Behavioral Broadcast Journalist Interview Preparation Guide

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Interviewers will be looking to pick out the dedicated pros from the fly-by wannabies. You should convey your enthusiasm for this choice and back it up with examples citing why you have the skills, personal qualities and experience to succeed. They will be looking for a media hungry candidate who co

You can give your honest opinion, however, avoid getting too aggressive. Be careful not to sound too biased and narrow-minded. Support your views with a rational explanation, you can cite examples to support your beliefs.

A journalist is required to know everything about his city. He must know every nook and corner of the city, must be well versed with its history, know all the important people and the governing bodies. With all that information, answering this question should not be difficult. Also mention, in your opinion, how the issue can be taken care of.

If you're going to work in broadcast journalism, you'll need intimate knowledge of current affairs and a strong interest in news. But employers aren't just looking for someone who cracks open The New York Times every day or tunes into the nightly news. Knowledge of the digital news landscape is a must. Hone those Twitter lists, beef up Feedly with your fave blogs, start subscribing to top news outlets on Google+, get comfortable with Storify and start exploring how Pinterest and Instagram are the next wave in journalistic storytelling. If you can get across to the interviewer that you understand the digital landscape, nay that you thrive on it, you're definitely going to come out ahead.

☛ Good spelling, grammar and punctuation!
☛ Evidence of an interest in current affairs.
☛ A strong interest in people, places and events
☛ An ability to write in a clear, easy to understand style
☛ An appreciation of the part a local newspaper plays in the community
☛ A willingness to sometimes work irregular hours
☛ An ability to work under pressure to meet deadlines
☛ Determination and persistence

This offers you an opportunity to demonstrate your knowledge of the industry, touch on the importance of freedom of the press etc.

My ideas and personal perceptions.

Most local papers don't want to upset people. It's important to show your credentials, explain why you want to write a story and say where it will go in the paper. If the story is about a death, you could ask for a photo of their loved one. Most people are happy to talk, but if not give them your card and encourage them to contact you if they change their mind.

This gives you a a chance to demonstrate your awareness of television and radio news and of current affairs programmes.

Yup. Very much.

Journalism is changing rapidly and the technical skills required in the changeover to digital are vast and ever-changing. Often there won't be anyone to train you, so stress in your interview your general awesome technical expertise and your current level of comfort with digital editing programs, social media and the like. Show your future boss that you're a multi-tasker with traditional journalism skills and technical expertise. As jobs become less specialized in journalism, all-round stars like yourself will shine. Putting together a portfolio with a demo tape is a great way to demonstrate this as well as citing specific examples from your past work or school experience where you learned on the job and aced new programs.

Talk about your interest in the beat and how you have been following all the major news stories of that particular beat. Explain to the interviewer how you have the qualities required to excel in the beat. If you have any contacts in the beat, you can talk about it, but do not brag. Show any published work, in the relevant beat. If you are not sure which beat you want to work in, you can mention 2-3 and say you are open to working in either of them.

While there are some fundamentals that all journalists need, such as basic knowledge of journalistic standards and practices, your interviewer will be more interested in your own individual take on what characteristics are ideal for a journalist. While it is important that you make your interviewer aware that you understand what the position entails, they want to know about how you approach the position and the qualities you possess which you feel will help you the most in the position. Looking back on the job posting and paying attention to their position requirements can give you an idea of what the employer is looking for in a candidate. Specifically highlighting these aspects of yourself should be beneficial to you during the Journalist interview questions and answers.

Allows the selector to see if you can provide detailed, interesting and concise information. Think about skills and abilities you've acquired that apply to journalism and practice describing these.

Yeah, maybe to inspire.

This gives you an opportunity to let the interviewer know what inspires you and the type of interests you have. The likeliness is that you have several journalists you admire for different reasons so try to pick one that's most related to the position, and who most reflects the style of the publication. Give solid reasons why you like their style and explain how you have developed your own style through examples. Everybody has influences, and the way we work them into our work is a real test of originality. Remember this doesn't have to just be about writing style. You could admire a journalist for the stories they cover and the position they've taken on certain issues. With this in mind, make sure you know where the company stands on certain issues so you don't voice anything that could contradict their image. Many publications have well documented political affiliations so be very careful not to criticise these. As any good journalist should know, research is key.

Talk about your writing skills, your willingness to sometimes work irregular hours, your determination to succeed and to work to deadlines.

Social Issues.

