RFTM Chapter 12: Interviews

Why do we interview? First, to gain facts and details. Who is involved or is affected? What happened? When and where did it happen? And why and how?

Second, to construct a chronology showing the unfolding of events. What happened first? How did things go from there? And what happened next?

Third, to determine the relationships among the people and interests involved. Who's involved? Why were they involved? Who are they? Why are they important?

Fourth, to understand context and perspective. Why is this event or issue significant? What relationship does it have to other issues? How is it historically significant? How is it different and unique? How and why does it matter to readers? How does this affect them?

Fifth, to find anecdotes. Is there an individual story or example that helps illuminate the event or issue, or make it more dramatic or understandable?

Writing for English composition is based on your own thoughts and feelings. But writing for journalism is entirely based on facts. So, instead of thinking of things to write, we interview to collect facts to make sense of, then write.

Whom should we interview? People who are in the best position to have first-hand knowledge or expertise on the subjects we're writing about.

For example, people with knowledge relevant to the story. If you're writing about a house fire, one such person may be the person who lived at the house that burned down.

Plus, people with expertise relevant to the story. Like a firefighter who helped put out the fire and rescue people.

And, people with insight relevant to the story. Like a fire safety expert, that can offer some analysis on why things happened the way it did.

Also, we need to reach people who are available. This is a deadline business; we can't wait for everyone to get back to us. Maybe the resident isn't around; we need to find someone else as a backup source. Maybe we talk to a neighbor. Perhaps the firefighter who handled the call declines comment; so we talk to the fire chief and see what we can get. Maybe we leave a message for the fire safety expert; we don't wait for the call-back, and we try to find another similar expert.

Finally, we seek non-human sources of information. Think police and court records, fire reports, other governmental documents, verifiable sources found via Googling, ect. This may save time and trouble by providing the information you seek. Just make sure to corroborate the info.

How many sources are enough? It depends. It may be a couple of people, or it may be dozens.

It depends on deadline pressure. This may limit your ability to contact sources to those most critical to the story's telling.

It depends on the expertise of sources. Less experience requires more sourcing. If you're writing about Tom Izzo's plans and your source is Tom Izzo, that's a pretty expert source on Izzo. If you're writing about Izzo and Izzo won't talk to you, you'll probably need a range of sources like his assistants and peer coaches and players and school officials and such to try to equal Izzo's own expertise on himself.

It depends on the degree of controversy. The more controversy, the more of a need there is for more viewpoints. Writing about a Cedar Fest riot? Talk to the cops and the rioters and the rioters' parents other students who didn't participate in the riot and townies and civil libertarians.

Along those same lines, it depends on the complexity of a topic. All degrees of complexity should be represented.

A reporter has an obligation to evaluate sources. Don't be afraid to ask yourself or even your source, what is the basis of the source's knowledge? (Why would Tom Izzo know about college sports? Because he's a college basketball coach.) How credible and reliable is the source? (Izzo has a track record of being truthful to other media over the years.) Ask your source, "How do you know that?" (How does Izzo know being a coach is hectic? Because he's been living it for a few decades, he might say.) And cross-check between sources (remember "If your mother says she loves you, check it out"?).

When should a reporter conduct interviews? Ideally, after conducting research on the topic, if possible. Use Google, use archived news stories, social media, whatever.

Doing research allows a reporter to avoid wasting time on irrelevant questions (e.g., "So, Tom Izzo, what is this game called 'basketball' of which you speak? Never heard of it"); to recognize newsworthy statements and ask appropriate follow-ups (if you knew Izzo once almost took a pro coaching job in Cleveland, you would perk up if he mentioned he just bought a condo there. Uh, why, coach? Something cooking in Cleveland again?); and make it less likely to have to reinterview sources.

Without preparation, how will you know what to ask?

Where should a reporter conduct an interview? Ideally, in places where sources are most comfortable and will talk freely, if possible. But time, distance and deadlines may (and usually will) constrain this.

In-person is best, but the next-best bet is by phone. It can save a lot of time, but it can also be superficial. And it can be a poor choice on complex issues for in-depth reporting. Still, it does allow for bakc-and-forth dialogue in real time, which makes it superior to email.

