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

Journalists are “no longer restricted to one medium of storytelling,” Andrew Nixon said as he began the Intro to Video Storytelling Workshop at The Sacramento Press Wednesday night. You don’t have to use video in every story either, he added. Nixon is a multimedia producer for Capital Public Radio based in Sacramento. His past experiences include professional photojournalism, motion graphics, web platforms and currently video journalism. Several of his own videos, some of which incorporate his background in still-frame photography, were used as examples for the techniques he delivered to an audience of about 35 budding journalists, artists and editors. Mentioning from the beginning th

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

The Sacramento Press office was buzzing with questions at the Interviewing Techniques workshop on Tuesday, June 30.  Holly Heyser, Faculty Adviser for The State Hornet and Professional Journalist in Residence at Sac State, went over the key steps to a good interview.  About 12 people showed up and learned a lot about one another, firsthand accounts of what it's like to be a historian, what it's like to be a part of a television show and what it was like to offer aide to New Orleans residents as a part of FEMA. The Sacramento Press holds regular journalism workshops each month on various topics.  To sign up for the e-mail list and receive invitations to future workshops, please e-mail j

The Art (and Science) of Interviewing Martin Kuz, Senior Editor for Sactown magazine, March 19, 2009 Pre-Interview Deciding what your story is about will help you determine what questions to ask. What are the primary points or themes you want to touch on in your story?  Who is your audience? Understanding who reads the publication you’re writing for – and what writing style that publication prefers — will also help you craft your questions. Research your subject. Read what’s been written about the person. Depending on the story’s complexity, talk to other sources before you interview the main subject. Prepare a list of questions and bring it to the interview. Ideally, you’ll have yo

Experienced journalists, students, photographers and community members delved into the art and science of interviewing during the Interviewing Techniques workshop given Thursday at the Sacramento Press office.   Martin Kuz, Senior Editor from Sactown magazine provided an in-depth approach to interviewing. Kuz has been a journalist for 15 years and has worked for alternative weekly and daily publications such as the Los Angeles Daily News, the Cleveland Scene, the Las Vegas Sun and has also been a staff writer for SF Weekly. He has won awards for a variety of stories, including a profile on Golden State Warriors coach Don Nelson, the U.S. Military's reluctance to divulge details on non-co