I need to find and interview " a local personality" before wednesday. Any ideas?!?

Question

So, I have to find and interview a local personality before wednesday...and so far everyone who I have managed to get in touch with dont want to be interviewed by a student journo.

Any ideas on what I do now?!

Answer 1

your county EMA/disaster administator

red cross chairman

boy/girl scout council chairman

contact your local Junior Achievment and ask who they would recommend as "youth friendly" and interview the CEO or CIO.

Answer 2

Yeah, dude.

Think outside the box.

Don't just try to score an interview with the local weatherman or the mayor or another inaccessible "personality".

Do a little research - track down a more common local person - say, a local businessman/woman active in a charity or other admirable pursuit.

...or something along those lines.

People can be notable for all sorts of reasons.

Answer 3

Here are some ideas:

a local weatherman

a local news anchor

the mayor

the police chief

the fire chief

member of the board of education

local businessman

city councilperson

head of parks and recreation dept

local National Guard commander

local scientist/engineer/doctor

At least one of these will respond. But it would be better if you had a topic in mind to talk to them about. Anything they might have said in your local newspaper in the past month, or any newspaper article about them or their department, these are good starting points.

Answer 4

Try contacting your local football team & invite one of their star players to be interviewed.

Or ask a presenter from your local radio to allow you to interview him on air (tape it).

Or ask a prominent local businessman that is a household name for his firms work.

Any publicity you can offer via local papers or radio may make them more likely to agree since celebrities believe that all publicity is good.

Answer 5

Here's a list to start with:

Mayor

High School coach or principal

Sheriff or police chief

Fire Chief

popular restaurant owner

unusual business owner

life guard

Chamber of Commerce director

a popular or controversial local pastor

A well known minority figure

good luck, peace

Answer 6

All of these are great answers, but let's remember your trouble...you're a student journalist. We journalists should try to remember what that was like...and sometimes, if there's a big journalism school nearby, these people have all been interviewed five million times already.

Look...anyone is a personality, it doesn't have to be the mayor, etc. Find someone you feel will talk to you, ANYONE, and just start asking them questions about their life. You will be surprised how interesting just an average person is. Come up with a lot of questions first, and just ask away. But you have to find someone who likes to talk, that's important.

I've heard stories about professors, and real editors, that would take student journalists or interns, show them a map, close their eyes, and point to a location...and make them go find a story there. If you want the job, you go find a story...if you don't, you really shouldn't be a journalist.

Answer 7

Interview someone involved in helping people, like a homeless shelter or a free clinic. They can always use the attention.