The Interviewing Process Part 2

Another aspect to the learning curve of interviewing is relying on sources.  In order to get responses from sources, it's necessary to seek them out and basically keep bothering them until they get back to you.  But sometimes it simply is not possible to get a source before an article's deadline.  For example, recently I was given the chance to write an article for The New Hampshire about a student here at UNH.  However, the student did not return my calls or emails for almost a week and I had to get my deadline pushed back because I simply could not write the article without talking to this student.  One of the hardest parts of journalism for me is being a dogged person with possible sources.  Sometimes at this level of journalism, people do not take you very seriously and do not return your requests for comment.  If this does happen, I've found that I just have to keep going forward and try to find someone else to whom I can speak.  Interestingly, I've had the least luck with professors as resources.  Although I've often looked forward to hearing a professor's experience with or ideas on a topic I am covering, they often either do not respond to my requests or get back to me past my deadline.  I realize that they have very busy lives and, therefore, I do not resent this.  However, it does create a difficulty for a journalist like me, especially when I am trying to write thorough articles that include as many sides of the story as possible.