☛ What is your favorite place in this city?
☛ Define how you would add to our publication?
☛ What was the most-inspiring story you have ever written?
☛ Give me the three best qualities of your writing style?
☛ Tell me about a time when you showed determination to finish a story.
☛ If given an assignment to write about a non-current event, what topic would you choose and why?
☛ If you were to write for our blog, how would you make it better?
☛ Tell me about all the forms of writing you like to engage in?
☛ Being a journalist is a 24/7 job, are you ready for that?
☛ How well are your listening skills?
☛ Our sports team is doing great, have you been watching them?
☛ What do you think about our current Governor?
☛ How would you better the city you wrote for? Give me a few examples of how your writing and reporting would affect the city.
☛ Do you have the ability to work under pressure to beat publication deadlines?
☛ Give me examples of times when you have worked under pressure to beat deadlines and have your story in on time. My next question is were you procastinating?
☛ Give me an example of when you worked irregular hours?
☛ What could you improve upon in your writing style?
☛ On your free time, where do you usually spend your time in this city?
☛ What is your favorite inspirational point, place, to write?
☛ What is your favorite novel?
☛ Which current writer, are you inspired by or appreciate the most?
☛ What are your thoughts on childhood education? Should school be all year long?
☛ What are your thoughts on abortion?
☛ What do you feel about the mortgage crisis?
☛ Are you okay with being blamed for a story that could tarnish the life of another?
☛ Would you be hesitant to ask uncomfortable questions?
☛ Are you afraid to interview citizens?
☛ Would you rather write a story that laid down the facts, or would you add an element that would entertain the audience?
☛ If I told you, our writers must write in a blog, would you be okay with that?
☛ What writing would interest you most in this position?
☛ What was the last book you read?
☛ What is your favorite writing topic?
☛ Would you enjoy reporting about a scandal in the mayors office?
☛ Would you enjoy writing a story about a successful business in the area?
☛ Would you enjoy writing a story about a local child who just overcame a severe illness?
☛ Tell me the most interesting current affair in your mind?
☛ How would you rate your spelling?
☛ How would you rate your grammar?
☛ What is most important to your writing style?
☛ What are the three qualities you look for in every story you write?
☛ What was the worst story you have ever written? Why was it your worst?
☛ Would you roll up stress in a ball and throw it out the window?
☛ How would you handle stress?
☛ Do you blog?

☛ What do you like to read on your own time?
☛ Describe a time you found and pitched your own story.
☛ Share some examples of your best work.
☛ What was your role in putting together [this work sample]?
☛ How do you cope with the stress of tight deadlines?
☛ How do you ensure accuracy in your work?
☛ What publishing software have you used before?
☛ How often do you use social media? Which sites do you use the most?
☛ How would you rate your ability to use technology for storytelling? What are your strengths and weaknesses in this area?
☛ Describe a time you worked with a multidisciplinary team to tell a story.
☛ What do you know about our publication? What could we do better?
☛ Who would you consider to be our competitors?
☛ How familiar are you with our staff writers? Whose work do you follow and why?
☛ What current stories that are relevant to our publication?

☛ What do you consider your biggest strength and weakness?
☛ Why did you leave your last job?
☛ What was your previous job profile?
☛ Why should we select you over all the other candidates?
☛ Why do you want to work with this company?
☛ How do you think you can contribute to this publication?
☛ Where do you see yourself 5/10 years down the line?
☛ What is your ideal job?
☛ What are your salary expectations?
☛ What is your favorite place in this city?

Here the interviewer wants to know which newspaper you read regularly and which news channels you watch. You must have some information about your favorite media house, such as what is their political affiliation, what is their style of writing, if they give priority to a certain type of news, what is their editorial policy, etc.

When answering this question, be honest. Don’t try to class up your response by picking something that you think will make you look smart. Honest answers are always good because it illustrates your personality. This part of the Journalist interview questions and answers is designed to showcase what you find interesting in the news and whether that is a fit for the available position. Also, it proves that you know about current events and have formed concrete journalistic opinions on them. Be sure to point out what makes the story interesting to you and why reporting it would have been an interesting experience. Acknowledging why accuracy was vital to the story, as well as why it was an important story to report upon illustrates your journalistic knowledge and passion in a way that few other answers can. You can also discuss why your point of view on the story could have added more insight or an additional angle to the piece. Making your answer personal and individual can help make a lasting impression on you interviewer.

Give an example. This shows that you can work to deadlines.

Journalism requires a delicate balance of personal and technical skills and employers will want to be sure that you have the right stuff. Since it's such a competitive field you must convey your drive, energy and dedication to the job. You'll need it! Journalism is also a deadline-driven business, so highlight your ability to work in pressure-cooker environments, your interest in teamwork and your people skills. A talent for handling difficult situations with diplomacy and sensitivity is like gold to potential employers. Finally, resourcefulness and creativity in problem solving are important for sourcing stories, managing difficult projects, working in teams and meeting deadlines. Show your potential boss you have all of these qualities and more by discussing specific instances where you met challenges and defeated them, either culled from your schooling, another job or an internship.