Interviewing: A Guide for Journalists and Professional Writers [3 ed.] 9781032124049, 9781032124063, 9781003224396, 1032124040

Table of contents :
Cover
Half Title
Title
Copyright
Dedication
Contents
Acknowledgements
Introduction
1 The Interview
2 Research
3 Getting Started
4 Icebreakers
5 The Questions
6 Print – News Interviews
7 Print – Feature Interviews
8 Remote Interviewing
9 Broadcast Interviews
10 Ethical, Legal and Safe Interviewing
Appendix: Contributor Biographies
Index

Citation preview

INTERVIEWING

This is an essential guide to the art of interviewing, with checklists, tips and examples from leading journalists and PR specialists, covering basic to advanced techniques. Sedorkin and Forbes provide a comprehensive, step-by-step overview of how to manage the interview process. They cover: • best practice for preparing for an interview (and what to do when you don’t have time to); • the differences between news and feature interviews (for print and broadcast); • techniques to break the ice and navigate tricky and sensitive interviewees and topics; • tips on staying safe when operating in dangerous situations; • how best to utilise digital tools to make the most of any interview situation. This third edition builds on the popular previous edition and expands its scope to include the disciplines of public relations and professional writing, areas where practitioners require the interviewing skills of journalists to produce materials for the media. It also contains new and updated global examples/case studies and excerpts, including remote interviewing technologies and techniques developed and adopted as a response to the disruptions of the COVID-19 pandemic. Additional pedagogical features have been added to help facilitate learning, like end of chapter exercises, checklists, videos and top tips.

This book provides the tools for students and professionals to hone the necessary skill set to excel at interviewing. It is an ideal and important resource for those studying or active in the felds of journalism and PR, and those undertaking professional writing courses. Gail Sedorkin has worked as a journalist for ABC Radio, regional newspapers and magazines, and as a journalism and public relations educator at James Cook University, Deakin University and CQUniversity. She is the sole author of the second edition of Interviewing and co-author of Reporting in a Multimedia World and Get Your Message Across. Amy Forbes is Associate Professor of Journalism and Communication at James Cook University. She has worked as a journalist across media platforms producing news and public affairs programs for television in Manila, and was a writer and co-publisher of Balitang Kababayan, the Philippines’ frst regular daily online news outlet from 1995–1999. She was also an original staff writer for the Daily Tribune.

INTERVIEWING A GUIDE FOR JOURNALISTS AND PROFESSIONAL WRITERS Third Edition

Gail Sedorkin and Amy Forbes with Ralph Begleiter, Travis Parry and Lisa Svanetti

Designed cover image: © getty Images First published 2023 by routledge 4 Park Square, Milton Park, Abingdon, Oxon OX14 4rn and by routledge 605 third Avenue, new York, nY 10158 Routledge is an imprint of the Taylor & Francis Group, an informa business © 2023 gail Sedorkin and Amy Forbes T

All rights reserved. no part of this book may be reprinted or reproduced or utilised in any form or by any electronic, mechanical, or other means, now known or hereafter invented, including photocopying and recording, or in any information storage or retrieval system, without permission in writing from the publishers. Trademark notice: Product or corporate names may be trademarks or registered trademarks, and are used only for identification and explanation without intent to infringe. British Library Cataloguing-in-Publication Data A catalogue record for this book is available from the British Library Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data names: Sedorkin, gail, author. | Forbes, Amy, author. | Begleiter, ralph, 1949– contributor. | Parry, travis, contributor. | Svanetti, Lisa, contributor. T Description: third edition. | Abingdon, Oxon ; new York, nY : routledge, 2023. | Includes bibliographical references and index. | Identifiers: LCCn 2022041086 (print) | LCCn 2022041087 (ebook) | ISBn 9781032124049 (hardback) | ISBn 9781032124063 (paperback) | ISBn 9781003224396 (ebook) Subjects: LCSH: Interviewing in journalism. | Interviewing—technique. | Interviewing in mass media. | Interviewing on television. Classification: LCC Pn4784.I6 S43 2023 (print) | LCC Pn4784.I6 (ebook) | DDC 070.4/3—dc23/eng/20221024 LC record available at https://lccn.loc.gov/2022041086 LC ebook record available at https://lccn.loc.gov/2022041087 ISBn: 978-1-032-12404-9 (hbk) ISBn: 978-1-032-12406-3 (pbk) ISBn: 978-1-003-22439-6 (ebk) DOI: 10.4324/9781003224396 T Access the Support Material: www.routledge.com/9781032124063

