BMC 1154

MEDIA WRITING Interviewing

Sources of Information

Reporting What Others Say

Interviewing & Sources of Information

What is an interview?

An extraction of information from a source

Anytime, anywhere not limited to formal face-to-face interview

No standard form each interview differs depending on the subject and the circumstances of the story

Print, broadcast and PR interviews may differ slightly different objectives, different needs Print need longer, more detailed quotations that are

useful in substantial stories

Broadcast prefer brief, emotionally rich sound bites suitable for newscasts. For broadcasts, some interviews are important only in that they show the viewers that they are on the scene, keeping up with whats happening.

PR want positive, encouraging explanations appropriate for company news releases etc.

Why interview?

For facts and information directly from the source

For details and background

For quotes and sound bites

For information we do not have

For information we already have but cannot say it

ourselves

For verification / confirmation that information we already

have is correct

For being up-to-the-moment in terms of news-gathering

Kinds of interviews and subjects

Factual interviews

Relatively neutral atmosphere

Interviewer primarily seeks impartial information

Interviews that only seek factual information could often been done on the phone or via emails, text messages or social networking sites.

Positive interviews

Interviewer tries to establish a warm, comfortable atmosphere

Why? So that subject could talk candidly and expansively about feelings, experiences, beliefs etc.

Often done in person (face-to-face)

Negative interviews

Interviewer must struggle in an adversarial way

To obtain admissions, confirmations from unwilling/hostile subject

Often done in person or in an ambush situation

Preparing for an interview

A great interview rarely just happens without preparation, and

an interview does not begin only upon the asking of questions.

Much forethought, homework and legwork are needed before the actual task.

1. Choosing sources and subjects 2. Persuading reluctant interview subjects 3. Requesting the interview & choosing the method 4. Background research on subject and subject matter 5. Formulating the interview questions 6. Asking the questions 7. Writing up the story

Choosing sources and subjects

Who are you interviewing?

How many people do you need to interview to find out all you need to know?

What do you want to find out from each of your subject?

How many interviews would you need altogether?

Not all subjects are equal: Higher name recognition

Greater credibility

Highly knowledgeable about specialised topics

Effusive in sharing that may lead you to other people you should interview next

Witty, blunt, elusive, reticent

Are your subjects familiar with being interviewed?

There is a difference between interviewing people used to facing the media and those who are not.

Think celebrities vs. your neighbour

Interviewing people unfamiliar with media:

May choose time and place to put subject at ease

Focus on relaxing subject to get answers to questions being interviewed by journalist can be intimidating

May spend more time on preliminary chat before asking questions

Continued

Identify valuable subjects by asking:

Who is the person or people I most need to talk to in order to tell this story in an accurate, balanced and comprehensive way?

Story: Rabbit just won Best Rodent at a local pet event.

Who should you interview??

1. Rabbit owner

2. Rabbit owners family

3. Sponsor of the show

4. Judge who selected the winner

5. Breeder of the rabbit species

Continued

Story: Investigative story on rising crime rate in the city

Who should you interview??

Persuading reluctant interview subjects

In most neutral reporting situations, obtaining information is relatively straightforward. Typically, most public officials, employees, spokespeople etc. are willing to oblige.

Less willing interviewees - need to establish some kind of trust level between you and the subject. May need to visit multiple times or employ certain techniques:

1. Request for only a few minutes of their time interviewee is usually agreeable to extending the interview from then.

2. Foster rapport with the gatekeeper the secretary / receptionist that stands between you and the subject.

3. Catch your potential subject in a more conducive environment away from work or during lunch hour.

4. Convince the subject that telling his side of the story will benefit him.

5. Convince the subject that you are the best person to tell his story.

Handling hostile/uncommunicative sources

Do not prosecute (sound adversarial or accusatory)

Be sympathetic

Reason with the source

Try to understand sources position

Opportunity to respond

Avoid no comment

Keep asking questions

Ease up on tough questions temporarily

Interviewing PR people

Do let them:

Give you background information

Arrange access for interview

Let you know where the source can be found for comment

Provide one perspective on the news

Dont let them:

Dictate the terms and conditions of an interview

Spin the angles in your news story

Deny you legitimate access to an interviewee

Interview methods

Face-to-face

Telephone

Tele-conferencing

Email

Social networking Skype, Whatsapp etc.

Face-to-face, Phone or Email?

Face-to-face

Best for information gathering, but also most time-consuming

Often requires forward planning

Generally used where no other way of getting information (e.g. at scene of disaster), or when personal element is required (e.g. profile story)

Generally preferred by reporters chance to establish greater rapport with subject

Phone

Most widely used

Quick, easy, often doesnt need prior organisation

Dont have to leave office but lose benefit of body language etc

Email

Generally a last resort, or if no other means of contact available little spontaneity or direct contact

Can be useful for factual information, but not so much for opinion as people tend to be much more guarded in writing

Where?

