PDX Media Day: Asking Questions

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By Amalia Carkeek-Hercey

On Friday, March 8, I went with my Mass Communications class to PDX Media Day at the White Stag building in Old Town Portland, along with many other schools from the Portland Metro Area. We went to learn, over the course of the day, about various things in the media industry that would help us in our own endeavors as hopeful reporters.

My favorite mini-lecture that I attended that day was by Molly Harbarger, a current farming and resources reporter at the Oregonian who’s been there for seven years. She doesn’t just report on farming and resources, though- she’s recently covering the measles outbreak and also reports on crime and disturbances in Portland, as seen on the Oregon Live website. Her job frequently requires her to ask difficult questions to people from all walks of life, from elected officials to the homeless.

I appreciated her deep knowledge of how to talk to people and get the information you’re looking for. She introduced the idea of different types of interviews - combative, follow-up, observatory - and lead us to a more confident way of asking meaningful questions. Her talk was eye-opening, especially when she told us about how she sometimes has to break social rules, like politeness and comfort, when getting the information she needs for her story.