapers is actually filling the paper - yes, yes I know that's the bleedin' obvious.

Or so you might think. Local newspapers tend to do everything that possibly can to make this task as hard as possible.

It's not deliberate it's just a complete lack of foresight - which in fairness is easy to do when the sheer trudge of filling the pages is job enough, which is brought about by a lack of foresight, which in turn...

Well you get the idea.

It's all too easy to become focused on filling the pages and panic stricken moving on to the next one - in a rush without looking properly at the material you have.

Which brings us to listening out for stories in interviews.

It should - like for example, reading a newspaper - go without saying that when reading papers you are scouring for stories to use for your own paper.

(Remarkably it seems the effort of ripping something out of a paper is too much even for some national journos. Years ago as a reporter on The Sun a colleague brought in a very good tale about a very pretty woman solider that he had taken from his local. It had also been spotted by a rival news editor - only he was waiting for the news agency to file it...he had a long wait. The interview and pictures were in the bag and printed.)

Ok so, when reading the newspapers or magazines always be on the look out for stories from your patch. You should be able to find one or two in a good week - of course, if you are any good the stories will already have been in your paper.

But the point is always be on the look out for secondary stories in your interviews. For example say a local celebrity during a general interview about their latest book they were bullied while they were a pupil at the local comp...see if it can be developed into: I was bullied at school, says local star. Getting addition quotes from former pupils/teachers.

It is the sort of thing done all the time on the broadsheets...adapt the ideas to suit your own paper.

Or if an editor is against the idea - some of them really are unimaginative - keep the quotes to one side to use at a later date (probably the following week when you will be panicking about filling the pages all over again).

But here's an example of my own about what I mean.

I spotted this interview in The Spectator and even before I'd reached the end I wanted to interview Geoffrey Wellum, the Battle of Britain's youngest pilot...I was genuinely overjoyed when I found out he was from (nearly) my patch (I had to ask politely to do the interview from the reporter whose patch it was).

This is my original interview with him. I never nailed the intro - and actually remain pretty unhappy with the article as a whole...especially when compared to Christian House's Spectator original.

However journalismtips is not a masterclass in feature writing but basic hints for beginners.

Needless to say the article took up a page with photographs. But we couldn't fit everything in. So rather than cramming it I considered what I could leave out.

I decided we could dispense with the details of how his remarkable story came to be discovered and turned into a TV film. The result was this article.

I use this only as an example of how it can be done.

You can also use it for tip-offs which can in turn lead to proper investigations when something is said in an unguarded moment.