One issue all student journalists will doubtless have encountered is whether or not to lie to get yourself a story. When phoning an organisation, a council, the police, do you tell them you are a student or lie and call yourself a freelance, or even employed, journalist? Tell the truth and you risk rejection on the grounds of being utterly useless to them, tell a lie and gamble on becoming entangled in a web of lies so complex you are bound to be found out and humiliated.
Our first term was a training ground in dealing with people, this term I think I may have cracked the formula. When dealing with organisations and PRs, a half truth (‘I’m a freelancer working on spec/I’m doing some research/I’m working on a top secret launch, ahem) can go a long way towards getting you what you want. However, what is easy to forget is that real people tend to hate journalists.
We are consistently ranked in the top 10 least trusted professions, along with politicians and estate agents. So in recent assigments involving ordinary people rather than experts or PRs, I have found playing the ‘I’m a poor student card’ has worked to my advantage.
How journalists are seen by many
Student Journalist, Magazine Fancier 