For Nick – Gail Sedorkin For Jack – Amy Forbes

CONTENTS

Acknowledgements Introduction 1 The Interview

ix xi 1

2 Research

16

3 Getting Started

31

4 Icebreakers

48

5 The Questions

60

6 Print – News Interviews

80

7 Print – Feature Interviews

91

8 Remote Interviewing

108

viii

CONTENTS

9 Broadcast Interviews

124

10 Ethical, Legal and Safe Interviewing

147

Appendix: Contributor Biographies Index

168 174

ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS

My frst and most sincere thanks must go to my sister Lisa Svanetti, who has researched, referenced and proofed all three editions of Interviewing. Lisa has also supported and encouraged me, together with my husband Nick, my mother and father, Mollie and Lou Svanetti, brother Andrew and sister-in-law Ada. For their support and expertise, my sincerest thanks to friends and colleagues, Professor Judy McGregor (co-author of the frst edition of Interviewing), Barbara Alysen and Dr Mandy Oakham, and co-author for this edition, Dr Amy Forbes. Amy brought her extensive knowledge to this third edition and a network of experts from around the world. Sincerest thanks go to Professor Ralph Begleiter and Travis Parry who have generously given their time, support and expertise, as have Kirsty Nancarrow, Jodie Munro O’Brien and Pip Miller. Thank you for letting me use your wise words Phil Simon, Mark Pearson, Joanne Furlong, Alison Hill and Brian Clapp. My thanks for their encouragement goes to Jennie Arnold, Sue Chamberlain, Robyn Corner, Alison Galligan, Tony Grant, Ian Kruger, Leanne Kruger, Fran Moore, Karen Mosley, Narelle Muller, Jenny Waters and especially Carmen Rambow and Rosalie Rogers. And, of course, at Routledge, editors Lucy Batrouney and Lucy McClune, Georgia Oman who kept the project going with her patience and knowledge, and the dedicated and expert production team, especially Megan Tait and Hamish Ironside. Last but not least, thanks to everyone for reading and using Interviewing. Dr Gail Sedorkin

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ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS

My frst debt is to my co-author Dr Gail Sedorkin who conceptualised and wrote this book’s frst and second editions in 2002 and in 2011. Your work set a strong foundation for this now widely-used guide book for students, beginning professionals as well as more established practitioners. Thank you for inviting me to join you in writing this edition. My sincere thanks also go to Professor Ralph Begleiter and Professor Jaime FlorCruz, both of whom I met at the Salzburg Seminar in 2000. They so very generously shared their knowledge and expertise in broadcast journalism that emanate from decades of experience in the feld and in the classroom. I also wish to thank the generous contributions from Professor Lynda Kraxberger, Associate Dean for Undergraduate Studies and Administration at the Missouri School of Journalism who shared her interviewing tips, Laura McKee, communications adviser at the Mater in Brisbane and former media advisor to Minister Grace Grace in the Queensland Government, for supplying insights and photographs of her media relations work, and to Luchi Cruz-Valdes who heads TV5 News in the Philippines for sharing photographs of her television news programs and interview with former Philippine President Rodrigo Duterte. At Routledge, I join Gail in thanking Lucy McClune, Lucy Batrouney, and Georgia Oman for overseeing the book’s progress through its many stages of development, as well as the production team, particularly Megan Tait and Hamish Ironside. Finally, to my husband Jack, our three furry babies, and to my mother Luz for keeping me grounded with their love and support. Dr Amy Forbes

