{"id":23,"date":"2015-12-25T16:58:43","date_gmt":"2015-12-25T16:58:43","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/revolutionsincommunication.com\/journalism\/?page_id=23"},"modified":"2024-01-13T22:58:44","modified_gmt":"2024-01-13T22:58:44","slug":"interviewing","status":"publish","type":"page","link":"https:\/\/revolutionsincommunication.com\/journalism\/the-craft\/interviewing\/","title":{"rendered":"Interviewing"},"content":{"rendered":"

The great interviewers<\/strong> \u2014 Oriana Fallaci<\/a>,\u00a0\u00a0Bill Moyers<\/a>, David Frost, Silver Donald Cameron<\/a>, Terry Gross<\/a>, and others \u2014 seem to have that\u00a0spark, that\u00a0abiding curiosity\u00a0(if not always affection)\u00a0 for their fellow human beings.<\/p>\n

But there are a few pedestrian rules to bear in mind as we approach one of the key elements of our craft.<\/p>\n

Ethics: <\/strong>\u00a0(In general)<\/em>\u00a0\u00a0<\/strong>Read and understand the Society of Professional Journalists Code of Ethics<\/a>. \u00a0 (In an interview):<\/em> \u00a0Always identify yourself and your organization. \u00a0Always ask permission for any recording, stating the purpose and eventual use, and then ask permission again\u00a0 so that permission is on the recording. If you are interviewing or taking photos of children or teenagers, always ask permission of a parent or guardian.<\/p>\n

Minimizing harm:<\/strong> The SPJ code of ethics says you should minimize harm. When interviewing victims of trauma or witnesses to crime, it is expected that you would refrain from fully identifying a private person.\u00a0 You might use a first name, or make up a name, if you need to provide information about an experience from an interview or a police report or court testimony. In other words,\u00a0 NEVER identify victims or witnesses. NEVER.\u00a0 \u00a0(In the case of sexual assault, the “take back the night” movement sometimes features speakers who publicly identify themselves as victims. Even then, most reporters would just use a first name).<\/p>\n

Public figures versus private people:\u00a0<\/strong> American media law distinguishes between public and private people and issues.\u00a0 If your subject is a private person, you should avoid intrusion and disclosure of private information.\u00a0 (This can be a problem for oral histories, and historians & journalists will often identify subjects only by first name if very private information comes out).<\/p>\n

On the record — Background — Deep background — Off the record<\/strong> —\u00a0 It’s important to be clear about the status of a voluntary attribution or sourcing agreement\u00a0 between journalists and interviewees. These agreements may (in unusual cases) be considered court-enforceable verbal contracts, but there is no criminal law in this area (nor should there be).\u00a0 Public officials and public figures understand that any interview with a journalist is “on the record” unless there is an explicit agreement to the contrary. Private people without much experience handling media may need to have this clarified for them at the start of an interview.<\/p>\n

“On background”<\/strong> usually means that the information and the institutional affiliation may be mentioned, but not the actual name of the source.\u00a0 (“A state department official said today …” ).\u00a0 “Deep background”<\/strong> means no source name and no institutional affiliation. (“A source said.”)\u00a0 “Off the record”<\/strong> means that the reporter agrees the information will never be made public. It is unusual and often unwise.\u00a0 Reporters almost always insist that all conversations be “on the record” unless there is a very compelling public interest that it be on background or deep background.\u00a0 \u00a0For more see “What Does Off the Record Really Mean?<\/a>” NY Times, Aug. 2, 2018.<\/p>\n

Preparation:<\/strong>\u00a0 Learn about your subjects, their backgrounds, their publications, and perhaps something about their motives. \u00a0\u00a0Prepare a list of questions for yourself, but think of new questions as you go along. Always be prepared to follow up.<\/p>\n

Advance questions:<\/strong> Many journalists and oral historians will describe the information they are seeking without submitting exact questions;\u00a0 others will submit questions but insist that there is more to the interview not be limited to those questions.\u00a0 For journalists and most others, the overarching personal ethical concept is to seek the truth and act independently. \u00a0In practice, this means never\u00a0agreeing in advance to limits on your questions.<\/p>\n

Attitude:<\/strong>\u00a0 The best interviews are exchanges of information between equals. Interviews can be \u00a0interesting and even fun, and you should go into them with a positive attitude. Comments such as, \u201cI\u2019ve been looking forward to meeting you\u201d or \u201cIm very interested in your work\u201d can help break the ice, so long as they are sincere and delivered professionally. \u00a0Be empathetic while maintaining a reserve of professionalism. \u00a0Avoid fawning and flattery on the one hand, and also avoid arrogance on the other hand.<\/p>\n

Three levels:<\/strong> You\u2019re working at three or more levels when you interview someone. You need to think about what they are saying, and also how they are saying it, and also the context in which it is being said. It\u2019s usually helpful to have a voice recorder so you don\u2019t have to focus on level 1.\u00a0 If they are nervous or reluctant to talk, this is a level 2 problem, and\u00a0 you might try to put them at ease and make this more of a conversation. \u00a0\u00a0If they are rambling, and the context is that of a limited time frame, then you may have to interrupt them and refocus the interview.<\/p>\n

Taking notes:\u00a0 <\/strong>When you learned to take notes in school, you outlined topics and highlighted small phrases. But it’s different when you work as a reporter, since you have to report whole sentences, not just fragments from an outline. This involves holding the entire sentence in your memory as you write them\u00a0 down.<\/p>\n

Sometimes taking notes can be helpful in establishing trust at the beginning of an interview, especially if you make a point of taking down exactly, word for word, what your interviewee said, and then reading it back. This takes practice but pays off in the end. In the UK, absolute word-for-word stenography is recommended for a journalism license. (The US does not license journalists).<\/p>\n

Recording interviews:<\/strong>\u00a0 Again, be sure to ask permission when outside of a press conference context.\u00a0 Not everyone trusts their voice recorders. Often we take notes of key points just to be safe, and usually on long reporters note pads while also holding voice recorders.<\/p>\n

During the interview:<\/strong><\/p>\n