“The old saying goes, “There’s no such thing as a stupid question.” But in the opinion of at least one major television network, there is such a thing, and some of the least effective questions are coming from top broadcast journalists.
ESPN’s John Sawatsky is tearing down icons such as Larry King and Mike Wallace as he preaches his guiding principles about how to properly conduct an interview.” More here on Sawatsky’s take on good interviews here at NPR.
1) I’d Like a Copy Before it Goes to Print
2) My Publicity Rep is Joining Us
3) It’s Off the Record
4) I Don’t Want You to Talk to That Person
Jessica Ramirez from About Freelance Writing gives you some tips on handling this nonsense on your next interview.
The website Plagiarism Today (which must be experiencing more traffic than usual) has an interesting article on how to contact a plagiarist in order to ask him or her to quit stealing your damn work. Make sure they don’t take a photo of you in the process because they’ll steal your soul, too.
I brought it up on the mediabistro bulletin boards: what failsafe questions do writers have for turning a boring interview into a brilliant one? Here’s what they advised:
One writer uses his or her own experiences to form templates according to what works. “I do a lot of pieces that quote maybe ten different people, so I do a lot of interviews. My questions are usually tailored for each piece. However, whenever somebody says, ”That’s a very good question” and then proceeds to give me an insightful quote, the question becomes of template for others. For example, in a recent piece, let’s say one of the ten interviewees had a business in a downtrodden section of town. The other nine were in thriving areas. Of course, all had something else in common, that’s why they were in the article. So I asked the one guy what the others could learn from his situation. Quite a lot, it turned out. I guess you could say the q & a turned a negative stereotype into a positive. He was surprised by question and I think the reader will be surprised by what he said.”
Another recommends turning interviewing itself into a question. “I once had to interview a guy who spoke almost exclusively from the PR document, word for word. If I strayed from the ”script,” he gave one-word answers. I knew he had done other interviews, and was sick to death of the process. I was about to hang up when I tried one last question: What’s the one question all your interviewers missed…what do you wish you could have a chance to explain? I got a 30-minute detailed explanation of the news topic. I’ve tried this a couple other times since then, and it has only failed once.”
More after the break.
Is there a voice recorder for iPod mini?
What are the best tricks, using an audio program like Audacity, for improving a recording of a phone interview where the other guy sounds really quiet, but your voice is loud?
What is the best way to obtain an agent for a non-fiction book (a collection of unorthodox and engrossing interviews with innovators on the political Left, with many a-listers)?
I recently began writing for a local paper, and have my first big interview on the horizon. I have little to none interviewing experience, so I’m wondering if you MeFites could offer up any dos/donts, tips, tricks, etc. My interviewee is a veteran at this sort of thing, so I’m nervous about making a novice blunder. I’ve already done mounds of research, so I’m (hopefully) covered there. Any other tips? (To be specific, the article is about a band and I’m interviewing the frontman.)
How do I interview a novelist?
Lifehacker today suggests you try Gizmo, an Internet phone with a handy feature for freelancers: “One nice feature of Gizmo is that it can record conversations. In order to avoid misuse or confusion, a voice on the system says “recording conversation” — a message the other party hears as well — gizmorecording.jpg when you press the record button. When you are done, press the red button and you have an archive of the discussion – great for podcasts or interviews or just chatting with your 3 year old niece.” And it’s free.
If you’re looking on additional advice on choosing a digital recorder, Lifehacker has advice here and here.
I’ve just completed an email interview and the answers my subject gave me are a dream. Right now I’d like to do something other than just a straight transcript of the interview. Considering the answers I have, a transcript of the interview is interesting, but are there better ways to present it? Is a transcript the best way to go?
Absolute Write readers have input.
What do you do when the one person you need to talk to for a piece doesn’t feel like being chatty? What’s the difference between a writer being friendly and persuasive vs. being obnoxious? I asked my reporter source, Tom Zoellner, mb instructor and author of the forthcoming book The Heartless Stone, on what he teaches his students. He shared some advice with me.
Build confidence in your sources by learning as much as you can about them and their organization before the interview.
Always try to meet confidential sources in a place far away from their office. Coffee shops work very well, because they’re bright, cheerful and anonymous. If the source is really paranoid, a parking garage is not a bad option either — clichés nonwithstanding.
Make the inside source confident that their anonymity will be protected. It helps if you can show you’ve done these kinds of stories before.
Looking for sources within an unhappy organization? Warning: Try this trick ONLY if your hand has already been tipped, i.e., the management knows you’re doing the story, because what you do here is guaranteed to get back to them. If you can get hold of one person’s phone number within the organization — say it’s 867-5309 – try dialing the numbers up and down from it – i.e., 867-5310 and 867-5308 – to reach some random colleagues. When they answer, introduce yourself in your friendliest voice and say: “Just hear me out on this before we hang up. I’d really like to talk to you about XYZ and you can stay completely anonymous. Even a point in the right direction would be a huge help….etc.” The longer you keep them on the phone, the more comfortable you’ll make them feel.
A more discreet way to do this, (but one that will still probably tip your hand to management, and it’s more time-consuming, too) is to find the after-work bar where some of the staff goes for happy hour. You can find this bar by canvassing nearby establishments and asking the bartenders, “Hey, any people from the Acme Company ever come here after work?” Become a semi-regular and start saddling up to strangers. Keep the drinks coming to them once they start talking. In Vino Veritas.
Try to obtain a company phone directory from a source within. This will not only give you work numbers, it’s a handy list of titles, and occasionally some home numbers.
Gentle appeals to make to reluctant sources are: 1) The public’s right to know, 2) the subject’s desire to expose wrongdoing in their own organization, 3) The subject’s desire to embarrass somebody (although you should NEVER say this is what you yourself are out to do – this could get you in serious trouble. See the Ethics and Legalities tipsheet for more information). 4) The subject’s desire to see the story told right. Say something like, “I really need you to help me get the truth out.” 5) If you feel brave, try quoting the British statesman Edmund Burke: “The only thing necessary for evil to prosper is for good men to do nothing.”
If the reluctant source happens to be a subject of the story, emphasize that you are interested in giving them a fair shake. Mean it.
You could also say something like, “Your side of this is important. Don’t you want your point of view represented in this account?”
Act surprised he doesn’t want to talk. Let your tone of voice tell him this is very strange behavior. “Are you really sure you want this story to run without putting in your two cents?”
When seeking a final interview with the subject of an unflattering story, make it clear that their non-participation or a “no comment” will not stop you from doing the story. Always proceed with the assumption that the story is going to run.
Is he still dodging you? Try showing up on his home doorstep in the evening. Or call his office from a nearby pay phone and ask for him without identifying yourself. Once you’ve established that he’s in, head up to his office. Or wait outside the building. Approach with friendliness, but determination.
What the hell, huh? Sometimes you just have to live on the edge. I’ve got several posts’ worth of useful tips on conducting good interviews, so why don’t I just call it a theme day and use them all at once? This is what life is all about, people.
Unfortunately, not all articles can be written using sources we emailed to our friends asking “Tell us ten sexy secrets you use to seduce your man!” Sometimes we have to ask actual doctors to provide us with sexy secrets to seduce men. Phyllis Ring at Absolute Write gives some tips on how to deal with expert sources.
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