INTRODUCTION

Gut-wrenching and nerve-wracking – just two of the common descriptions of interviewing. This is understandable. Almost every media professional has a horror story or three to tell about their frst interviewing attempts – failing to ask questions, not listening to the answers, having a recording with no sound, or vision, are common disasters. Questioning strangers about a subject you may know little to nothing about can be a daunting prospect – even for experienced interviewers. But those with experience have the decided advantage of the confdence that comes from Preparation and Practice. So that, in a nutshell, is the focus of this third edition of Interviewing: Preparation and Practice. Use this handbook to guide you to Prepare for each interview. Complete the exercises at the end of every chapter for interviewing Practice.

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GRAB5 and more detailed checklists have been designed and developed to guide you through your own interviews. The fve major steps of any interview – GRAB5 – are: • • • • •

Get the Interview Research and Preparation Ask Questions Be Attentive – LISTEN 5Ws and H – CHECK.

Use the techniques and top tips provided by accomplished journalists from around the world including Professors Ralph Begleiter and Jaime FlorCruz (CNN), and Travis Parry (Al Jazeera News Service). This is not meant to be an academic or analytical book – it’s a practical guide aimed at journalists and professional writers new to interviewing. Whether your title is journalist, media advisor, public affairs offcer, public relations consultant, oral historian or biographer – this book is for you. Interviewing can be frightening, even gut-wrenching, but with our guidance for your preparation and practice, we hope it will become enjoyable and rewarding. All online references correct at time of writing.

1 THE INTERVIEW

A cadet journalist recalling one of her very frst interviews said she hadn’t prepared very well and was too afraid to ask the business leader any questions. After waiting a few minutes while she fumbled around trying to get started, the prominent businessman asked: “Do you take shorthand?” “Yes,” replied the journalist. “Well, take this down then,” he said. He then proceeded to dictate ‘his’ story to the journalist, including facts, quotes and full punctuation – right down to the very last full stop. It was a hard lesson, but the journalist said she always comes completely prepared now, and she always asks questions no matter how daunting or prestigious the interviewee. “Always remember—you are steering the ship”, advises freelance writer, journalist and producer, Alison Hill. In her 10 Interviewing Tips for Journalists she adds: Those in an official role often try to control the conversation, especially with a rookie reporter. Don’t let them. Be firm and take charge. If someone avoids the question, repeat it, and if they still don’t answer, ask them why they refuse to answer? Put them on the spot. This is

DOI: 10.4324/9781003224396-1

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your job, and if they’re a public official or politician, they have a duty to respond to your questions, however uncomfortable. (Hill Writer’s Digest 2022)

WHAT IS AN INTERVIEW? An interview can be enjoyable, emotional and exciting, often challenging, sometimes conversational, nerve-wracking, even confrontational or gut-wrenching. The only guarantee is that no two interviews will ever be alike. But what is an interview? Is it a conversation between two people or an exchange in which one person challenges the other, a way of tricking people into revealing facts or an argument in which two opponents are pitted against each other? Is it an opportunity for the interviewee to give a speech? Is a journalist merely a conduit for channelling information from the source to the public? It could easily be argued that interviewing can be all of these, and more. Certainly the importance of the interview should never be underestimated. With the role of news described over the years as the “frst rough draft of history” (Barth [earliest known citation] 1943) – the interviewees chosen and the information gathered from them – is critical to this role. Washington Post editorial writer in the 1940s, Alan Barth wrote of the impact of news when reviewing a book for the American magazine, The New Republic (1943: 677). Today an interview can be anything from a rapid exchange for a small ‘grab’ or ‘sound bite’, (an answer or part of an answer that can be as short as one second for broadcast), to a lengthy feature interview in which the whole exchange – questions and answers – are published or broadcast. A popular defnition of interviewing is that it is a conversation with a purpose – to inform, entertain, engage and challenge audiences.

