Interculturalidad Contemporánea

As the purpose of this research is the understanding of a specific phenomenon that occurred in the past, a qualitative exercise is preferable to quantitative inquiry. The circumstances of the object of the study, however, limit the type of method that could be effective. Participant observation, for example, is impossible for studying a past event. A survey study would likely limit understanding to the investigation’s preconception. The feasibility of in-depth interviews is often precluded by the lack of time on the part of potential participants. However, the qualitative research method that best lends itself to the conditions of this study is the long interview.

The long interview fulfills the criteria of academic rigor by allowing the researcher to achieve key qualitative objectives within a manageable methodological context. Once academic integrity has been assured, the rest of the dynamic is an exercise in balance. The long interview gives access to participants within a reasonable time frame. In other words, the long interview takes advantage of the opportunity without taking advantage of the respondent (McCracken, 1988, p. 11-12). The time demands faced by such busy professionals were definite factors in this research. Four people who were recruited for the study did not answer inquiries. Another did respond but said she was simply unable to spare the estimated 60-90 minutes.

Once any objection to the time commitment is overcome, there are several aspects of the long interview that potential participants might find attractive. The session could

be seen as an opportunity to take part in a unique social encounter (Cannell & Axelrod, 1956; Caplow, 1956). It is an opportunity to have a substantive conversation with someone who is eager to listen to anything the participant has to say (Stebbins, 1972) and, in this case, has a similar frame of reference. Participants are empowered by the opportunity to tell their stories without the burden of any expectation on the part of the researcher. The long interview, in this particular study, gave participants an opportunity to add their own voices to a review of the “experiment” that has been long-debated and well remembered in the journalistic community. They also used the opportunity to review their own contributions to, and performance on, The Ten O’Clock News: Reported by Carol Marin. For some, the interview seemed to be cathartic. These are all benefits anticipated by McCracken (1988, p. 28). One participant found the experience so positive he called a fellow employee on the telephone while in the midst of the session in an attempt to recruit him as a study participant as well. The participant also discussed participation with two other employees in the WBBM newsroom immediately after the interview ended.

The long interview is not without risks. One is the previously discussed time commitment. Another risk is privacy, especially in this particular study. The Ten O’Clock News: Reported by Carol Marin was a highly-publicized endeavor involving a limited and defined number of participants in a high-profile milieu. As such, confidentiality was simply not feasible on any level. It is possible that lack of privacy precluded some members of two distinct groups from participating – former corporate managers and some current station employees. This is discussed in greater detail in the following section.

Another risk is psychic demand. The interview sessions were demanding both emotionally and intellectually. All participants struggled to varying degrees with the accuracy of their recollections, especially when trying to recall instances of fact. One participant, a reporter, regretted not having the time before the interview to review tapes of his work during that period. (Another reporter did review several of his previous reports in advance.) All participants appeared very self-reflective, at times struggling to identify and analyze how they, personally, could have given the program a better chance of survival.

The journalists all had strong memories of many specific events, but the

memories of the emotional toll seemed to be most intense for all of them. A majority, for example, offered the concept of “death” when recalling the program’s cancellation. This reflected the trauma many of them felt at the time, and the recollections themselves were often painful. One, former assistant news director Danice Kern, was especially agonized when asked about the possibility of accepting any future invitation to participate in a similar endeavor:

It’s the most frustrating thing I’ve ever come across. Trust me. Two, twice, I mean my heart was broken at NBC and it was broken again at CBS and shame on me if it’s going to be broken a third time … I just don’t think I have the energy to do it again in Chicago, in that function, in that role. I didn’t. I couldn’t. I gave it my best shot twice. Twice … I don’t revisit this too often ’cause it’s really kind of painful, believe it or not. You’d think that, big girl that I am, that I’d get past this (Kern, 2006).

It is a reflection of Kern’s passion that she later discussed parameters under which she would consider doing it again. Passion for serious journalism in general and passion for their experiences with The Ten O’Clock News: Reported by Carol Marin were strong motivating factors for all for the journalists who participated in this study. They all proved to be, in this researcher’s interpretation, people of professional substance and integrity.