What makes a good reporter?

WHAT MAKES A GOOD REPORTER?

Nick Leftley is paid £28,000 a year to tell jokes, swim with sharks, strip and interview James Bond. The 29 year old features reporter for top lad’s mag, Maxim, when asked what makes a good reporter replied “don’t ask me, I wouldn’t know”.
“Being able to make jokes for a living is a great thing” said Mr. Leftley. The job offers a fun atmosphere, no dress code, relaxed hours and a lot of opportunities to try new things. In recent years Mr. Leftley has also flown in a fighter jet, fought in wrestling matches, been set on fire and had liposuction. He has interviewed and met a lot of interesting people, Vic Reeves, Morgan Freeman and Roger Moore included. To get the best stories Mr. Leftley said: “Do your research. There's nothing worse than being in an interview with someone and not knowing what they’re talking about. Or, writing an ill-informed piece of crap and then being found out”. Mr. Leftley believes that being a reporter is about “90% research, 5% writing, 3% arguing about the office stereo and 2% faking expense claim forms after lunch.”
Knowing the publication that you are working for is essential as is being able to match your writing tone, “you don’t want to be all jokey and Gonzo if you’re writing for The Telegraph.” Equally, not being “stuffy and serious” when writing for a men’s mag. Spelling, punctuation and grammar is very important in Mr. Leftley’s opinion. “If a freelancer writes a generally ok piece but doesn’t bother to check it through, I’ll generally assume that they don’t give a shit and never use them again”. It’s all about ideas said Mr. Leftley. A lot of people out there can write well enough for a magazine, but “most of the job is about generating ideas: relentless, endless streams of ideas.” Coming up with ideas for magazine content is pretty much the most important part of the job. Early on, Mr. Leftley wrote and edited his own fanzine, which eventually came to the attention of Maxim and landed him his job “turning up to the interview drunk” somehow seemed to help. ”Being able to write in a funny, informal style and make silly jokes for a living is a great thing. On the other hand, it can sometimes be terrifying (those are usually the best stories, of course).”

Mollie Hugh's Interview

MOLLIE’S MEMORIES TAINTED BY WAR


A life on the road, travelling the length and breadth of England with a small fairground community plus her family was where Mrs. Hughes’ story began. During an in depth interview with Mollie Hughes, (Far right), she revealed her earliest and most cherished memories.

  Mrs. Hughes clearly struggled to place herself in a time before The War; rations, raids and sirens which were to force her family to settle.
At 82 years old Mrs. Hughes has a vivid memory of what it was like growing up in a war torn Britain. Living in Salford, Manchester, Mrs. Hughes worked for an electrical company coil winding at 14 years old. She can remember only too well the continuous threat of air raids and regularly being forced into bomb shelters in Stockport. Despite this somewhat tainted picture of Mrs. Hughes’ earliest memories she smiled saying she ‘had a good family life’.
Married in 1946 aged 20, Mrs. Hughes had two children with husband Richard, the first in 1948 and the second four years after. In later years the family holidayed in Bournemouth once a year, a tradition which Mrs. Hughes has continued to this day in spite of the death of her husband 16 years ago. Returning faithfully to the same hotel, ‘Devon Towers’ year after year. Bournemouth has become a place of solace for Mrs. Hughes and accompanied by her two closest friends she appeared contented and peaceful. The serenity of the south coast and sea air taking her back to her childhood days with the fair.

N.B This was our first assignment of 2008 set by News Lecturer Dan Hogan.