The journalism experience as a Tibetan: Audio post  

On Nov. 1, 2022, Youdon Tenzin talked about her experience as a Tibetan in journalism. (TMU J-SCHOOL/Aliya Karimjee)

By Aliya Karimjee, Nov. 3, 2022

Hello gossip readers! Today’s tea is about conducting a one-on-one interview —a skill you’ll master by the end of this blog post. First, I had to choose a subject. As a journalism student, it would be helpful to interview an upper-year student about their experience in journalism at TMU. Next, I had to find someone to interview, so I contacted my upper-year journalism friend Amelia for help. Unfortunately, she switched to creative industries, but she connected me with her best friend, Youdon Tenzin. After a bit of ‘Instagram stalking,’ I was set on interviewing her because her cultural background, which inspired her journalism experience, created an exciting angle for the story. I got her contact, texted her to set up a meeting time, and then we started recording.

Setting up the interview is mostly about preparing your questions and knowing your subject. As previously mentioned, I ‘Instagram stalked’ Youdon Tenzin to know who I was interviewing and what I should ask. Next, I started thinking about questions about her journalism experience as a Tibetan and included one about her published article, “Coming Out, Conquering all & Creating a Trans Icon.” Finally, at the interview, I brought my notepad with my questions written on it, listened to her answers, and asked some follow-up questions.

Youdon is amplifying the Tibetan community’s voice through journalism.

I learned how to conduct and edit a one-on-one interview after this project. First, I started with 14 minutes of recording and reduced it to 3 minutes and 55 seconds. Also, I initially prepared seven questions and asked two follow-ups, but due to the short time for the final edit, I kept only six questions and one follow-up. Additionally, I successfully approached Youdon, as she appreciated the angle I was going for regarding her cultural background and journalism experience. I should speak more confidently for future reference, as we could easily sense my nerves. Technically, I should ensure that the audio won’t cut out at a few points or that I don’t hear any background noise, such as the chairs screeching in the study room beside us. Finally, one thing I should do next time is to listen to the full audio before leaving the interview, because a few days later, I had to re-record with her when I realized only 2 minutes had been recorded the first time. Now go out and interview others, gossip readers!