Using a tape recorder as a newspaper journalist has both advantages and disadvantages. On the one hand, you don’t have to rely on memory and hastily scribbled notes. On the other hand, you risk becoming a passive listener and, of course, having your full interview gobbled up by the mysterious tape recorder gremlins.
How do you record your interviews?
There are many digital and tape based recorders available for journalists to use to get their stories right. Some higher-end ones with mics and level adjustments are designed for radio or podcasting. Some handheld ones are limited in sound quality and are best for simply assisting you with your notes. Attachments are available that allow you to record telephone interviews. These devices attach to the cord between the receiver and the phone, so if you are using your cellphone or a cordless phone, they won’t work.
Some people will put the interview subject on speakerphone and record the interview this way. The problem occurs if the subject objects to being put on speakerphone; however, this objection is becoming less common as many people use their cells on speaker for convenience.
When looking for a recorder, try to find one with an ability to insert a memory card or USB cord. Otherwise, you will be limited by the storage available on your recorder.
These days many people are using their smart phones or even bringing their laptops to the interview. There are even apps that allow you to record your phone calls using your smart phone.
It’s considered a best practice to tell someone you are going to tape your phone call. In some cases, it’s necessary by law or because you will need to pause the conversation to set it up. Also tell them why. Don’t podcast the interview if they think it’s for a print article.
In this post, we’re going to assume that we are talking about interviews for articles (not Q&As) that you are going to write and publish either in print or on the web.
Disadvantages
Time taken to listen to the tape. If you conduct an hour-long interview listening to the recording and finding the quotes you need can be a hassle.
Poor recording, battery trouble, thinking that you turned the recorder on and other technical and user errors. If you didn’t take notes and you didn’t turn the tape recorder on, you’re out of luck. Always take notes, even when you think you’re recording.
Passive listening. When you are taking notes, you are actively listening to what is being said rather than passively allowing information to flow over you. For many people, this helps catch missing information, inconsistencies and key points. This will assist you in asking follow up questions and verifying missing information. You might write down these questions as they occur to you, so you don’t forget to ask them later. If you are taking notes during a long meeting, or speech, you might think of things you can ask during question period. You might pin people down as they are leaving the meeting or schedule a conversation later. When taking notes and actively thinking about the issue under discussion, another angle that leads to a bigger story may occur to you. It’s your job as a reporter to dig deeper.
Tense Interviewee. A skittish source may become uncomfortable at the site of a tape recorder. All of a sudden the conversation becomes less casual and turns into a big deal. They may withdraw their consent to be interviewed or insist that they want to talk “off record” which in many cases will render their interview useless.
Keeping track of many voices during a meeting. You may think you can easily distinguish between multiple voices, but once you leave the meeting it can be difficult to remember the names of the people present, and who said what. If you have a notebook with at least part of their remarks next to their names, you may be able to piece the puzzle together.
Advantages
Getting the quote right. If you are one of several reporters at an event, it can be embarrassing if everyone quotes the same line and yours is the only one that’s different. If you aren’t positive that you wrote a quote down exactly, it’s inappropriate to put it in quotation marks. The best you can do is paraphrase, which means you will miss some great quotes. “Mark my words. There is no way this city is going to fund that bridge project alone,” is a more powerful statement than, “The mayor said that without joint funding the city wouldn’t pay for the bridge.”
Some politicians and senior executives will even make their own recordings or have a communications assistant do it, so you’ll want to be extremely accurate when quoting.
Procrastination. You may know from your school experiences that notes that made perfect sense at the time of the lecture are often quite useless when the final exam arrives a month later. Notes are best for jogging memory, not for providing a full factual record. If your story gets pushed to the side by more important stories, you may find your notes become harder to understand and some of the quotes are missing context. If you have a recording, you can still salvage your interview and do the fact checking without going back to the source. If not, you should type up your notes as soon as you realize you won’t be getting around to the story soon.
Having evidence. Sometimes people will deny the things they say in interviews. A recording can be evidence that they said it. Libel suits aren’t common because they are expensive and difficult to win. It’s easier for the offended party to just tell everyone they meet that you are out to lunch. However, as a lowly freelancer or staffer you may have to prove to an editor or publisher that the thing was said. Often those being quoted are powerful community members who can be persuasive in their arguments.
No matter how diligent you are, there will always be an embarrassed person trying to disclaim what they said after the fact. I once had a city council member insist vigorously to the whole town that I misquoted what she said at a live city council meeting when, in fact, the whole meeting was filmed and posted on the Internet.
Making a connection with your subject. If you are taking notes on the phone with someone, you’ll still be writing when they stop talking. At an in-person interview, making eye contact is important for encouraging the person to open up and trust you. Don’t forget to assure the person that you’re listening. Remember that the person on the phone can’t see you taking notes. If you don’t let them know what you are doing, they may think you hung up or got disconnected. However, don’t be afraid of silence. I find that often if you don’t ask your next question right away, people may pause, but what they say next is often more elaborate and interesting than their initial answer.
Can’t take notes. If you are doing some sort of experiential reporting, such as paddling a canoe with an experienced bird expert, or you are standing in the pouring rain without an umbrella or in sub-zero temperatures, which happened to me a lot as a Canadian reporter, you might find that you cannot hold a pen, your notebook is soggy or the ink in the pen has decided not to run. In this case you might find that your technology can help you out (as long as it doesn’t freeze or get wet.)
Tips for using a tape recorder
The best practice is to use your tape recorder together with your notepad. Write notes during your interview. When you hear a great quote, write down as much as you can. At the same time, glance at your tape recorder and write the time down. That way if the quote came in at 0:24:14, you can simply fast forward to the right spot and transcribe the great quote.
Checking the time counter regularly will also assure you that the tape recorder is actually running and hasn’t run out of battery or space.
Writers who write the best feature articles are not just those who can recall what was said. They observe everything about the interview – the mannerisms, the location, the clothing, the environment, etc. Great writers will pull all of these impressions into an article that goes beyond dictation.
As you get more experienced, you will devise the systems that work best for you depending on the situation.
Are you interested in learning more about becoming a journalist? How to Become a Journalist without a Degree is a step-by-step guide to publishing your first news article and feature. Get it today.
I was a columnist for The Charlotte Observer for years and always recorded my interviews. So much easier.
Thanks for sharing!