Put subject at ease and choose a comfortable environment (their home, their office, your office, neutral place)

Good place to take notes

Good place for photos if needed

Comfortable seating

Not too much background noise

Privacy

Preparation

Do sufficient background research do not ask subjects things that you can already find out on your own

Organise a place and time to suit you or interview subject

Proposed direction think about what you are trying to achieve / objective of your interview

Prepare questions think about what you want to ask

Prepare your equipment recorder, notepad, pen, camera/cameraman

Why research?

Feel confident about the interview

Know what questions to ask

Sound well-informed

Find out what has been asked and published before

Find out the type of person you would be interviewing and tailor your interview accordingly

Obtain meaningful answers

Have an idea of the story angle although this may change

Know the jargon of the topic involved

Research on topic

What is the background of the issue?

How has the issue arisen?

Who are the key players?

What are the key aspects of issue?

How has it developed over time?

What has happened most recently?

Research on the subject/interviewee

What is their background?

Date & place of birth

Career path

Personal information

What have others said about them?

Career/personal highlights/lowlights

Sources of background information

News archives Pictorial archives Government reports Media releases Specialist reference books The internet Company annual reports Other people friends, competitors,

associates, family, ex-bosses Reference books (eg Whos Who)

Key points for interviews

Be prepared

Arrive early or at least on time

Leave enough time to get lost/held up at traffic lights/deal with any last minute preparation

Identify yourself

Dress and act appropriately

Be polite and show respect

Concentrate and listen

Maintain eye contact

Note-taking

Audio recorder or hand written notes short hand?

Which is more intrusive? Note-taking needs to unobstrusive

Which requires more time post-interview?

Which allows for more accurate record of the interview?

Not every word needs to be taken down

Not unprofessional to ask interviewee to hold on a second, I want to be sure Ive gotten what you said down accurately

Ok to read back some wording for verification

Ok to restate in your own words to clarify the information if you dont understand what the interviewer said

Interview & questioning styles

Types of interview

Funnel

Inverted funnel

Questions

Closed-ended

Open-ended

Loaded

Follow-up

Questions for different forms of media

Broadcast questions

Print questions

PR questions

Electronic questions

Funnel interview style

Background questions first

Followed by open-ended questions

Followed by closed questions/adversarial ones

Ask the toughest and most threatening

questions towards the end why??

Time factor is less important in this case

Suitable for people unfamiliar with media

interviews

Inverted funnel interview style

Tough questions first

Then fill in details later if time allows

Time crucial quick answers

Close-ended questions

Invite yes/no response

Good for confirmation/denial

Can also be used to answer with one word or phrase

Good for pinning down a subject for a specific confirmation

Drawback - Could produce incomplete/superficial answers

Drawback - Could let the subject get away with monosyllabic responses

Open-ended questions

Invite subjects to expand on his or her responses

To be answered in more than one word

Allows subjects to explore something the reporter may not have anticipated

Crucial principle is to avoid using a close-ended question when you want to obtain an open-ended answer.

Drawback subject may go off tangent or choose to say only what they wish to dwell on and not what you (the reporter) wishes to find out.

Loaded & follow up questions

Loaded questions

Sometimes called biased or leading questions

Imply that the questioner has already made up his/her mind about what the right answer is

Usually avoided unless used for certain kinds of investigative interviews

Follow-up questions

In respond to a previous answer given by subject

Allows exploration of a tangential topic

Examples

Do you agree to the statement made by the PM today?

What was the most embarrassing moment in your theatre career?

Describe your strategy for the winning the marathon.

What did you do with the money you took from the charitys fund?

How old are you?

You believe the president liked the intern, dont you?

Questioning for broadcast

Broadcast interviews typically brief news or spot interviews inserted into a radio story or newscast

Sound bites quotable quotes for TV

Hence broad cast interviews not only for information gathering but presenting as well

Simpler, more straightforward and more conversational

Often times, could be leading

Usually use an open-ended approach

You must read a lot of good things about yourself in the papers. Whats that like?

How did you react to learning that you were the No. 1 ranked squash player in the world?

Questioning for print

In print, readers seldom see and never hear the questions that

originally produced what is quoted in the story

Hence, vocabulary level of the interview questions are targeted at the

level of the subject and not the reader

A common language with the subject also puts him/her more at

ease, create a semblance of similarity that suggests the reporter

has a sympathetic ear

Print stories more in-depth, longer stories (c.f. broadcast)

Hence, more open-ended questions because print journalists are

searching for full-sentence, quotable responses.

Print journalists could afford to listen to subject ramble as this could

lead to other lines of inquiry that can make interesting spin-offs or

links (online newspaper) to their stories.

Questioning for PR use

PR practitioner doing the interviewing may not be able to

afford offending the subject a client, a boss, a supplier.

Difficult questions may be rebuffed.

Nevertheless, questions could not just be all positive-spin

and full.

Still require substance and newsworthiness especially if one wishes the media to use and print the resulting

news releases quoting the interview materials.

