When I first started my writing career back in the mid-1990s, technology involved in the process was pretty simple:
>>I either called or emailed someone to request and schedule an interview.
>>Interviews were done by phone while typing furiously to capture everything the person said. Thank God that I used to type 100 words a minute back then! Even so, I still missed a few comments and and got one or two things wrong.
Today, the process is completely different and much easier:
>>Email a request for an interview.
>>Set up a Zoom call.
>>Record the Zoom call.
>>Receive the transcript of the meeting in 5 minutes. Upload the transcript to an automated voice recognition transcription service. Get a link to the transcripted file in 5 minutes.
>>Download the transcript in a Word file and craft the transcript (or several transcripts from several interviews) into an article.
The benefits of today's modern technology are:
>>Less work (all that typing at 100 words a minute no longer exists!) and
>>Better accuracy of information (any confusion can be clarified by checking the audio or video file)
But for me, the real benefit of Zoom and transcript services is the ability to have a one-on-one conversation and focus all your attention on the interviewee. In the old days, all my attention was focused on typing. Often, I would have to say, could you repeat that last comment? because I didn't get it all. It's such a joy that those days are gone.
I'm excited to see how artifical intelligence like ChatGPT will help with future article writing, but I'm also cautious. Anything that you request from ChatGPT must be fully vetted and verified. Never assume it's accurate.
If you're currently using ChatGPT or another type of AI to help with writing and/or journalism, I would love to hear about your experiences. Leave comments below!
If you like a good murder mystery or love story, check out my novel, In Fashion's Web on Amazon.
