Day Three of BIRN’s Summer School of Investigative Reporting began on Wednesday with a session dedicated to the secrets of a good interview before considering the benefits of new technologies and the challenge of protecting mental health.
Authenticity, preparation and “knowing your subject” are key to conducting a good interview, lead trainer and Reuters investigative projects editor Blake Morrison told the more than 30 participants in Mlini, Croatia.
“These people don’t know us, and we have to maintain a certain level of distance from them, we can’t be their friends,” he said. “Sometimes we have to convince them that they want to be interviewed by us.”
BIRN’s 14th Summer School brings together journalists from across Central and Eastern Europe for a week of insight and advice from 15 trainers.
Drawing on years of personal experience, Morrison urged the participants to think about “what makes your friends tell you their secrets” and to approach every interview as if they are interviewing themselves. He stressed the need for “confidence, honesty, curiosity and genuine interest in the people and topic”.
Digital infrastructure experts Boris Budini and Redon Skikuli of CryptoParty Tirana continued the day with a workshop looking at the benefits of technology in journalism.
“The intersection of technology and journalism helps us to protect ourselves and our sources, but also to use available tech to do our research and expose abuse of power,” Budini said.
The tech duo treated the participants to a list of tips and tricks in navigating open source intelligence, advanced use of search engines and the filtering of data.
The day continued with parallel group sessions on advanced data journalism, digital security and how to search the dark web. The day ended with workshops on mental health.