3.2: Interviewing

Figure \(\PageIndex{1}\): Reporter at a crime scene. (Pexelx free-to-use license; Cottonbro)

Interviewing is such an essential part of information gathering that several books have been written on this topic alone. Most texts and web resources include most or all of the following list of essential practices for conducting interviews in the mass media field. This list applies primarily to journalism students, but every mass media student can learn from this approach.

• First, the interviewer must research the topic and the person they intend to interview.
• Interviewers should prepare a list of questions but not feel stuck to the list.
• Treat interviews like a conversation, neither too friendly nor too formal.
• Keep your opinions out of your questions.
• Save potentially contentious topics for the end.
• Be respectful of interview subjects and their time.

Pre-interview research

It is essential to know what you can about a topic or event before conducting an interview. Use the information in the previous section to work to establish a basic understanding of the Who, What, Where, When, Why, and How of a topic. Only after you make note of what you have can you truly get a sense of which of those elements you need to know more about.

The purpose of conducting pre-interview research is not to try to know more about the topic than your interview subjects. Interviewing someone assumes that they can provide information or some perspective that you need. The purpose of conducting research before interviewing someone is so that you can plan for the interview and write down questions or talking points that get at what you need to know without taking too much of the subject's time.

An aspect of pre-interview research that is often overlooked is the initial conversation. In the process of requesting an interview, you should get a sense of what aspects of the topic the interview subject can cover, how knowledgeable they seem to be about the topic, and whether their understanding of the basic information is the same as what you have already gathered.

For phone or videoconference interviews, the pre-interview might immediately precede the more formal interview. In some fields such as broadcast journalism the reporter will usually contact someone by phone, email, text, or direct message before meeting them in person. This initial conversation should be brief, but in it the media professional and interview subject should come to an understanding about the scope and nature of the interview.

Most often, mass media professionals conduct interviews for three reasons: 1. The interview subject has basic information they cannot find elsewhere; 2. The interview subject can add to their depth of understanding; or, 3. The interviewee can provide emotional context that might help an audience understand the story better on an emotional level.

Many times the same interviewee can help you address multiple aspects of the subject matter. For example, the organizer of a charity fundraiser can tell you how much money they raised for their cause as well as whether this amount was about what they expected, disappointingly low, or delightfully more than they had hoped for.

The last step of pre-interview research might happen on the fly in the midst of a longer conversation, or it might happen weeks in advance of a more formal interview, but the process is essentially the same: Work to find out what you don't know and craft questions or talking points that will enable the interviewee to help you address your information needs. An example of an on-the-fly interview setting that happens regularly in news reporting is the breaking news interview, which is a good opportunity to discuss the difference between telling a story from a general, shared or collective point of view and an individual's point of view. The best narratives, be they for news or other purposes, weave together a general sense of the Who, What, When, Where, Why, and How with more personal perspectives. Personal perspectives can still be approached through the lens of the 5 Ws + H as a means of making sure a comprehensive picture is gleaned.

Looking deeper

From professional experience, the author has developed a sense that the 5 Ws + H can be different for different individuals involved in a news story or with different perspectives about a brand or product, for that matter.

When interviewing people, it is almost always the case that they can contribute depth to our understanding of the general 5 Ws + H as well as their own unique 5 Ws + H, relative to their point of view.

For example, if you are interviewing people about a tornado that hit their city, you will not need to ask everyone you interview for general information. The established facts are that a tornado (WHAT) hit their city (WHERE) at a certain time of day (WHEN). It took a path through the city (WHERE), and it affected the people who live there (WHO). Meteorologists can explain general concepts about the weather conditions that generated the tornadoes (WHY and HOW), but there are also personal narratives that reflect and are embedded in this larger story.

When the general 5 Ws + H are established, you can focus interviews with the people who experienced a breaking news event with their own personal point of view. You might ask: Who was in their home when the tornado hit? What did they see, hear, and feel? Where in their home did they take shelter and why? Were they prepared for it? Based on the time of day it hit, they might or might not have gotten warning. You could ask questions that get at their personal "How" and "Why." For example: How did they respond when the tornado hit? How did they get everyone in the home to a safe place, or if they were not able to, why not?

Questions that get at root sensory perceptions of these events can be tricky, but they should be asked if interviewees have something to say. Readers and viewers relate to sensory experiences. These descriptions can make events seem more real; however, no one needs to hear a soundbite that says, "The tornado sounded like a freight train coming through!" ever again. Let us collectively agree as professionals to find other ways of describing loud noises if at all possible.

