On Thursday, the Sacramento Press hosted a workshop to help writers get the most out of their interviews by discussing pre-interview techniques, how to create better questions and how to make the subject feel comfortable during the process. Guest Speaker Rick Ele was a DJ and radio host for 17 years for the freeform community radio station KDVS 90.3 FM in Davis. Ele has interviewed over 100 bands, musicians, authors and more. Even though he is no longer a primary DJ and host for the station, he still volunteers to host a show about once a month. "(My goal is) helping people find an ounce of courage to develop a rapport, do the research, which conveys you've put that effort into it and it

Most people would jump at the chance to interview their favorite band, but when they actually sit down to do the interview, sometimes the questions and answers fall flat. With a limited time constraint and the pressure of hitting it off with the musicians you admire, the nerves and lack of preparation might make you wish you had a do-over when all is said and done. Rick Ele will help you get the most out of your interviews – with musicians or the chef at the new restaurant – at his Breaking the Ice Interview Workshop. The workshop will be held at the Sacramento Press office, from 6:30 - 8 p.m. Thursday, April 19. Ele has been a DJ and radio host for 17 years at the freeform community rad

Thanks to those of you who came to the "Writing about Wine and Spirits" workshop in March. Read the recap here. We have two journalism workshops planned for April. Clare Noonan will teach a workshop on interviewing techniques at The Sacramento Press office from 6:30-8 p.m. Thursday, April 7. Noonan has a bachelor's degree in journalism from the University of Kentucky. She currently edits 11 East Bay Patch.com sites. She worked at The Modesto Bee for more than 20 years as a reporter for business, news, feature and sports while also copy editing. She also worked as assistant news editor and assistant city editor in charge of the Crime and Safety beat during her time at The Bee. She has be

We have two new workshops scheduled for the month of February. The first is scheduled from 6:30 - 8 p.m. Feb. 16 at The Sacramento Press office. JT Long will teach this workshop, titled "Write Smarter." Long is an independent journalist and SEO copywriter for publications such as Engineering News-Record, Comstock's Magazine and PublicCEO. She creates communities by telling stories. Long will discuss how to get the most out of your stories so you can use them in different publications. She will cover how to improve your interviewing skills, so you can gather enough information for multiple stories, how to come up with targeted leads and other tips that will benefit freelancers. Sacrame

We would like to invite you to our second workshop of the month - an interviewing techniques workshop at The Sacramento Press office from 6:30 - 8 p.m. on Wednesday, May 26. The interview is one of the most important parts of a story. Which questions to ask, how much time you'll need and whether to take notes or use a tape recorder are all key to conducting a successful interview and writing a compelling story. We are happy to have Doug Herndon teach the workshop. Herndon is an English and journalism professor at Sacramento City College and adviser to the college's newspaper, The Express. He has been a professional writer for more than 15 years and has worked for Sacramento Magazine, Th

For those of you who missed our first Interviewing Techniques workshop, given by Sactown Magazine's Senior Editor, Martin Kuz, we'll be having another one on Wednesday, April 15 from 6:30 to 8 p.m. Molly Dugan, an Assistant Professor of Journalism and Communication Studies at Sacramento State, will discuss how to tailor your interviews toward articles that you would be writing for Sacramento Press. Attendees will learn the art of interviewing and the types of articles that work best for our site. We'll serve food at 6:30 p.m. and the workshop will start at 6:45 p.m. Our office is located at 431 I Street, Suite 107 in the Amtrak station. We are in the same building complex as the Starbuc

Don't miss out on our next workshop, Interviewing Techniques, which will be held this Thursday, March 19, from 6:30 - 8 p.m. Stephen Magagnini will be leading an interactive workshop on how to make the most out of interviews, which will help to improve the quality of your writing, whether it be for school, Sacramento Press or your career. Magagnini has taught journalism, advanced composition, investigative reporting and narrative writing at UC Davis. He continues to teach professional journalists how to do their jobs better as part of USC's Institute for Justice and Journalism and Health Journalism Fellowships, and the American Press Institute's seminars on compelling writing. He's bee