Broadcast Journalist

☛ What do you like to read on your own time?

☛ Describe a time you found and pitched your own story.

☛ Share some examples of your best work.

☛ What was your role in putting together [this work sample]?

☛ How do you cope with the stress of tight deadlines?

☛ How do you ensure accuracy in your work?

☛ What publishing software have you used before?

☛ How often do you use social media? Which sites do you use the most?

☛ How would you rate your ability to use technology for storytelling? What are your strengths and weaknesses in this area?

☛ Describe a time you worked with a multidisciplinary team to tell a story.

☛ What do you know about our publication? What could we do better?

☛ Who would you consider to be our competitors?

☛ How familiar are you with our staff writers? Whose work do you follow and why?

☛ What current stories that are relevant to our publication?

☛ What is your favorite place in this city?

☛ Define how you would add to our publication?

☛ What was the most-inspiring story you have ever written?

☛ Give me the three best qualities of your writing style?

☛ Tell me about a time when you showed determination to finish a story.

☛ If given an assignment to write about a non-current event, what topic would you choose and why?

☛ If you were to write for our blog, how would you make it better?

☛ Tell me about all the forms of writing you like to engage in?

☛ Being a journalist is a 24/7 job, are you ready for that?

☛ How well are your listening skills?

☛ Our sports team is doing great, have you been watching them?

☛ What do you think about our current Governor?

☛ How would you better the city you wrote for? Give me a few examples of how your writing and reporting would affect the city.

☛ Do you have the ability to work under pressure to beat publication deadlines?

☛ Give me examples of times when you have worked under pressure to beat deadlines and have your story in on time. My next question is were you procastinating?

☛ Give me an example of when you worked irregular hours?

☛ What could you improve upon in your writing style?

☛ On your free time, where do you usually spend your time in this city?

☛ What is your favorite inspirational point, place, to write?

☛ What is your favorite novel?

☛ Which current writer, are you inspired by or appreciate the most?

☛ What are your thoughts on childhood education? Should school be all year long?

☛ What are your thoughts on abortion?

☛ What do you feel about the mortgage crisis?

☛ Are you okay with being blamed for a story that could tarnish the life of another?

☛ Would you be hesitant to ask uncomfortable questions?

☛ Are you afraid to interview citizens?

☛ Would you rather write a story that laid down the facts, or would you add an element that would entertain the audience?

☛ If I told you, our writers must write in a blog, would you be okay with that?

☛ What writing would interest you most in this position?

☛ What was the last book you read?

☛ What is your favorite writing topic?

☛ Would you enjoy reporting about a scandal in the mayors office?

☛ Would you enjoy writing a story about a successful business in the area?

☛ Would you enjoy writing a story about a local child who just overcame a severe illness?

☛ Tell me the most interesting current affair in your mind?

☛ How would you rate your spelling?

☛ How would you rate your grammar?

☛ What is most important to your writing style?

☛ What are the three qualities you look for in every story you write?

☛ What was the worst story you have ever written? Why was it your worst?

☛ Would you roll up stress in a ball and throw it out the window?

☛ How would you handle stress?

☛ Do you blog?

This gives you an opportunity to let the interviewer know what inspires you and the type of interests you have. The likeliness is that you have several journalists you admire for different reasons so try to pick one that's most related to the position, and who most reflects the style of the publication. Give solid reasons why you like their style and explain how you have developed your own style through examples. Everybody has influences, and the way we work them into our work is a real test of originality. Remember this doesn't have to just be about writing style. You could admire a journalist for the stories they cover and the position they've taken on certain issues. With this in mind, make sure you know where the company stands on certain issues so you don't voice anything that could contradict their image. Many publications have well documented political affiliations so be very careful not to criticise these. As any good journalist should know, research is key.

While there are some fundamentals that all journalists need, such as basic knowledge of journalistic standards and practices, your interviewer will be more interested in your own individual take on what characteristics are ideal for a journalist. While it is important that you make your interviewer aware that you understand what the position entails, they want to know about how you approach the position and the qualities you possess which you feel will help you the most in the position. Looking back on the job posting and paying attention to their position requirements can give you an idea of what the employer is looking for in a candidate. Specifically highlighting these aspects of yourself should be beneficial to you during the Journalist interview questions and answers.

Journalism is changing rapidly and the technical skills required in the changeover to digital are vast and ever-changing. Often there won't be anyone to train you, so stress in your interview your general awesome technical expertise and your current level of comfort with digital editing programs, social media and the like. Show your future boss that you're a multi-tasker with traditional journalism skills and technical expertise. As jobs become less specialized in journalism, all-round stars like yourself will shine. Putting together a portfolio with a demo tape is a great way to demonstrate this as well as citing specific examples from your past work or school experience where you learned on the job and aced new programs.

If you're going to work in broadcast journalism, you'll need intimate knowledge of current affairs and a strong interest in news. But employers aren't just looking for someone who cracks open The New York Times every day or tunes into the nightly news. Knowledge of the digital news landscape is a must. Hone those Twitter lists, beef up Feedly with your fave blogs, start subscribing to top news outlets on Google+, get comfortable with Storify and start exploring how Pinterest and Instagram are the next wave in journalistic storytelling. If you can get across to the interviewer that you understand the digital landscape, nay that you thrive on it, you're definitely going to come out ahead.