Interview Reflection
I was very thankful to have been able to interview someone about their personal experince on Sept.11,2001, as it provide me a better understaing on how that day affected the people who lived through it. Although I feel my interview with Bryce went well, there are a few things i wish went differently if i had another opportunity to interview again.
One of the biggest issues I had was keeping the conversation focused. Bryce often went on tangents, which led to a much longer interview that i had orginally expected. Although some of the additional conversations provide another level of insight, I could have done a better job at guiding the discussion back to my questions.
When looking back, I also would have enjoyed spending more time researching my intervieww before developing my questions. Some of my questions covered information I already knew from my research, rather than encouraging Bryce to share something new. I feel being more intentional with my questions could have helped me uncover details that I might not have otherwise thought of.
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I used a combination of handwritten notes and my audio recording to better take notes. I found it easy to forget small details and rather I wrote down important points throughout of the conversation that later required me to go rewatch the interview to pick up the details. This approach worked well, although I could improve by organizing my notes around specific themes to make reviewing the interview easier.
If I was working on a news story from this interview, I would like to focus on why remembering 9/11 remains important 25 years later. Bryce’s perspective on the tragedy, including his frustration with people who joke about it, highlights the difference between those who experience that day and the younger generations that have only heard of it from a historical point of view.
My biggest challenge had to have come after my video interview. The video file was over 25 gigabytes, which created problems uploading it to YouTube without a verified account or directly to Canvas. I had to submit a OneDrive link, but next time i would like to find a better way to submit my project beforehand.
Overall, this project reminded me that successful interviewing requires preparation, adaptability and an understanding of how to turn someone's experience into a meaningful story.
