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It's all
about respect By Jacinta Feldman Jack Brammer doesn’t usually wear a suit, but he showed up at Georgetown College on July 20 in a blazer and a black and white tie. He said he did it out of respect for his audience. Brammer, a reporter in the Lexington Herald-Leader’s Frankfort Bureau, spoke to the students at KPA’s “journalism boot camp” about interviewing techniques and writing complex stories. But everything kept coming back to one central topic: respect. He stressed the importance of having respect for everyone: editors, colleagues and especially sources. He said a balance between confidence in yourself and respect for your source can make getting the story much easier. “You can ask the tough questions, but you don’t have to be the mean dude on press row,” Brammer told the students. He gave the students tips on how to prepare for an interview. He said he always tries to research the topic, prepare questions and arrive 15 minutes early. Brammer, who has interviewed governors from John Y. Brown Jr. to Paul Patton, said he tries to make the person he is interviewing comfortable and relaxed. He likes to interview sources in their environment, so they are more at ease. If people are more comfortable, they are often more willing to open up to a reporter, he explained. “You’re just being human with these people, and you’re getting them to talk,” he said. Brammer told the students they should get excited about every story they write, no matter how long or short. He said even after 20 years, he still gets “pumped up” about every story he does. “I still get a kick,” he said. “I love my job.”
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