For investigative journalist Madeleine Baran, some of the most important moments in reporting happen before a recorder is even turned on. They happen when a reporter picks up the phone, knocks on a stranger’s door or asks a question that someone might not want to answer.
Baran, the award-winning journalist behind the investigative podcast In the Dark, spoke with University of Mississippi journalism students about the challenges of investigative reporting and the skills she believes young journalists need to develop.
Throughout the discussion, Baran returned to one idea reporters cannot let their own discomfort prevent them from getting a story.
Many young reporters worry about bothering people or being turned down for interviews. Baran encouraged students to move past that fear.
“I’m worried I’m bothering someone,” Baran said, describing a common concern among journalism students. “Like just stop, like stop that kind of thinking.”
She believes approaching sources with confidence can make a difference in whether someone agrees to talk.
Baran compared interviewing to visiting the dentist. If a dentist immediately apologized for the appointment and warned a patient about everything that could go wrong, the patient would likely feel uncomfortable. Instead, a confident and professional approach helps put people at ease.
“I never apologize for talking to somebody,” Baran said.
For Baran, that confidence came through experience.
Early in her career, she interned at the New York Daily News, where she was sent into public places to interview strangers about everyday issues. Sometimes, she would approach 30 or 40 people for a single assignment.
Although the questions were often simple, the repetition helped her become more comfortable talking to people she did not know.
Baran said interviewing is a skill that reporters improve by practicing, making mistakes and learning from them.
She encouraged students to listen back to their recorded interviews and pay attention to how they introduce themselves, ask questions and respond to sources.
“Just view yourself as like a character who needs improvement,” Baran said. “What can I do that might be different?”
Rather than blaming someone who refuses an interview, Baran said reporters should consider whether a different approach might have produced a better result.
That mindset has become an important part of the reporting process for In the Dark, where Baran and her team can spend years investigating a single story.
One of the podcast’s most recognized investigations examined the case of Curtis Flowers, a Mississippi man who was tried six times for the same murders.
During the investigation, Baran and her team spent extensive time examining the case and speaking with people who held very different opinions about what happened.
Instead of avoiding people who disagreed with the investigation, Baran explained that understanding those perspectives was necessary to tell the full story.
The discussion also touched on how journalists should handle uncomfortable or controversial statements during interviews.
Baran said her approach is not to argue with a source or immediately challenge every statement. Instead, she often asks follow-up questions to better understand how that person thinks.
“What do you mean by that? Can you tell me more about that?” Baran said, describing questions she frequently uses.
She explained that understanding a source’s perspective does not mean agreeing with it. It means giving the person an opportunity to explain their thinking so the reporter can better understand the situation.
“I really feel like my role is to try to understand that person as much as I possibly can,” Baran said.
For students beginning their journalism careers, Baran emphasized that reporting is something learned through experience rather than simply studying it in a classroom.
“I really feel like journalism is more of like a skilled trade in that way, where it’s like you just get better by doing it,” Baran said.
She also encouraged students to develop their own story ideas, pursue interviews and take advantage of opportunities to practice reporting.
Baran said young journalists should not wait for an editor or professor to tell them what stories are worth pursuing.
Having original ideas helped her move beyond routine assignments early in her career and eventually pursue longer investigative projects.
“The only thing that got me out of that was having story ideas,” Baran said, referring to the routine assignments she received as a young reporter.
While In the Dark investigations can take years to complete, Baran said the same basic reporting skills apply to shorter stories.
Whether a journalist is investigating a criminal case or covering a local community issue, the work still requires curiosity, persistence and a willingness to ask questions.
For Baran, the biggest lesson for young reporters is that becoming a better journalist starts with doing the work, even when it feels uncomfortable.
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