Finding interviews really isn't too bad. I've had a lot of luck with my main interviewee referring me to other people to talk to. The people are usually just as knowledgeable if not more so. So what's the problem? Well. Ahem. There's a few.
Whether I think of an original story or get one from TNH, the deadline always comes faster than I would like. The issue I have is not with deadlines, it's with myself. I have to be more assertive when it comes to getting interviews. By the time I've finally gotten in touch with my main interviewee and they refer me to someone else, guess what? It's too late to contact them because: they're not in the office until Monday, they will refer me to someone else who might know more, and interviewees like to take their sweet time sometimes.
While certain pieces aren't as time sensitive, others are. Further, some sources are original. For the next piece I will turn in, I need information from a nutritionist. I found one, but there's another one that knows more. She would've been more valuable to my piece. Alas, she will not be in the office until Monday, and I didn't know about her existence until Friday. Sigh.
So the one-of-a-kind interviewees--I struggle with securing them, finding them, and incorporating them early enough.
For instance, "FDA OK's breast cancer drug created in part by ImmunoGen" is an article today in The Boston Globe by Robert Weisman. The article is interviewee-sensitive because only certain people are going to have the information needed to do the interview. That's not to say no one else could, it just means that certain people will have more facts and will help the news aspect more.
In other words. I'm excited for that moment of growth when I can better manage my interviews and work my way around names better!
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