Types of Journalistic Interviews

One of the most fundamental tasks a journalist engages in before writing a story is gathering information. A key part of that process involves calling, e-mailing or in-person interviewing of people who have knowledge about the subject of the story. There are different classifications of interviews. Further in the text you will read about 10 types of interviews journalists use more often [6]. If you are interested in the examples (scripts) of these interviews you may find the whole texts of these interviews on the following site: www.kcnn.org/interviewing/chapter2.

· Newsgathering interview collects facts or history about a subject, either for a story or in preparation for another interview. Often, newsgathering interviews generate background information rather than quotes. You just need a smart person to bring you up to speed. In fact, you may be able to agree not to quote people to help them feel comfortable telling you more. If you decide you would like to put information on the record, ask their permission and agree on attribution.

· Reaction interview gathers reaction or responses to breaking news. News is breaking and you want to report reaction – to a vote, a decision or some new development in a story. You may discover that you are among the first to know, so you’ll need to brief the people you are trying to quote on the recent developments. If your interviewee hasn’t yet heard about the development, he or she may need some time to investigate for him- or herself. Be sure to ask if you can call back in 20 or 30 minutes.

· Experts interview adds the expertise of a knowledgeable source to your story. When an issue is particularly complex, it will build credibility for your newspaper if you reach out and interview an expert or two to report it accurately or put it in perspective. Or maybe you have so many conflicting opinions in your notes, that a neutral, knowledgeable source can help a reader make some sense of the debate. Experts can be anyone from a neighborhood activist to an academic to a representative of a community organization.

· Q and A interview presents the information in a question and answer format. At times, you’ll want to present an interview in a minimally mediated form, as if the reader were listening in on a conversation. Perhaps the information you have doesn’t really have a single focus, or you think all of it would be interesting to your readers. You can publish a transcript of the interview, if you recorded it. You can also run an “edited” transcript, in which you just pick out highlights.

· In-depth interview engages in a long form, conversation for a profile feature story or an enterprise story. When you are doing a more involved story, you want to invest the time for a formal sit-down interview. Remember, journalists don’t have an inalienable right to an interview, so you may need to “sell” your subject on the merits of the idea. Be sure to address the advantages of letting the person tell his or her side of a story, or setting a record straight, or serving as a role model with valuable advice for others. Come well-prepared. Know the titles, spellings of names and career highlights ahead of time. Use your interview time most productively: to zero in on what will be the primary focus of the article. Do research so that you know what questions to ask, and so that you can engage in a conversation with your interviewee; show that you took the time to understand the pertinent issues.

· Confirmation interview checks the validity of a report or a rumor or gets a second source on an important piece of information. Sometimes you’ve heard a rumor and want to find out if it’s true, or you’ve gathered information on something that you need to double-check with an official source or verify with a primary participant. To publish a fair, accurate, community news site, you must take basic steps to verify the information you are reporting. Information can be verified by covering news events, by checking documents or by interviewing participants or stakeholders. This is a necessity because readers will trust a newspaper or a site that consistently provides accurate information and keep coming back to them.

· Person-on-the-street interview seeks input from diverse members of a community. Sometimes you will want to survey people informally on the street or in the community gathering places, as a way of ensuring that you have diverse viewpoints or a full range of ideas about the community issue. These kinds of interviews are sometimes referred to as “vox pop,” or “voice of the people.” So be sure to seek out diversity of gender, age and race as well as a variety of opinions on the issue at hand.

· Balance interview shows the many facets of a story by getting multiple viewpoints. As a rule of thumb, journalists make a genuine effort to report all sides of a story. So if you’ve interviewed a proponent of a measure, it’s crucial to your credibility to talk to people with other points of view. And it makes for a better story to include information from those who see some merits in both positions and to report the common ground that is shared by people who might be considered opponents. One way to ensure you are giving voice to all viewpoints is to map out a list of those who would be affected and then reach out to people who belong to the various stakeholder groups. Showing the contrasting points of view can help your readers understand the multifaceted nature of an issue. For things like town legislative matters, your readers will benefit from knowing the pros and cons as told by those passionate about the topic. And if an individual or group feels that their voice was unfairly left out of a story, you can develop their input into follow-up stories. Presenting fair and balanced information in your articles is one of the core values of good journalism.