Wit email interviews, we must also verify that it was the source that actually wrote the email, as opposed to a spokesperson or assistant. Plus, we don't attribute what the person said to the person; we attribute it to the person's email (e.g., The MSU basketball team is joining the NBA, Tom Izzo said via email today).

What questions should a reporter ask? Sequence and actual questions can vary, depending on the story and situation. But there are general questions establishing basic facts; specific questions about the issue or event; embarrassing or difficult questions, if necessary for understanding, background questions establishing history and context, ect.

Try to ask questions that will elicit as much information as possible, like open-ended questions that allow the source to provide analysis, context and detail. Try to steer away from yes-or-no questions unless a source is being vague and/or evasive, and you require a clear answer (which you always do).

Don't forget to ask about basic details, like the spellings of names, formal titles, ect. I promise you, the first time you assume someone's name is spelled Billy Smith, you'll find out it's really Billye Smythe. Don't take that chance; ask for a spelling every time.

Ask for a phone number and email address where they can be reached before deadline. If later you have other questions, you want to be able to quickly and easily get them answered. Most sources would rather you get it right and bother them, as opposed to leaving them unbothered and then airing a mistake that makes them look stupid.

Ask, "Is there anything about this that I haven't asked you about that you think is important for readers to know about this?" You have no idea how many times during my professional career this elicited a killer quote.

I think it's because many of the people we interview are not professional interviewees. It takes them a while to get comfortable with the interview as its taking place,and to structure their thoughts in a way they can verbalize. So, by the end of the interview I find most people in a better position to clearly articulate what they have to say, moreso than at the start. Give it a try, will ya?

How should a reporter conduct interviews? First, start with a clear statement of purpose. Tell them why you're there, and what you're working on. Don't be vague. It's their right to talk or not talk to you. So, if you wanna talk to Tom Izzo about his explosive weight gain, tell him that from the start. Don't play "gotcha" with your sources.

Second, take charge of the conversation. Keep the interview on track. You're there to talk about Izzo getting fat; not about his kid's grade school art project. If Izzo drifts toward the latter, steer him back toward the former. Decide what questions to ask. Seek full answers and explanations. If you get less-than-full answers, be persistent. Keep asking until you get definitive answers, or a definitive "no comment."

Third, be a good listener. This is not contradictory to the previous point. You can keep an interview on track and let a source talk. Don't interrupt, argue with or lecture a source. This isn't the debate team. Even if a source appears to be lying, let them finish. Then get the interview back on track, by offering contradictory information and asking for an explanation. Do give sources time to develop their thoughts; like I said before, they're probably not expert at this.

Fourth, expect unexpected but newsworthy developments in an interview. Be prepared to explore new angles on the fly. Perhaps you're interviewing Izzo about his weight gain and he suddenly says, "It really doesn't matter. I was planning on retiring after this season, anyway." Whaa? Nobody knows this. Follow the new line of questioning.

Fifth, don't bully, intimidate or harass a source. It's their choice to talk, or not talk. Plus, it's an interview, not an interrogation.

Interviewing for in-depth or investigative reports require a bit more caution. A subject's version of events may differ from that of other sources or records. Ask sources to explain contradictions from other accounts. And allow sources to reply to and rebut charges, allegations and conflicting information. This may require multiple rounds of interviews.  

How should a reporter take notes? It's helpful to use or develop a form of shorthand writing. If a source talks too fast or you write too slowly, don't be afraid to ask them to slow down or repeat what they said. It's about getting it right, remember?

Plus, try to review your notes immediately afterward, while the discussion is still fresh in your mind. That's your chance to recall what that goofy squiggly line you wrote means.

Recording an interview is a good backup, but tedious to use in practice. On long interviews, you may have too much audio to review. It's better to have a recorder running while you take hand notes that also note the time (as measured against the recorder's clock) certain statements were made. Then, you can easily fast-forward to the quotes you need to retrieve.

Before you record, make sure you are in a state and/or community that allows recording. Different states have different laws. In Michigan, you need to get the verbal consent of someone to tape an interview. And in general, always let sources know they are being taped, if in fact you're taping them. If you were being interviewed, you'd want to know that, too.