INTERVIEW STYLES All interviews are different. They may involve trying to elicit opinion or emotion, or just gathering facts. Journalists use different styles or approaches (genres). These can range from the aggressive interviewer who argues with, and confronts, the interviewee at every point, to the interviewer who is overawed by the ‘talent’, agreeing with every word. Other styles include the conversation and the challenge. However,

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political journalist and professor, Ralph Begleiter suggests that these different approaches may be used by the very same journalist in different situations: A good confrontational interviewer, such as Mike Wallace on CBS, can also adopt a less confrontational approach when the subject or the event calls for it. Interviewing a recent widow, for instance, might well involve an approach quite different from interviewing the same woman when she held high political office or was in a top celebrity role. (Personal interview with Ralph Begleiter) CHALLENGE OR CONFRONTATION

Often the interviewing style will depend on how the interview will be used and where. For example, the challenge will often be used on a current affairs show or for investigative journalism, but would not be used when interviewing the CEO for background information. With investigative journalism the challenge may well turn into a confrontation if the source is seen to be dodging the questions. In times of crisis, an organisation’s public relations or media relations manager may have to challenge the CEO (or other delegated spokesperson) to obtain information that journalists will demand swiftly. It should be noted that the days of providing ‘No Comment’ are long gone. Political journalist and professor, Ralph Begleiter points out that the “constant drumbeat of social media raises the stakes for answers, and can be relentless with criticism of anyone who thinks they can get away with ‘no comment’ . . . today there is no such thing as ‘buying time’ under the pressure of social media” (personal interview with Ralph Begleiter). NEWS AND FEATURE INTERVIEWS

Fact and opinion interviews relate more to ‘hard news’ and current affairs, while the human interest interview is used for ‘soft news’ or feature pieces. The fact interview usually concentrates on the Who, What, When and Where questions, and is used for print news briefs and broadcast news stories where space and time are limited. The interview for opinion or comment emphasises the Why and How questions, and is more commonly used in longer stories. The human interest or feature interview also includes fact and opinion questions,

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but usually concentrates on the emotions and the softer news angles. Anecdotes and description are major components to add ‘colour’. While still in the human interest/feature category the ‘niche’ interview is the chance to explore ‘off-the-beaten path’ subjects, and people who are rarely in the headlines.

THE SOURCES You must be adept at a number of interpersonal skills to conduct an interview; asking questions and listening are just two of the skills required. While others may help with writing the story, you’re generally on your own for the interview. Almost immediately you have to decide how the interviewee is feeling about the interview and match their style accordingly. If the interviewee seems apprehensive, the reporter might not start the interview with the toughest question. Journalists often modify their approach according to their interviewee or ‘talent’. For instance, they would not use the same interviewing style in an exchange with a politician as they would when interviewing a young sportsperson.

Political journalist and professor Ralph Begleiter points out interviews with top government offcials or business leaders are among the most prestigious journalists can encounter. As a former CNN World Affairs Correspondent, Begleiter has interviewed “countless world leaders in virtually every feld of endeavour, from politics and business to law, religion and culture”. He provides the following advice for what he describes as ‘The Prestige Interview’. THE PRESTIGE INTERVIEW

Interviews with celebrities, popular stars, top government officials and even notorious figures, while prestigious, come with certain pressures. After all, journalists know there will surely be an audience for whatever is said in these interviews, regardless of the skill of the interviewer. Likewise, a prestige interview is unlikely to be cut from a publication or a broadcast, because it will draw an audience. So there’s a lot of pressure on journalists

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to do well with prestige interviews; no one wants to be embarrassed by failing to ask an obvious or important question, or by failing to elicit an interesting conversation. Because of these pressures, prestige interviews can be difficult. The interview subject has a following; the journalist might not. From the journalist’s point of view, it may be hard to ask tough questions for fear of antagonising the subject or their followers. The best prestige interviews manage to walk a careful line between fawning and aggressive questioning.