· Advance interview gathers information and writes about an upcoming event, author or celebrity. Is an author, speaker or entertainer of potential interest to your readers coming to town? You may already be in the habit of letting readers know about such events ahead of time. But you can also interview authors or speakers before they arrive, giving your readers an insight into a person's work and character that may whet their appetite to attend the event. First, do research online about the person. Then, check Web sites for press contact information – there's almost always someone listed under “press” or “to arrange for an interview” when authors and show-business people are booked in your city. You’ll need to explain who you are, why you want to do an interview and how you'll use it. If they can’t accommodate an interview, you can still write an advance story reporting highlights of the person’s career.

· Gotcha interview confronts a subject, often with incriminating or embarrassing information. “Gotcha” interviews, sometimes known as confrontational interviews, are used most often by reporters in mainstream media, after they have gathered incriminating or embarrassing information. Many citizen media producers find these kinds of interviews to be the most daunting to entertain, but it is critical to your credibility and only fair to the subjects of your stories to give them a chance to respond. “If I talk to one person who criticizes someone, then I have to talk to the person who was criticized,” says Suzanne McBride of Chicago Talks, a hyper local site for Chicago neighborhoods. If you need to ask a tough question, the best strategy is to be direct and cite your sources.

6.4.2 Good Interview Questions in Journalism [7]

Interviews are a way to gather facts and historical data on an emerging event or issue. Ask the right questions at the right moment and your source may volunteer information that might otherwise have been ignored or overlooked. Fail to ask those questions and you lose the opportunity to effect change or expose a problem. Combine soft questions, seeking background information and confirming facts, with tougher questions, seeking motives or intentions, to make your story more meaningful.

Open-Ended: “Tell Me About...”

Get a source started with an open-ended question that does not frame the issue. This allows your source to define the issue himself / herself and gives you a glimpse into his / her mindset, feelings and basic understanding of the issue or event. Variations include “Tell me a little about yourself”; “What do you know about this event or issue?”; and “What did you see or hear when the event took place?” None of these questions blocks the source into a corner or makes any assumptions or judgments about his / her own role in the event or issue.

Clarification: “What Did You Mean by...”

Ask a source to explain what he / she means. This helps you avoid engaging in “gotcha” journalism, which is inherently biased and burns the bridge between you and your source. Although you may gain a few points from roasting your source, you lose any future chance at more information and make other possible sources more skeptical of your motives. People do not volunteer information when they are at risk. Asking for clarification of a point or explanations about why the source does or believes something respects that person’s right to frame his / her thoughts and actions to his / her own context.

Fact-Checking: “How Do You Know...”

Ask questions that help you determine the validity and authority of the source's information without making him / her feel like you are calling him / her uninformed or a liar. “Where or when did you first learn...?”; “What is the source for that fact?”; “Where or when did you hear that?”; and “What made you believe the source of that information?” Even if you already have reputable, reliable sources for the basic facts, asking these questions helps you discover new sources of information and keeps you from presenting inaccurate information, perpetuating stereotypes or giving misinformation.

Follow-Ups: “Is There Anything I Haven't Asked...”

This allows your source to share what they think is the key information about the topic or issue. It sometimes provides you with a new direction for your story, confirms or contradicts the way you have framed the issue or exonerates one or more participants. Key unasked questions can have long-range consequences. Lillian McEwen, who dated Supreme Court Justice Clarence Thomas, stated that she did not provide information at his confirmation hearings that might have confirmed Anita Hill's assertions of a hostile work environment because no one asked her, leaving Hill a lone voice.

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