John Herbert, once again, goes into great detail in both of these excerpts about the practise of interviewing people.  Whilst they both cover similar topics, the ten pages from Journalism in the Digital Age is almost more of a step-by-step guide for student journalists.  The bullet points flow through the whole process of interviewing, like a recipe.  Whilst information about what to bring to an interview, how to prepare, and even how to dress and act during the conversation is explored in both excerpts, Journalism in the Digital Age is much more concise.  Almost something that could be printed off by journalism students and pinned on a wall.  A bible, almost.

In contrast, the Journalism Principles and Practise goes much more in depth into exploring the interview process.  This time with further research and quotes, made by established journalists, to back up the points made, Herbert goes into great detail in articulating how a journalist should act throughout the whole process, methodically and ethically.  

There are multiple examples of what he's describing, which makes the text easy to understand, but possibly the most important section across both of these texts covers Skype interviews.  With the current climate, I've been extremely interested in how journalism might be shaped in the new, post-COVID era.  It's clear that interviews conducted over the phone, or online, have a different feel to them, but advice such as 'stand up and move as you might during a conversation' really made me think.  I believe I'm part of a generation that's fearful of phone conversations, but it's clear that, moving into a digital age, this should be a skill honed and perfected.  

Having read this information before this weeks' task, of conducting an interview for a first-person feature, I can say that following this guidance was really important in conducting an interview professionally. 

Finally, as someone hoping to be a documentary filmmaker, the section about televised interviews and those done behind closed doors was really interesting.  The idea that televised, or visually recorded, interviews are some sort of performance really made me think.  This should be something that I explore further in my remaining time at university.

Harcup, Tony (2015) Journalism: Principles and Practise: 3rd ED. Sage Publications Ltd.: London.

Herbert, John (1999) Journalism in the Digital Age. Reed Educational and Professional Publishing Ltd 2000: Oxford