FRESH AIR ASSIGNMENT

1.
a. The subject of, "Sean Michael Flynn, 'From Ground Zero to Baghdad' " was the Fighting 69th: the New York National Guard who started out as a sloppy, rough-shod force and ended up fighting in Baghdad.
b. My favorite interviewing technique in this interview was the depth of knowledge the interviewer had about the subject. This enabled her to ask questions that were pertinent and concise. My favorite question however was merely, "Like?" This was the most open-ended question, and allowed the commander to go off on a slight side-note about roadside bombs that I found more interesting than many of the more thought-out answers. On the flip side, I didn't like how the focus limited the breadth of the interviewees' answers. Everything seemed rather cut-and-dried. If anything, I learned to have a thorough knowledge of the subject, but to let the interviewee volunteer more information.

"Sean Michael Flynn, 'From Ground Zero to Baghdad' "
Fresh Air from WHYY, January 24, 2008
http://www.npr.org/templates/story/story.php?storyId=18373499


2.
a. The subject of, "Held Captive: Hostages Share Their Experience," was the personal experiences of two guests who had at some time or other been held hostage, as well as call-in interviews with other people of similar experience.
b. I liked how open-ended the interviewer's questions were. This led to a more interesting conversation than the previous piece. Some of my favorite questions were, "Tell us briefly what happened to you." "What was that like?" and "Were you afraid for your life?" All of these questions opened up the door for elaboration and personal testimony. I didn't like how the call-in aspect let people who perhaps didn't have as relevant of experience comment. Such as the woman who called in and talked about being held for 4 hours by a sheriff's deputy. I learned that if you ask open-ended questions, you seem to get more interesting answers, but at the same time it is good to have a grasp on the subject and, perhaps more importantly, to have a never-ending stream of pertinent questions on the back-burner to keep the interview flowing, no matter what turn it might take.

"Held Captive: Hostages Share Their Experience"
Talk of the Nation, January 21, 2008
http://www.npr.org/templates/story/story.php?storyId=18286860


3. 

a. The subject of "Heavyweight George Foreman" was divided between boxing, his grill, finances, and business. But everything seemed to come back to business, for the show's focus was a financial one.
b. My favorite question was, "What type of boy was George Foreman?" My favorite technique was the interviewer's ability for controlling the conversation and bringing a rambling George Foreman back to the central issue - which was finances and business investments. It seems like a handy skill to have when interviewing people who like to ramble or have trouble focusing. On the flip side, I didn't like how the interviewers handled this skill, for it seemed like they overused it in this particular interview. This made the interview feel very restrained and dry, and made the hosts seem a bit condescending. I also didn't like how the hosts interrupted Foreman fairly often. It seemed to stifle the more interesting facts and stories just as Foreman was getting in to them. I did however learn how important it is to be able to bring your interviewee's talk back in to focus, but to not be so focused that it kills their true voice/opinions. It seems like a fine line to walk.

"Heavyweight George Foreman"
The Motley Fool, March 31, 2006
http://www.npr.org/templates/story/story.php?storyId=5317123