When talking to people who experienced a breaking news event, it is important to remember that these events are often traumatic. Questions about their emotional response to the event should be asked carefully and respectfully if at all. Some people will be very forthcoming with their emotional response. Others would rather not discuss what went through their mind when they thought their life might be in danger.

Again, information about individual sensory experiences can enhance our emotional understanding of an event, but each interviewee should be treated with respect, and interviewers should take "no" for an answer if someone would prefer not to talk about the emotional aspect of a traumatic experience.

Developing a set of questions or points of discussion

Beyond the breaking news context, an interviewer should have more time to get a sense after conducting initial research of what they know and what are their gaps in information. They should decide whom to interview based on their information needs. Once capable and willing interviewees are found, crafting questions will be a relatively straightforward process. Media professionals contact potential interviewees based on the information they need and based on the profile of the interview subject.

The goal is to interview the right person or people if at all possible. When multiple people are likely to have the information needed, the interviewer might look for the individual with the greatest depth of knowledge or for the individual who is most capable of participating in an interview in a clear and timely fashion. These are judgment calls that come from experience and from pre-interview conversations held with potential interview subjects.

Once a media professional has an interview topic and an interview subject lined up, a list of questions or discussion points can be drawn up. These should be put in writing either on paper or on a smartphone or other device that is convenient to bring into an interview setting. Having a list prepared will help ensure that no key topics are missed. Having them in order will provide the best possible preparation for managing the direction and tone of the interview as well as possible.

Treat interviews like a conversation

The tornado story example comes from a breaking news situation, but most media interviews are not conducted during breaking news.

In more standard interview settings, the interviewer should make sure both the interview subject and interviewer are physically comfortable if possible. Comfortable people are more likely to have a fruitful conversation. It is almost always best to interview only one person at a time. Establishing a rapport and keeping an interview focused on the topics the interviewer needs to discuss in the order in which they need to address them is much more manageable in one-on-one settings.

Interviewers should keep their list of questions or talking points close at hand for the sake of reference but should not merely read their list of questions to the interview subject. This is a dead giveaway that the interviewer is inexperienced or has not practiced. Inexperienced interviewers should conduct practice interviews whenever they get the chance with a loved one, a roommate, or a classmate to get a sense of how the conversation might go.

Listening during an interview is key to asking good follow-up questions. Follow-up questions might provide helpful details for the story already developing, or they may direct the interviewer to change the core story substantially and focus on a new "Who" or "What" or "When," etc.

The most common mistake in professional mass media interviewing is when an interviewer feels the need to demonstrate what they know and fails to get the interviewee to open up and share what they know and feel. One-sided conversations are not truly conversations. They are lectures or diatribes and should be avoided.

Conducting interviews is more art than science because no two interview subjects are the same, and the context for different interviews can drastically shape the scope and tone. Interviewers have to be aware of the intellectual and emotional state of the person they are interviewing. Interviewers should connect on both intellectual and emotional levels with interview subjects. This is not to say that the connections should be deep. Appearing as though the interviewer is trying to become friends with an interview subject can be off-putting, annoying, or even creepy.

But that being said, professional interactions can be engaging on both intellectual and emotional levels if the interviewer is present, attentive, thoughtful, and reasonably caring depending on the circumstances of the interview.

Regarding bias and contentious topics

One of the best approaches to interviewing is to keep returning to the Who, What, When, Where, Why, and How of the story or topic and to cover all of those areas from the perspective of each person you interview. This helps corroborate the facts of the story and also offers perspective on the "Why" and "How" of the bigger picture.

Keeping the focus on the 5 Ws + H will also help the interviewer to keep their biases out of the interview conversation. It is usually considered unprofessional for an interviewer to share their personal biases with an interview subject. On the other hand, it is not helpful to mislead an interviewee about your concerns, and striving for absolute objectivity in human interactions can leave people feeling as though they might have been misled.

The challenge for the interviewer is to keep a balance between being honest about your own values and convictions when interacting with interview subjects without putting your thoughts and opinions at the forefront. If an interviewee is not asking for the interviewer's opinion, it is not necessary to share. If an interviewee does ask, be honest but not overbearing. 

If you plan to address contentious topics with an interview subject, save those questions for the end of the interview. This gives you a chance to establish a rapport and gives you the best chance of getting an honest response with an individual, even if they may have something to hide. Deciding how much to push a reticent interviewee about a controversial topic or behavior on their part is best handled on a case-by-case basis.