Student Journalists Need to be Persistent

For some students, picking up a phone and ringing for an interview can be tough. Often, you get redirected to send an email and go from there. But what happens when interviewees try to shrug you off, not by turning down the interview, but by constantly asking you to call back?

I recently had such an issue with the council. For my final year practical project, it was crucial that I got an interview with the council official to balance the feature. However, the person who I was trying to contact was always out of the office. They kept saying call back at such and such time but again, he wasn’t in.

Some students I know would have ceased to follow up at this point. After all, they had phoned up and got nothing. It can be off putting after all.

But after some advice, I was told to be persistent, to become the thorn in their side and keep trying until I got through to the person I was trying to contact, which is exactly what I did.

They told me when to call back, so I did, repeatedly. After a few more phone calls, they got the message – I wasn’t going to let it drop. What do you know? The next day I got an email saying they would do the interview.

Being persistent is a juggling act though. You need to follow up but at the same time not let it get out of hand. They were giving me times to phone back and I was following that. Just because I’m a student doesn’t mean that my request for an interview is any less relevant than others.

If they aren’t there the first time, we are within our right to follow it up. If they refuse an interview, that is a different matter, but just because you don’t get through, don’t give up and don’t be disheartened.

A lot of journalism is getting rejected by interviewees or being pushed to the back of their workload. It is something we have to work around, but without them messing us around.

Students especially need to learn this skill early. It will happen a lot in the industry and employers need to see that you can follow up. Be persistent. Don’t let them shrug you off just because you are a student.

Exercise 1. Mark the statements as T (true) or F (false):

1. Student reporters sometimes face difficult tasks.

2. Usually people have plenty of time and are happy when asked for an interview.

3. Calling back again and again shows that you are rebuffed.

4. Persistence helps, but it is a hard thing.

5. If you push something to the back of your workload, it means that you make it top priority.

6. Student journalists are not very important, so it’s ok to give up and get frustrated.

7. If you learn to get through to a person as a student, it will help you in the future career.

 

Exercise 2. Match the words in Column A with their definitions in Column B. Make up your own sentences with these words.

A	B
To shrug somebody off	To let something out of control
To turn something down	To be unpleasant
To balance the feature	A very hard and tricky task
To be in/ out of office	To tell on somebody’s nerves in order to achieve something
To follow something up	To make somebody look like a fool
To be off putting	To be finally able to talk to a person
To become a thorn in somebody’s side	To give something very little time or importance
To get through to the person	To make a story more objective
A juggling act	To continue doing something
To push something to the back of one’s workload	To give somebody rebuff
To mess somebody around	To be at work/ absent from the office
To get something out of hand	To reject something

 

Exercise 3. Choose the expression that best completes the sentence:

1. When I was redirected to the voice mail again, I realized that he was _____________.

A) Following me up B) Messing me around C) Getting through to me

2. I dislike the new associate editor – she is _____________.

A) A juggling act B) A pleasant personality C) A thorn in my side

3. If you can’t get through to a person on the phone, probably he is _____________.

A) Out at the moment B) In and ready to talk C) Calling you back

4. If something should be done in spite of the fact that people give us rebuff, we must _____________.

A) Be disheartened B) Work it around C) Start juggling

5. Journalists are within their right to follow up the story, even if others _____________.

A) Try to shrug them off B) Are out of office C) Are not persistent

6. People think that interview with a student is less relevant than other things, so they _____________.

A) Are off putting B) Put it at the back of their workload C) Let it get out of hand

7. If I face a task that needs very specific balance between being pushy and being persistent, I call it _____________.

A) A thorn in the side B) A rebuff C) A juggling act

 

Activities

Exercise 1. Think about a person who can be called an outstanding example of high professionalism in journalism. Tell others about this person answering the following questions:

1. How many years has he worked in journalism?

2. What, in your opinion, are the qualities that made him one of the best in this profession?

3. What, in your opinion, is the most fascinating achievement of this person?

4. What, in your opinion, is the most important challenge that he has ever faced?

5. What would you like to learn from him?

Exercise 2. Imagine that you have to interview the University rector (General Manager of a big factory/ sports or show business celebrity). What steps will you take to get the job done?

Exercise 3. Translate sentences from Russian into English:

1. Если ты не предан этой профессии, неважно, насколько хорошо ты умеешь писать или насколько достоверны твои источники.

2. Что требуется, чтобы стать журналистом? Спросите любого в этом деле, и вам скажут, что вы должны быть необыкновенно любознательным, искренним, трудолюбивым, любить и понимать людей, и, наконец, не бояться вызовов.

