Be positive:
Chasing down the best people to interview is an important skill in broadcast journalism - whether they're players, eyewitnesses or experts. It can mean a lot of phone calls and dead ends.
It's vital that you stay positive - believing that you will get that interview. If you don't, the chances are you'll think yourself into failure.
Getting an interview is much tougher for a broadcast journalist than it is for someone working in text. It's not usually enough just to speak to the interviewee on the phone and note down a few quotes. You usually need to get your interviewee 'on the record' and that often means they have to take time out of their day to take part in your piece or programme. It also means they have to put themselves out there, telling their story or making their argument in their own name.
You might need to persuade them - so have good arguments why they should want to take part. And though you might be able to see 100 reasons why they might not want to, you must still assume they'll want to and sound like you assume they'll want to.
Put yourself in the potential interviewee's place: 'I don't suppose you'd be interested in talking to us about ...' sounds far more negative than 'We'd like to give you the opportunity to tell our listeners/viewers why ...'
Which one would you be more likely to say 'yes' to?
