What Makes a good reporter? An Interview with Rob Young of Wire

What Makes A Good Reporter?

Bristolian Rob Young, 40, has written for venerable music magazine Wire for 15 years, as well as contributing to high distribution magazines such as Uncut.

Although most music and arts publications have a high turnover, Wire is in his words “unique in its continuity” as most staff writers stay there for an unusually long time.

Untrained as a journalist, Young has a degree in English and always aspired to be a writer. The attraction to music journalism for him was that it seems to be the “province of enthusiasts”, and he writes for Wire because it “follows the energy of less mainstream artists”.

Although not a news reporter, he feels that there are certain qualities which translate to the job of a music reporter, such as being able to react quickly to incoming news.

The most important feature of a reporter in his eyes is curiosity and the ability to “question everything and keep an open mind”.

He continues: “A reporter is always on the receiving end of new things” and they are responsible of “transmitting a way of approaching this new music”.

What differentiates a music reporter from news, is the need to “Get out and see what’s going on”, as opposed to sit at a desk and rifle through a pile of CDs. This practical approach is necessary in all forms of reporting.

When reporting it is important to “avoid clichés” and try and look at something in a way people haven’t before, while sticking to the facts.

The average wage for a staff writer on a magazine like Wire is around £24,000, but it is common for a writer to add to that with freelance work.

Rob Young currently lives in Norway, Wire is published monthly.