Mass Communication: Specialized reporting

Specialized reporting

Specialized reporting is a way of searching for in-depth news, while repetitively involves one or other kind of investigation. It is also called in-depth reporting in other words. This type of reporting tries to explore a news story that has significant interests in public affairs and related to the different source. It checks the public data that are important and determines suspense information about some secrets or wrongdoing and as well as those matters that is a threat to the government or working against to government.

Specialized reporting should be following by depth and well-planned investigation using all the resources under the supervision of news organization. It even adopts the method and form of crime reporting and while doing reporting reporter might face risk at the field of investigation. It is a long run reporting and often time-consuming than another kind of reporting. In this reporting reporters might have to face obstacles, threats, and resistance from concerned parties as well.

While preparing specialized reporting reporters must be calm and restrained. One cannot prepare it if s/he gets too emotional because it is a matter of collecting facts. It does not have a particular deadline for an accomplishment like in other news reporting. It takes the dramatic situation in order to achieve the truth through different inquiry. The reporter should have insight, curiosity, and awareness to gain the in-depth investigation. The reporter must be quick, novel with a good personality, conversationalist and well structured to accomplish the reporting.

Truth Accuracy and Objectivity in Specialized Reporting

In specialized reporting, every report has to be full of truth, accuracy, and objectivity that is (TAO) and should be presented as it is. There should not be any modification and condensation in the news stories. The concept of TAO is similar to the principle of ABC in journalism. It is very necessary to apply the concept of TAO in this specialized reporting because it has border and strong impact on the target audiences. TAO concept is characterized as a report must be full of facts, balanced and followed by 5W1H. Similarly, reporters must be accurate, immediate, defendants in verifying source and the person. The reporter must as well have the quality to distinct between news and opinion and to avoid all sorts of manipulations.

Interview

In journalism interview simply refers to the conversation between two or more people where journalists ask questions in order to obtained information. It is a way of formal and nonformal both, to get an answer of pre-determined questions in specific purposes, it is a systemize conversation between interviewer and interviewee. The interview is the medium to acquire the information for different media like newspaper, magazine, radio, television, and internet. All kinds of conversation cannot be considered as an interview. To be an interview involved person must be related to the certain theme or issues. The interview is often taken from the eyewitness, expert or victim in order to expose the truth of the events.

The interview is considered as a basic source of information in news reporting as it involves the process of asking questions and recording the answers through writing or tape recording. It is an important part of reporting. Reporters often practice face to face or telephone interviews. Similarly, email has added another way of the technique of interview. It is a continuous process of news making and even called as ‘pseudo-events’. It can be done through either writing or speaking for written interview reporter should prepare a set of questions so that s/he could ask the interviewee in the process of mailing. However, in an oral interview, the interviewer prefers the face to face answer of the asked question. These days telephone is getting much popularity because it is less time consuming and quick way to get result in radio medium. But face to face interview is very important in the television.

Moreover, in interview interviewer and interviewee plays the important role. The one who prepares and asks the question is known as an interviewer and one who gives the answer is an interviewee. Here interviewer is a reporter who has to collect the information for news reporting. But interviewee is not a fixed person s/he can be either celebrating, public, victim or anybody related the events or issues of reporting.

Types of Interview

• Personality based interview:
  The interview in which interviewer or reporter takes the interview with a renowned celebrity or public figure as an interviewer. The work or the personal affair is the matter of curiosity for many public so the interview with such figure can be much more reliable. For example, a film artist, a popular singer, a sports person. A social leader etc cans the interviewee in media. Their way of living, work and experiences can be the source of information for the viewers or audiences.
  
  
• Issued based interview:
  In this sort of interview, a person who is related to a different field or issue is being interviewed. They might be the common people working in the particular field. Interviewee might not be the expert in any area but they are worth with their expression of emotion, feelings, and experiences. For instance in the case of a vehicle accident; interview can be taken with eye witness, driver, police etc.
  
  
• Human interest-based interview:
  Human has an interest in different areas and field. Their interest has no limits and they are unstoppable. So in this sort of interview, some interesting and unexpected news are in highlight. It should be totally unique and unpredictable news, for instance, mountaineering, crime, traveling the world by cycling and so on.

Art of Interviewing

• While interviewing one should maintain the good pasture and positive attitude.
• One should build the report with the interviewee and have an informal conversation.
• The interviewee should begin with asking a suitable question so that it could be a friendly conversation.
• You must pay the attention to the answers of the interviewee and listen carefully.
• While interviewee is speaking you must give a gesture of listening and understanding.
• One should regularly observe the body language, dress up and other behavior and record what they say.
• In order to ask next question, one must listen to the end.
• The interviewer should not interrupt by asking an unnecessary question or either talking too much.
• One must record properly for the broadcast programmer so the interview must be based on reality.