I should be listening and transcribing. Matt Zurbo gave me one job and I’m not doing it. I hope he understands.
Matt’s writing a book about footy. He’s under deadline. He asked for volunteers to transcribe some of his interviews. I volunteered and asked for an interview with a North player.
Matt Zurbo is asking for people to help him finish his book about football.
He sent me his interview with Drew Petrie. When I downloaded it and discovered it went for 71 minutes, I drew a sharp breath.
I transcribe interviews every day at work. I love interviewing people. Some are basic, based on media releases. Others are guarded if there’s been a police incident or tragedy. Political interviews are often fun and there are controversial interviews, when hard questions need to be asked.
At work, I try to keep interviews under five minutes. Often they run two or three minutes, enough for a news story. An interview that goes longer than five minutes means it takes longer to write the story.
Occasionally, my interviews are in-depth and lengthy. Some people just love to talk, and if you love to listen, a long interview is unavoidable.
When I do a ten or fifteen minute interview, it’s because I want to. Interviews that length make great features. And a question and answer session is the best way to learn. It’s why journalists know a little bit about a lot of events. We become shallow experts on everything.
Interviewing is the easy part. Thanks to high school I can touch type. I don’t remember the name of my teacher and I hated learning how to type, but when I got to university I realised how valuable it is. I wish I could thank her.
I have no idea how quick I am, but a three minute interview doesn’t take me three minutes to transcribe. The ABC’s audio program has a function that slows down the interview. It makes transcribing quicker because we can type without needing to stop the recording.
Still, transcribing a three minute interview takes at least five minutes. A 15-minute interview can take about 45-minutes.
I figured Petrie’s 71-minute interview would take between five and ten hours to transcribe. It would be quicker at work, but at home I have to switch between Word and the media player, and I can’t slow down the recording.
That means I listen to about ten words, stop the recording and switch to Word and type the words. Then I have to switch back.
All that switching slows me down.
On Sunday night, I poured a beer and went to the computer. Matt Zurbo needed me. I was committed to doing it. My goal was to do 10 minutes.
I set up the computer and hit play. I was hooked by the one minute mark.
Listening to other people’s interviews is insightful. I listen intently to the questions, to see if I would’ve asked that question or wonder why a different one wasn’t asked.
There is always another question to ask.
Listening to another person’s interview is also a great way to learn. You can tell if the interviewer has done their research.
Matt did his research. He knew where Petrie grew up. He knew how many games it took until he kicked his first goal.
Petrie talked without inhibitions about his childhood, how it felt to be drafted and his first impressions on North Melbourne.
He was candid, and that’s what an interviewer wants. What the interviewee wants is someone who knows what they’re talking about.
Matt gave brief snippets of his life to Petrie, about his football career and the men he’d interviewed for his book. I could sense Matt’s passion. It helped put Petrie at ease and he knew he was in for an enjoyable interview.
On Sunday night, I let the recording roll on to the thirteen minute mark. I’d lost track of time. My beer was empty. Transcribing wasn’t a chore. I was learning about Petrie and the struggles of a club without money despite the success. He talked about playing alongside the legends of that era, and opponents who offered sledges.
On Monday night, I pushed ten minutes out to twelve and got to hear Petrie talk about the passion required to play AFL football.
I was 25 minutes in, seven pages of transcript, and enmeshed in Petrie’s existence at North Melbourne. He was talking about men I admired who played for a club I loved.
Listening to Matt’s interview gave me a sense of privilege. I’ve seen Petrie interviewed plenty of times on TV and radio, but none of them went beyond five minutes. I’ve never heard him talk about bills and the first phone call he received from Pagan.
I’d never even thought about doing a 71-minute interview with Petrie.
And tonight, instead of doing transcribing, I’m writing about an interview I should be transcribing. Matt Zurbo is probably sighing and thinking, you had one job, it’s another lost night and the deadline is a day closer.
Apologies Matt. I’ll get right back on the job. I just thought I’d let the people know that by helping you finish your book, they’re going to learn a lot about football and the people who make the game so great.
So if anyone who knows how to use headphones and a keyboard, and has a few hours to spare, let Matt know.
The effort of listening and typing will be worth it.
He can be reached at mattzurbo@gmail.com
