NEWS GATHERING: Conducting the Interview
4. Make a list of 15-20 good solid questions which focus in on
INTERVIIEW
-bedrock of information gathering in news writing.
-defined as the process in dyadic, relational, communication,
with a predetermined and serious purpose designed to
interchanged behavior involving the asking and answering of
questions.
Dyadic
-denotes that an interview is person to person interaction
between two parties
Relational
-strongly suggests an interpersonal connection between the
interview parties.
Predetermined and serious purpose
-At least one of the two parties come to the interview with a
goal and has planned the interview to focus on specific subject
matter.
Interchanging Behavior
-connotes sharing of expectations, roles, feelings and
information.
Asking and answering Questions
-taken as a single process; crucial to the interviewing process;
questions serve as tools to obtain information.
TYPES OF INTERVIEWS
Fact interview: This type of interview is a straightforward
question-and-answer conversation intended to get facts and
quotations for advance stories or supplementary/follow-up
coverage of past events. These are routine interviews and can
be conducted over the telephone if necessary.
Personal interview: A more formal approach, also called the
feature interview. The reporter should prepare a list of
questions ahead of time, but be prepared to take a different
path of questioning if the situation calls for it.
Group interview:
1. Man-on-the-street or inquiring reporter. The reporter
asks the same question of interviewees selected at random.
The answers may be limited to one or two sentences, and are
printed just as given, with no comment from the reporter.
These might be published in an inquiring reporter type of
column along with a small picture of the interviewee.
2. Symposium interview: The reporter gathers statements
from several people, usually authorities or specialists with
similar interests or expertise. The statements are compared,
contrasted, analyzed or interpreted, and are used as direct
and indirect quotes throughout an article. Z
CONDUCTING THE INTERVIEW
1. Make an appointment in advance.
2. Learn as much about the topic or person as you can so that
you can ask intelligent questions.
3. Know what you want to accomplish in the interview.
the subject you are going to talk about. You might not use all
the questions, but it is better to have too many than too few.
TYPES OF QUESTIONS TO ASK
1. Avoid asking questions that can be answered with a “yes”
or “no” or one-word answers. It may be necessary to ask two
or three of these questions during an interview to clarify some
information, but these questions do not invite the interviewee
to respond with quotable comments.
2. Use the Ws and H to form relevant questions that will get
the interviewee to open up with you. The what, how and why
are especially good for this because these questions cause
the interviewee to explain something to you, and that means
he or see will be speaking in entire sentences, possibly even
paragraphs, rather than in one-word responses.
a. What are your feelings on the bond issue?
b. What do you think was the deciding factor in the race?
c. Why did people respond so enthusiastically to this
proposal?
d. Why would it be a good idea to do this?
e. How was this accomplished?
f. How will the money be raised?
g. Use the other Ws to obtain other pertinent information.
3. If you have done your research properly and you have
learned of an anecdote involving your interviewee, you can
always use the “tell me” method:
a. Tell me about the time your pig took first place in the
Houston Livestock Show.
b. Tell me what it was like to be Homecoming queen.
Conducting the interview
1. Be on time, with adequate supplies of paper and writing
utensils.
2. Introduce yourself and the purpose of the interview.
3. Be friendly and courteous, but remember you have a job to do.
4. Volunteer information only when it is necessary to stimulate
the conversation or to get it back on track.
5. Don’t interrupt.
6. Avoid overly personal questions.
7. Ask specific, thought-provoking questions; avoid yes-or-no
questions.
8. Don’t let the conversation run wild, but if an unexpected angle
should develop, be prepared
9. Take good notes, but don’t distract the interviewee while doing
so. Use a tape recorder, if you want to, but don’t depend on it
exclusively.
10. Obtain all the information you think you will need before
concluding the interview, but be sure to ask if you can contact
your interviewee again if necessary. Get a phone number where
he/she can be reached.
11. Go over all quotes with the interviewee to check for accuracy.
12. Thank the interviewee for his/her time.
13. Never agree to let the interviewee read the story before it is
published. If your paper is prior reviewed by an administrator, you
do not need anyone else doing so. If you are fortunate enough
not to be under prior review, don’t open any doors for it.