A few months ago I wrote about my quest to contact my journalism idol, Steve Hartman from CBS News. Through the power of networking, social media, and good old guts, I tracked Steve down via email. That email turned into a phone call. That phone call turned into me teaching a network news correspondent how to use Skype. Seriously. I have the tape to prove it. It’s awesome.
My goal through this process was to show my students what’s possible when you go after something you really want. Kind of like tracking down the story. Of course, there were a few life lessons along the way and Steve mentions some of these in our conversation.
The were many takeaways from our conversation with Steve Hartman, such as, learning what’s the one question he asks to get to the heart of a story. You’ll have to watch the video to hear the answer, and it’s very cool. And how he never loved to write, but he just kept working at it. In Steve’s words, “writing is a craft, not an art, so hard work will make you better.”
Steve also mentioned to my students that they must “become really comfortable getting criticism.” And then the statement that generated a very loud groan from my students, “he (meaning yours truly) is not there to boost your ego, he’s there to make you better.”
I’m proud to share with you the interview my students of Ladue View and I conducted last month. It was a thrill of a lifetime for me, and I’m pretty sure my student’s learned quite a bit as well. Enjoy.
[embedyt] http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sbIXY_D8ch0[/embedyt]
Written By: Don Goble