I think I owned a recorder once, but I haven't seen in a couple of years. I write for a daily newspaper. My life would be entirely too difficult if I had to record everything. That's what good notetaking is for.
wow thats really interesting. The university I attend is one of the best for journalism courses and there is not much of a emphasis on note-taking. They always drill into us to record everything, but it's good to know that is not always nessary.
I had a professor who would just jot down notes during his interviews and when the subject said something quoteworthy, the prof would say "that was so good I have to write it down, can you repeat it?" It's a matter of learning to recognize when the subject says something important.
Then I went to my first job and my recorder died the second day on the job. My editor (jackass that he was, but was right on this) not-so-gently informed me that I wasn't doing a cover story for Vogue and to get over myself and use pen and paper.
It's strange they wouldn't emphasize note-taking, which really is much more important than your ability to press record. Not to mention, you're a lot less likely to have technical difficulties with a notebook and pen.
But you said you're in radio not newspapers, so maybe the rules are entirely different.
Either way, I agree with the person who said you waste valuable time recording everything. If it's a particularly sensitive topic (or one you're likely to be questioned on later and your notes are all you have to go on) or one you anticipate creating some type of multimedia presentation off of, then by all means get it in audio. If it's a routine story, just take good notes and get the key quotes verbatim (even if you have to ask for a repeat, "That was a great quote, I want to make sure I got it right, could you repeat it?").
I would never get things in by deadline if I had to re-listen to a tape every time. It takes practice, but you get a knack for knowing what you need and what you don't. Typing also helps - I never hand write phone interviews because I'm faster on the keyboard.
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It's a matter of learning to recognize when the subject says something important.
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Then I went to my first job and my recorder died the second day on the job. My editor (jackass that he was, but was right on this) not-so-gently informed me that I wasn't doing a cover story for Vogue and to get over myself and use pen and paper.
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But you said you're in radio not newspapers, so maybe the rules are entirely different.
Either way, I agree with the person who said you waste valuable time recording everything. If it's a particularly sensitive topic (or one you're likely to be questioned on later and your notes are all you have to go on) or one you anticipate creating some type of multimedia presentation off of, then by all means get it in audio. If it's a routine story, just take good notes and get the key quotes verbatim (even if you have to ask for a repeat, "That was a great quote, I want to make sure I got it right, could you repeat it?").
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