PR news releases are still serious media writing.

Questioning for electronic media

If a subject is reticent and prefers to think over their responses carefully before answering, an email or other form of asynchronous interview may work better.

However, not all sources have time to write full responses even if it is an electronic interview

Plus there is a lack of opportunity for immediate follow up questions

Body language and environmental details are also key aspects thatre missing

Advantage: electronic responses to questions are permanently in writing no need to worry about note-taking, indicates exact date and time of questioning and can service as evidence of when and how a given question is answered.

Working with interview subjects

Dress appropriately to complement your demeanour

Begin with small talk / warm up

Start with straightforward questions

Know where you want to start be in control of the interview

Be precise in what you are asking / keep questions simple to understand

Ask one thing at a time

Dont be afraid to ask tough questions

Be cordial - you can be firm but not abrasive when subject digresses

Know what youre asking do not umm, ahh or fumble with your questions

Continued

Be prepared to back off if subject becomes emotional or argumentative

Respond / Use vocal cues yeah, yes, uh huh, hmm

Be a good listener / Dont interrupt

Use silence effectively do not rush your subject or hasten to fill in a pause

If you dont get an answer the first time ask again

Your views arent important

Observe surroundings, body language, facial expression, tone of voice

Checklist

Correct spelling and title

Age, address

Anything you are not sure of

Exchange telephone numbers for further contact or clarification

What can go wrong?

Interviewee / subject

Intentional falsehood

Faulty memory

Lack of information

Misunderstanding the question

Interviewer / writer

Questions that confuse

Personal bias that misinterprets answers

Failure to be persistent in questioning

Closing the interview before its finished

Finding the angle to your story

Concentrating and listening

Whats different or new about the information?

What details distinguish this story from others of its kind?

What will grab the attention of readers, listeners or viewers?

On and off the record

On the record reporter allowed to use anything the source says and to quote the speaker, identifying him or her by name.

Off the record information cannot be quoted and cannot be used in any other way.

Information for background but not for attribution can be published but the source must not be identified.

Checklist for interviewing

Do background research

Timing of interview

Write down questions or topics

Record/note interview inconspicuously

Ask for clarification

Observe

Be tough but fair

Relax

INTERVIEWING Reporting what others say

Weaving interviews into news stories

1. Make decisions about the worth and usefulness of statements people make:

Are they valid?

Valuable?

Necessary to include in your story?

2. Any information obtained from a personal interview or document must be attributed, or identified as coming from someone or something.

3. Always identify the source of information when the information is not common knowledge.

Why use quotes?

There are three main reasons why you should use quotes in print journalism:

1. If you repeat the exact words which people themselves used, you will reduce the risk of misreporting what they said.

2. When we give a person's exact words, our readers can see both the persons ideas and the way they were presented (by the person).

3. It gives readers the flavor of someone elses speech and lets them listen to more colourful language than the reporters (remember: reporter has no leeway to write colourfully especially in hard news reporting).

Types of quotations

Direct quotes

American women still work longer hours than men and are paid less for doing so, the president of a leading womens rights group said today.

Indirect quotes paraphrasing

What the police said:

Police: Themanhe was beaten up. And then they the robbers they let him die on the floor.

What the writer paraphrased into:

Police said the victim had been assaulted and left for dead.

Partial quotes Jones described the proposal as mind-boggling.

Why and why not quotes

A story without the use of direct or indirect quotes lacks immediacy, credibility, colour and emotion.

A story with too many quotes resembles a transcription, with the writer only functioning as a human recorder.

A story with ONLY indirect or partial quotes may appear to the reader as being written by someone who was not at the scene or is rewriting from another source of information.

Use of partial quotes is useful when the speaker of the quotes use words/phrases that are clearer, catchier or more expressive than what the reporter could hope to achieve in a paraphrase.

More on quotes

Direct quotes must be accurate. Do not omit or edit words

without explicitly indication (e.g. use of elipsis ).

But. Brackets and ellipses use sparingly.

Dont make your story only a list of direct quotes.

Use quotes that add something to the story.

Introduce a new speaker before you quote him/her.

Retain present tense in direct quotes, change to past

when paraphrasing.

Attribution

Attribution tells an audience who gave information to a reporter.

Adds authenticity and authority to story; makes it clear its not the reporter expressing opinion.

Attribution not required when relating a fact something that has happened or is obviously true.

Attribution is required when a reporter is repeating the opinion/ideas/thoughts of a source.

Particularly important when opinion is potentially controversial, revelatory, speculative.

Attributing potentially defamatory information does not absolve the reporter of responsibility.

Stories that use plenty of quotations

Speech stories (e.g. covering a press conference or an

event)

Interview Stories (personal profile, one-on-one interviews)

Question-and-Answer stories (e.g. interview stories

presented in a Q&A, chronological manner)

Survey stories (e.g. a news stories covering statistics or

other facts revealed)

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