Should I spend today talking to people in NY about the death of Osama Bin Laden?
May 2, 2011 6:31 AM Subscribe
As an independent journalist living in New York, would it behoove me to go out and interview people about the death of Osama? Should I take the train into Manhattan and talk to people on the street?
I'm a college student and I'm very interested in radio documentaries, and this morning feels like as good a time as any to go out into the world and help teach myself to talk to strangers about issues of the day.
I'm looking for any tips, or words of encouragement in that regard. Also if anyone had any questions that they would like asked of people who were pretty closely affected by 9/11 (a lot of people in my town have family members who are/were first responders).
Basically I'm just wondering if it is worth it to call in sick from my normal job today to try and do some citizen journalism. Thanks everyone!
I'm a college student and I'm very interested in radio documentaries, and this morning feels like as good a time as any to go out into the world and help teach myself to talk to strangers about issues of the day.
I'm looking for any tips, or words of encouragement in that regard. Also if anyone had any questions that they would like asked of people who were pretty closely affected by 9/11 (a lot of people in my town have family members who are/were first responders).
Basically I'm just wondering if it is worth it to call in sick from my normal job today to try and do some citizen journalism. Thanks everyone!
Worst case scenario, you don't get any great interviews. Best case? You get some real eye opening stuff, hours after the news broke. I'd recommend Union Square, people are talkative there.
posted by darkgroove at 6:42 AM on May 2, 2011
posted by darkgroove at 6:42 AM on May 2, 2011
Without an actual paying outlet, I wouldn't bother. Sure, you might glean some shattering insight or poignant anecdote but then what?
posted by Ideefixe at 6:44 AM on May 2, 2011
posted by Ideefixe at 6:44 AM on May 2, 2011
If you have to ask us then you aren't that excited or motivated about the idea, so go to work.
posted by COD at 6:46 AM on May 2, 2011 [2 favorites]
posted by COD at 6:46 AM on May 2, 2011 [2 favorites]
If your boss may somehow see you on television or in your own video, think twice about claiming you're actually sick. Are there other reasons you can take the day off?
But go. You aren't going to get experiences like this often. Go practice.
posted by pracowity at 6:50 AM on May 2, 2011
But go. You aren't going to get experiences like this often. Go practice.
posted by pracowity at 6:50 AM on May 2, 2011
Basically I'm just wondering if it is worth it to call in sick from my normal job today to try and do some citizen journalism. Thanks everyone!
No, I don't think it's worth skipping work for this. The mainstream media outlets have been doing it since the news came out - I was driving to work this morning and listening to the man-on-the-street responses. I don't think you'll have much to contribute. Sorry dude.
posted by exhilaration at 6:52 AM on May 2, 2011
No, I don't think it's worth skipping work for this. The mainstream media outlets have been doing it since the news came out - I was driving to work this morning and listening to the man-on-the-street responses. I don't think you'll have much to contribute. Sorry dude.
posted by exhilaration at 6:52 AM on May 2, 2011
If you don't have a plan for what you're going to do with what you collect in your interviews, you should go to work.
posted by ThePinkSuperhero at 7:00 AM on May 2, 2011
posted by ThePinkSuperhero at 7:00 AM on May 2, 2011
There is a discussion on metafilter that has at this time over 1300 comments posted, and who knows how many more yet to be posted. I doubt that you would even have time to read all of them (I don't) but if you did, you would almost certainly find a more interesting and varied range of ideas than those you will get by interviewing people on the street, almost all of whom are going to tell you the same thing, yeah, I'm happy we finally killed the bastard. So no, I advise against it.
posted by grizzled at 7:07 AM on May 2, 2011
posted by grizzled at 7:07 AM on May 2, 2011
Response by poster: Hey all, thanks so much for the responses, positive and negative, it's helped me figure out what my motives are and why I want to do this.
I really think my fear is "What's the point?" and for the past half hour or so I've been considering what things I really wanna hear from people. Basically I'm wondering if the "average person" feels a sense of closure, most especially those who were directly affected. I want to see if they feel like this moment changes anything for them, either politically or emotionally.