3. Одно из самых важных качеств хорошего журналиста – это непреодолимое желание писать.

4. Работа репортера требует здорового скептицизма, гибкости и настойчивости, иногда даже наглости.

5. В современных СМИ навыки командного игрока необходимы даже интровертам, которым трудно взять телефон и позвонить, чтобы договориться об интервью.

6. Журналист должен обладать широтой взглядов, чтобы не прийти к опрометчивому суждению, основанному на недостаточной информации.

7. Если человек, у которого вы хотите взять интервью, старается отделаться от вас, постарайтесь так «достать» его или его секретаря, чтобы для вас нашли время.

8. Даже студент сталкивается с искушением нарушить кодекс профессиональной этики журналиста, и должен разработать собственную стратегию принятия решений.

9. Толстокожесть – полезная черта для журналиста, потому что она помогает принимать критику с положительным настроем и справляться со стрессом.

10. Настойчивости и умению довести свою историю до конца нужно обучаться в студенческие годы, чтобы работодатели увидели, что вы не сдаетесь и не падаете духом.

Grammar

Past Simple Tense

The simple past tense is used to talk about finished actions that happened at a specific time in the past. You state when it happened using a time adverb (yesterday; last week/month/year, etc.; … days/months/ years ago; in 1999; 2012, etc.). You form the simple past of a verb by adding -ed onto the end of a regular verb but, irregular verb forms have to be learnt.

To be Positive +	To be Negative -	Questions
I was.	I wasn't.	Was I?
He was.	He wasn't.	Was he?
She was.	She wasn't.	Was she?
It was.	It wasn't.	Was it?
You were.	You weren't.	Were you?
We were.	We weren't.	Were we?
They were.	They weren't.	Were they?

 

Regular Verb (to work) Positive +	Regular Verb (to work) Negative -	Questions	Short answer +	Short answer -
I worked.	I didn't work.	Did I work?	Yes, I did.	No, I didn't.
He worked.	He didn't work.	Did he work?	Yes, he did.	No, he didn't.
She worked.	She didn't work.	Did she work?	Yes, she did.	No, she didn't.
It worked.	It didn't work.	Did it work?	Yes, it did.	No, it didn't.
You worked.	You didn't work.	Did you work?	Yes you did.	No, you didn't.
We worked.	We didn't work.	Did we work?	Yes we did.	No, we didn't.
They worked.	They didn't work.	Did they work?	Yes they did.	No, they didn't.
Irregular Verb (to go) Positive +	Irregular Verb (to go) Negative -	Questions	Short answer +	Short answer -
I went.	I didn't go.	Did I go?	Yes, I did.	No, I didn't.
He went.	He didn't go.	Did he go?	Yes, he did.	No, he didn't.
She went.	She didn't go.	Did she go?	Yes, she did.	No, she didn't.
It went.	It didn't go.	Did it go?	Yes, it did.	No, it didn't.
You went.	You didn't go.	Did you go?	Yes you did.	No, you didn't.
We went.	We didn't go.	Did we go?	Yes we did.	No, we didn't.
They went.	They didn't go.	Did they go?	Yes they did.	No, they didn't.

 

Exercise 1. Fill in the blanks. Use WAS / WERE:

1. Mary and Susan …… were ……… ill yesterday.

2. The weather …………………….. very hot last Saturday.

3. The students …………………….. at the theater last night.

4. Betty …………………………….. in Germany last summer.

5. My brother and I …………………….. at the football stadium on Saturday.

6. …………………………. it cold yesterday?

Exercise 2. Put these sentences into the PAST. Use past form of verb “ TO BE “:

T O D A Y Y E S T E R D A Y

Example: I’m at home. ….. I was at home ………………………………

1. Jane and Michael are tired. ……………………………………………….

2. She’s in the park. ……………………………………………….

3. It’s a sunny day. ……………………………………………….

4. You’re late..………………………………………………

5. They aren’t hungry. ……………………………………………….

6. We aren’t at work. ……………………………………………….

7. I’m thirsty..………………………………………………

8. You aren’t at school. ……………………………………………….

9. We’re at the cinema. ……………………………………………….

10.Paula isn’t happy. ……………………………………………….

11.Everyone is excited. ……………………………………………….

12.I’m not afraid....……………………………………………..

Exercise 3. Choose WAS or WERE:

1. He was / were a policeman.

2. We was / were very happy.

3. Was / Were you happy?

4. They wasn’t / weren’t interested in.

5. I was / were at school.

6. It wasn’t / weren’t expensive.

7. Was / Were she your teacher?