Averi Van Winkle

QUESTIONS. Journalist Eli Hoff gives students a Q&A at J-day. After this Q&A students had one hour to write a news or opinion piece over Eli and his message. Hoff believes hands-on experience is the only way to learn journalism. “Getting experience is the best way to learn by far with this…” Hoff said.

Journalist Eli Hoff works for the St. Louis Post-Dispatch as a Mizzou sports beat writer. On March 26, Eli was the keynote speaker at J-day held at Missouri State University through the journalism school. J-day is an annual event held at Mizzou that allows ambitious young journalists to speak with professionals and expand their knowledge to benefit their personal newspapers or broadcasting programs. 

Eli first recalls his interest in journalism starting in the third grade when he read a book by John Feinstein titled The Last Shot. His interest progressed from there, and he was accepted into Mizzou to study journalism despite having poor experience because his High School didn’t have a newspaper. Eli progressed thanks to the help from his mentors and competitive spirit. Eli believes you don’t get far in journalism without connections. 

“People say it takes a village to raise a kid, but I think that works for journalists too,” Hoff said. 

Eli was the keynote speaker and spoke to High School students from all over Missouri. His main point was to ask the question, What else should I know at the end of every interview? Eli understood that certain questions can be intimidating and hard to ask for young journalists. Parkview High School student Olivia Korba felt this key question allowed the interview to become more personal. 

“I think that it makes the whole thing less transactional and more personal with them by asking what they think,” Korba said. 

At first, Eli thought the simple question “What else should I know?” was silly and unprofessional. But as he experienced different environments and covered politics, sports, and education, he realized that this simple question captured the best quotes. Eli recalls how often this question deepens his quotes. 

“Now I do it in 98% of the interviews I do because it just gets results,” Hoff said. “I am amazed at how often the best quote of the interview comes from that question.”