This is something that I have been struggling with for a while, and it appears I'm not alone, where I have trouble just approaching people-on-the-street in a journalism capacity to talk to them about things, and I think that today is a day when people will be pretty open and happy to talk about the things are going on, as I think everyone can sort of agree this is a good thing.
Down the line, I'd want to eventually talk to people about potentially controversial issues so I think this will be good practice.
I'm currently on the fence, but in that same token, I'm packing my bag, and checking my batteries and memory cards.
It's just sort of scary to think about going out in the world and asking strangers to TALK to me about their FEELINGS. I guess that's what I'm struggling with.
Thanks again everyone!
posted by ejfox at 7:08 AM on May 2, 2011
I really think my fear is "What's the point?" and for the past half hour or so I've been considering what things I really wanna hear from people. Basically I'm wondering if the "average person" feels a sense of closure, most especially those who were directly affected. I want to see if they feel like this moment changes anything for them, either politically or emotionally.
This is something that I have been struggling with for a while, and it appears I'm not alone, where I have trouble just approaching people-on-the-street in a journalism capacity to talk to them about things, and I think that today is a day when people will be pretty open and happy to talk about the things are going on, as I think everyone can sort of agree this is a good thing.
Down the line, I'd want to eventually talk to people about potentially controversial issues so I think this will be good practice.
I'm currently on the fence, but in that same token, I'm packing my bag, and checking my batteries and memory cards.
It's just sort of scary to think about going out in the world and asking strangers to TALK to me about their FEELINGS. I guess that's what I'm struggling with.
Thanks again everyone!
posted by ejfox at 7:08 AM on May 2, 2011
almost all of whom are going to tell you the same thing, yeah, I'm happy we finally killed the bastard.
Not everyone in New York City thinks this as such. (raises hand)
To the OP -- I wouldn't necessarily miss work for this, but I think you should do this. Others have pointed out that you don't "have a plan" for it -- but I don't think you need one. the things you turn up could suggest a plan.
But I wouldn't necessarily miss work. People will be talking about this for days, and you'll be able to get comments after work.
posted by EmpressCallipygos at 7:10 AM on May 2, 2011
Not everyone in New York City thinks this as such. (raises hand)
To the OP -- I wouldn't necessarily miss work for this, but I think you should do this. Others have pointed out that you don't "have a plan" for it -- but I don't think you need one. the things you turn up could suggest a plan.
But I wouldn't necessarily miss work. People will be talking about this for days, and you'll be able to get comments after work.
posted by EmpressCallipygos at 7:10 AM on May 2, 2011
OP -- This sounds like an excellent chance for some long-form journalism. I don't know why people would try and discourage you from taking some initiative and doing your thing. It doesn't sound like you know what you want to make, but you sure feel that you want to make something. That's the first step in any creative endeavor.
I wouldn't miss work though. Never too early to learn to manage passion and labor.
posted by Think_Long at 7:28 AM on May 2, 2011
I wouldn't miss work though. Never too early to learn to manage passion and labor.
posted by Think_Long at 7:28 AM on May 2, 2011
a lot of people in my town have family members who are/were first responders
In that case, why go to Manhattan?
Millions of people spend their days in Manhattan. Considering that the attacks happened a decade a go, there is a strong likelihood that you won't even speak to anyone who lived in New York in September of 2001. If you personally know people in your smaller hometown who were directly affected, you should be talking to them, not some paralegal who heard it during her morning classes at Ohio State or whatever.
posted by Sara C. at 7:28 AM on May 2, 2011
In that case, why go to Manhattan?
Millions of people spend their days in Manhattan. Considering that the attacks happened a decade a go, there is a strong likelihood that you won't even speak to anyone who lived in New York in September of 2001. If you personally know people in your smaller hometown who were directly affected, you should be talking to them, not some paralegal who heard it during her morning classes at Ohio State or whatever.
posted by Sara C. at 7:28 AM on May 2, 2011
today is a day when people will be pretty open and happy to talk about the things are going on, as I think everyone can sort of agree this is a good thing.
