How to Ask Questions in a News Conference

A news conference can be intimidating for a novice reporter. Someone important is usually speaking and you are surrounded by journalists from every media outlet in town. There is an art to asking the right questions at a news conference. It is a struggle to get the speakers away from their media releases and give earnest answers. Asking questions in the right way can get speakers to reveal things they don't want to. This will earn you the thanks and admiration of every journalist in the room.

Difficulty: Moderate

Instructions

1. Distinguish between questions to gather information and questions to evoke sound bites and quotes. Questions for information are asked in situations where you don't know what happened and the person holding the news conference has the information. Questions for sound bites and quotes are asked to provoke emotion or opinion. These are the elements that humanize a news story.

2. Ask questions quickly if it is a reluctant news conference. Sometimes a public official or celebrity will hold a news conference to get the media off his back. After answering a few questions she declares the news conference over. If you suspect that you are in that situation, ask your important questions right away. You don't have time to be subtle. Wait for his opening statement to end then ask your question immediately and raise your voice if you have to. You will need to be louder than your fellow reporters nearly all speak at once. Usually the reporter who refuses to stop talking gets to finish her question.

3. Listen to questions other reporters ask. The first questions in a news conference is usually about the basics. Reporters want to know the who, what, where, when and why of the issue. Listen for the answers given. Often the people holding a news conference give incomplete answers or avoid answering altogether. This is when you must follow up with aggressive questioning. Demand complete answers or at least make them explain why they won't answer.

4. Inquire about context. Any reporter can repeat the facts of a story. To make your story special, help people understand what it means. For example, ask a veteran police officer his personal reaction to seeing a particularly heinous crime scene. If he says it was the worst he has ever seen it means far more than if you say that. You can also ask someone to describe their sensation of surprise or relief in a good news story. Answers to these kinds of questions are used by all the reporters at the news conference in their subsequent stories.

5. Set them up. If the people holding the news conference are being less than forthcoming, catch them in their own contradictions. Remind them of previous statements and established facts then demand to know how they can explain discrepancies. It doesn't necessarily matter whether they answer a question like that. Their hesitation or refusal is telling and can be featured prominently in your story.

Tips & Warnings

• Television reporters may want to show themselves asking questions in news conferences. If you are going to do this, make sure your photographer knows your plan. It helps to have two cameras so you don't miss the answer. Make sure you are on a separate microphone from the podium mic used by the speaker