Hayden Phillips           

JOUR 271

10/15/12

Sandra Knispel

437 Words

            UNIVERSITY, Miss. – Classroom 124 in Farley Hall had more people standing against the wall than sitting in desks last Thursday at 11 a.m. Students and faculty of the University of Mississippi were gathered together as part of the Meek School of Journalism’s ‘Meek Week.’

            Meek Week at Ole Miss is when numerous professionals from the media world come to lecture and give advice on certain topics over the course of a week. Some students were required to attend specific events by their professors of journalism classes and some went by personal choice.

            Sandra Knispel, a renowned media writer and award winner, was the subject of concentration at 11 a.m. last Thursday. Knispel, a native of Germany, has lived, studied and worked all over Europe and the United States. Now living in Oxford, she has been freelancing for Mississippi Public Broadcasting and National Public Radio since 2002. Knispel is also the general manager and managing editor for The Oxford Enterprise.

            In her lecture, Knispel told about personal experiences that have stood out in her career and gave advice to the students about specific things. Students were also given the chance to ask questions and have a personal experience with Knispel since it was held in a small classroom.

            A student asked if it was really important for a Journalism student at this day and age to be good at many kinds of Media.

“If you want to eat. Gosh…you need to know everything,” Knispel said.

            She started her career out when she moved to New York city at age 23 to work for a German American newspaper in which she shared a bad experience. Knispel stressed repetitively how important it is for young college students to get internships and experience in order to start their careers on the right foot.

            The hour was spent learning the acceptable and non-acceptable actions of reporting and interviewing. There were many stories told of past experiences such as interviewing tornado victims or farmers with flooded land. She emphasized her advice on what it is like and how to handle traumatized sources.

            Knispel told a story of an interview she had with a victim of post-traumatic stress disorder. The source was an army veteran and it was hard for him to answer questions without getting sad and crying.

            “Crying along with a person in an interview is ok. They perceive you as another human being that is just interested,” Knispel said.

            She explained how you should give sources time in these situations and even more importantly a journalist should be real with their source.