Yeah, this is not necessarily true of all New Yorkers. And as someone who was in Manhattan on 9/11, I can also say that I (along with a lot of others) don't really want to talk about it -- our feelings about it are not really for public consumption. I mean, I have a very close friend whose cousin died in the towers on 9/11 and he never even told me until years later. So graphing pop-psych concepts such as "closure" really don't work in situations like these. If you're going to be a good journalist, you're going to need to keep your mind open to figuring out what the story actually is, in all its nuances, instead of making these broad assumptions.
All this said, I do think it makes sense for you to take advantage of a big story of the day today to start working on your interviewing skills. Go for it. Just be sure to ask open-ended questions, and don't be surprised at the variety of unexpected reactions you might get.
posted by yarly at 7:34 AM on May 2, 2011 [1 favorite]
Yeah, this is not necessarily true of all New Yorkers. And as someone who was in Manhattan on 9/11, I can also say that I (along with a lot of others) don't really want to talk about it -- our feelings about it are not really for public consumption. I mean, I have a very close friend whose cousin died in the towers on 9/11 and he never even told me until years later. So graphing pop-psych concepts such as "closure" really don't work in situations like these. If you're going to be a good journalist, you're going to need to keep your mind open to figuring out what the story actually is, in all its nuances, instead of making these broad assumptions.
All this said, I do think it makes sense for you to take advantage of a big story of the day today to start working on your interviewing skills. Go for it. Just be sure to ask open-ended questions, and don't be surprised at the variety of unexpected reactions you might get.
posted by yarly at 7:34 AM on May 2, 2011 [1 favorite]
I don't think the world needs more uninformed-man-in-the-street commentary, on this or any other subject.
posted by ook at 7:41 AM on May 2, 2011 [1 favorite]
posted by ook at 7:41 AM on May 2, 2011 [1 favorite]
Would you want to hear more of what the man-on-the-street in 1945 had to say when Hitler's death was made public? What did a typical New Yorker have to say then? Yeah, it's potentially historic.
Think about that video that someone posted on the blue last week of a man from Germany who filmed street life in NYC in 1983 and 1986. Just normal things. And people enjoyed that.
I think you should do it a) because it flexes a muscle you need flexed and does so in a relatively easily approachable topic and b) because the result might be historically interesting.
In short, go for it.
posted by inturnaround at 8:18 AM on May 2, 2011
Think about that video that someone posted on the blue last week of a man from Germany who filmed street life in NYC in 1983 and 1986. Just normal things. And people enjoyed that.
I think you should do it a) because it flexes a muscle you need flexed and does so in a relatively easily approachable topic and b) because the result might be historically interesting.
In short, go for it.
posted by inturnaround at 8:18 AM on May 2, 2011
It's not like there is a shortage of available opinions from random people today being preserved already, because so many journalists go to that lazy bullshit in preference to spending the time researching an actual story, and because so many non journalists spend so much of their days typing their opinions directly into the historical record. There are like five billion comments in the Osama thread here that are just as worthwhile as anything you could get by walking up to random people on the Manhattan sidewalks and asking them. Probably more worthwhile.
If you want to flex your interviewing skills, that is a great idea. Find someone who has done something or who knows something worth interviewing them about, and interview them. Be a journalist, not a half-assed pollster.
posted by ook at 10:10 AM on May 2, 2011 [1 favorite]
If you want to flex your interviewing skills, that is a great idea. Find someone who has done something or who knows something worth interviewing them about, and interview them. Be a journalist, not a half-assed pollster.
posted by ook at 10:10 AM on May 2, 2011 [1 favorite]
As a random American who consumes a fair amount of news each day, I'm already pretty burned out with hearing every so-and-so's opinions and reactions to this. I do feel, though, that one important perspective has been under-represented so far: the response of American Muslims. If you were to hang out around a couple of mosques and talk to the people there, that might be a worthy contribution.
posted by Corvid at 11:53 AM on May 2, 2011
posted by Corvid at 11:53 AM on May 2, 2011
This thread is closed to new comments.
posted by The Whelk at 6:39 AM on May 2, 2011 [1 favorite]