True life journalist Angela Epstein takes time out of her busy schedule to answer a few questions for the Cutting Edge website.
Cutting Edge: Can you tell us about the most riveting story you've found?
Angela: The man who married his mother-in-law takes some beating. Completely tips the stereotype on its head. That said, what I really find riveting are the deeply emotional and challenging things that happen to ordinary people such as the woman who lost her memory because of a virus and had to learn to love her husband and children from scratch. It sounds sensational but was in fact a deeply moving and disturbing story.
Cutting Edge: How hard is it to get these scoops?
Angela: You just have to keep your eyes and ears open all the time. Everyone has a story to tell: that's what makes us all so interesting. It's just about being tuned into other people's lives. I also get a lot of interest through my website (sellthatstory.com)
Cutting Edge: How many stories do you try and file in a month to make a decent living?
Angela: It's impossible to say as the weeks vary. I also balance my job with running a home and having four children. But I make a decent enough living and more importantly I remain fascinated by what I do.
Cutting Edge: How would you describe your captive audience; the people who read your stories?
Angela: True stories appear in everything from broadsheet newspapers to weekly women's magazines. They're just packaged differently to suit the readership, which means they're read by everybody.
Cutting Edge: What do you say to those people who feel you're encouraging voyeurism in our society by feeding readers sensational but ultimately trivial news?
Angela: My mantra is 'I only print what you tell me'. If someone wants to tell their story then I'm not here to judge or question their motive. Only to decide whether it can work as a story.
Cutting Edge: What's your favourite media and what paper do you usually read?
Angela: I love newspapers but in particular the Daily Mail, Mail on Sunday and the Times.
Cutting Edge: How exaggerated are 'true life' stories and how closely do they stick to the real story?
Angela: I can't vouch for other journalists. There's a feeling sometimes that some won't let facts get in the way of a good story. I could never make up something. You're judged by everything you write so your credibility is on the line from story to story.
Cutting Edge: Do you get emotionally involved or can you remain very detached?
Angela: Some stories linger on for a long time. Particularly when children have been involved, or there has been an untimely death. You have to be strong and professional enough to cope with listening and asking the right questions. But you need empathy too. The day I become a hard-bitten unfeeling hack is the day I quit!
Cutting Edge: How did your journalism career start off?
Angela: After graduating in English Language and Literature from Manchester University I took a post graduate diploma in newspaper journalism. I then took the traditional route of local and regional papers before contributing to national newspapers and magazines. But I think nothing matches the grounding and training you get from meeting 'real folk' on local papers. Sitting in someone's house over a cup of tea listening to their story is the best training you can get.
Cutting Edge: Why this route, ie the True Stories angle?
Angela: Journalism is all about getting to the heart of a story. Finding out what makes people tick and the choices they make. Journalists are tomorrow's historians since we chronicle the age in the most contemporary way. True stories simply reflect that.
Cutting Edge: What are your ambitions?
Angela: I love what I do and just hope people will continue to tell me their stories. I would also love to do more television work. Cutting Edge have given me a real taste for it!
