Alec Klein, an award-winning investigative journalist and Northwestern University professor, presents tips for finding and interviewing sources throughout investigative projects during the free, full-day workshop, "Finding Your Best Investigative Business Story." This training event was hosted by the Donald W. Reynolds National Center for Business Journalism and the the SPJ Madison Pro Chapter at the University of Wisconsin-Madison, Sept. 28, 2013. For more information about free training for business journalists, please visit http://businessjournalism.org. For more tips on how to develop investigative business journalism stories, please visit http://bit.ly/investigativebiz2013.

1. Presented
by
Alec
Klein
Professor,
Medill
School
of
Journalism
Northwestern
University
Madison,
Wis.,
Sept.28,
2013
How
to
get
people
to
open
up

2. ¡ I
was
accused
of
being
like
this.
¡ We’re
supposed
to
not
know.
¡ Have
them
condescend
to
you.
¡ “Treat
me
like
a
fifth
grader.”
¡ Don’t
have
an
ego
about
this.
¡ Need
to
be
absolutely
sure
to
write
authoritatively

3. ¡ New
at
WSJ
¡ Ordered
to
write
lead
news
story
¡ IBM
¡ Earnings
¡ Sweat
¡ Call
analyst:
What’s
P&L?
¡ Cancel
subscription

4. ¡ You
may
know
the
answer
already.
¡ To
wit:
How
old
are
you?
¡ Answer:
51
¡ Thought
52
¡ Yeah,
actually
52
¡ If
small
lie,
is
there
a
bigger
lie?

5. ¡ AOL
series:
Almost
a
year
into
it
¡ Had
hundreds
of
confidential
documents
¡ Had
well-­‐placed
sources
¡ Editor
called
me
into
his
office.
¡ Mused:
Wouldn’t
it
be
nice
…
¡ Vice
president
of
finance

6. ¡ Ask
the
same
question
five
times.
¡ But
in
different
ways
¡ At
different
times
¡ To
wit:
Do
you
know
a
vice
president-­‐level
finance
guy
who
had
raised
questions
about
AOL’s
finances?

7. ¡ When
to
use
the
notebook
¡ Versus
¡ When
not
to
use
the
notebook
¡ When
to
tape
record
vs.
¡ When
not
to
tape
record
§ Billionaire:
I
want
to
be
able
to
deny
I
had
this
conversation.

8. ¡ During
the
interview,
you
need
to
think
about
several
things
at
the
same
time:
§ The
lede
§ The
images
to
capture
§ The
details
to
portray
§ Is
this
the
first
of
many
interviews
or
a
one-­‐shot
deal?
§ Why,
why,
why?
§ The
cosmic
point
§ Follow-­‐up
questions

9. ¡ When
people
say
you
got
it
wrong,
that
you
made
a
mistake,
check
it
out
thoroughly.
¡ Sometimes,
it
can
help
¡ Red
Hat
¡ The
Reluctant
Interviewee
¡ What
do
you
do
when
they
won’t
talk?
¡ Options:
§ Call
§ Email
§ Letter
§ Certified
letter:
know
they
got
it,
but
act
of
war?
§ Intermediary:
someone
they
know

10. ¡ Take
chances
§ Bridgestone/Firestone
¡ Don’t
take
no
for
an
answer
§ Surgeon
General
¡ Go
there
§ Gettysburg
¡ Last
Words
of
Advice
¡ Bob
Woodward
§ Show
up
early
¡ Me
§ Show
up
late

11. ¡ When
starting
a
new
investigative
business
story,
where
do
you
begin?
¡ The
onion:
otherwise
known
as
the
circling
effect
¡ Begin
on
the
outside,
work
your
way
in:
§ Family
§ Friends
§ Friends
of
friends
§ Customers
§ Suppliers
§ Competitors
§ Unions
§ Associations
§ Former
employees
§ Current
employees
§ Secretaries
§ Executives

12. ¡ At
their
homes
¡ After
hours
¡ On
weekends
¡ Away
from
places
where
they
are
monitored
or
overheard
§ At
bars
§ Restaurants
§ Bowling
alleys
¡ Places
Where
People
Network:
§ Conventions
§ Industry
gatherings
§ Trade
shows
▪ Exchange
business
cards
▪ Socialize
▪ Network

13. ¡ Yes,
they
can
be
a
bit
odd.
¡ But
they
often
know
their
stuff
because
they
have
no
other
life.
¡ Don’t
dismiss
the
PR
people.
¡ Example:
secret
bonuses
¡ But
also:
AT&T
cable
assets
§ “You
didn’t
ask
the
right
question.”
Image
by
flickr
user
Meg
Marco

14. Example:
Anonymous
tipster:
“How
did
you
find
me?”

16. ¡ No
secret
¡ It
takes
time
¡ Trust
¡ Willingness
to
protect
sources
¡ Are
you
willing
to
go
to
jail
for
them?

17. ¡ Exchange
of
information
¡ Once
you
have
information
they
want,
then
you
become
valuable.
¡ You
have
something
to
barter.
¡ As
long
as
it’s
not
confidential
information

18. ¡ Define
the
terms.
¡ Explain
why
it’s
important
to
go
on
the
record
¡ Move
sources
up
the
ladder
§ Off
the
record
§ On
background
§ On
the
record
¡ Sometimes,
refuse
to
go
off
the
record:
why?
§ It
can
tie
your
hands.

19. ¡ Reading
back
quotes?
¡ Showing
stories
pre-­‐publication

20. ¡ Do
we
let
sources
go?
Do
we
let
them
change
their
minds?
¡ My
opinion:
Let
sources
go.
¡ Example:
AOL

21. ¡ No
surprises
¡ Always
let
them
know
what’s
going
on,
even
if
it
works
against
you.
¡ Better
for
them
to
be
angry
at
you
before
publication
than
after,
when
it’s
too
late
¡ AOL
§ 21-­‐page,
single-­‐spaced
letter
¡ Credit
raters
§ Removed
lede
anecdote
even
though
information
obtained
independently

22. ¡ Repeatedly
¡ A
Woodward
technique
¡ You
need
to
know
when
you
can
trust
your
sources.
¡ Example:
whether
FTC
would
approve
AOL-­‐Time
Warner
merger
§ Origins:
Editor:
Woodward
was
a
new
reporter,
too.
§ FTC
threatens
pre-­‐publication:
Last
story
you’ll
write
§ Sources
at
the
heart
of
the
secret

23. ¡ Please
feel
free
to
contact
me
at
alecklein@gmail.com.