FIGURE 1.1

Journalist and professor, Ralph Begleiter (right) interviewing South African President Nelson Mandela. CNN world affairs correspondent at the time, Begleiter says this was a memorable interview he conducted on CNN at the United Nations in New York on October 2, 1994. The occasion was Mandela’s frst address to the UN as President of South Africa. Also in the photo is the CNN producer Mary Ann McGann (centre). Courtesy Mary Ann McGann © Ralph Begleiter Collection.

Prestige interviews don’t always generate ‘news’. Sometimes, they’re valuable for getting prominent people on the record, or for getting them to discuss topics outside their normal sphere of activity (talking with a politician about their music favourites is an example; similarly, getting a musician to discuss politics can

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be revealing). Journalists rarely are in a position to ‘dig up dirt’ in a prestige interview; usually there’s little unknown about a prestige interview subject. So it’s a matter of exploring points of view or policy options under consideration, rather than revealing previously unknown facts.

Ralph Begleiter is a former CNN World Affairs Correspondent and founding director of the University of Delaware’s Center for Political Communication, and has “engaged in hundreds – perhaps thousands – of broadcast news interviews” during a lifelong career in radio, television and higher education (Personal interview with Ralph Begleiter).

The prestige interview can also involve movie stars, sport stars or royalty, political and business leaders. The latter are eager to take advantage of any free space or air time. They are generally well versed in how to manage the media and deal with tough interviews, and often use public relations advisors as conduits or to prepare for and practice an interview. Before challenging any of these people in an interview, it is crucial to be armed with all the facts and to have researched what’s been said before. Reporters need to be willing to persist and insist on answers to crucial questions, and to remember that experienced interview subjects usually expect to be pressed for answers. A skilled interviewer will overcome evasion of tough questions. Celebrities such as movie, music and sports stars almost always have something to sell and need the media to do so. However, they can also be intimidating, so keep the following tips in mind. TOP TIPS

1 2 3

Use their frst name – in other words, be familiar. Understand they need you for publicity – you are important, too. Do a lot of ‘homework’ – celebrities have been interviewed frequently and are often bored with the process, so it is important to develop some original questions which could intrigue them and produce interesting answers.

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THE ‘USUAL SUSPECTS’

Not only are there different interview styles and types, the interviewee has a critical effect on its outcome. For this reason it is common for journalists to rely on a limited number of sources because they have proven to be articulate, credible and concise; ‘good talent’. These interviewees are often chosen because they’re easy to reach in a crisis, though journalists may quickly move past them once the immediate pressure of a fresh event evaporates. However, the use of the same sources repetitively can be counterproductive when audiences become disinterested. For this reason it’s important to move beyond the ‘usual suspects’ to ensure diversity and equity and maximum reach to a number of audiences. NEW SOURCES

Your range of contacts should be broadened by asking current sources for names of others who might be respected experts on the same subject. One of the misconceptions about contacts is that they have to be highly placed people. Journalists need to become accustomed to viewing everyone as a potential source of information and filing their contact details. You never know when they might come in handy. (Alysen et al. 2011: 69)

To assist the media in moving away from the ‘usual suspects’, one extensive directory in the US, Expert Sources, is provided by the Society of Professional Journalists (SPJ) in The Journalist’s Toolbox (2022). Other resources available include a detailed handbook by Media Diversity Australia (MDA), Reporting on Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Peoples and Issues, (which includes a list of contacts), and a Quick Guide complete with a checklist to support media professionals. Sound advice from the Quick Guide includes to “Also consider using Indigenous opinions in non-Indigenous stories too” (2018: 1). The MDA points out that “the media should refect, connect with and include all people” and that another resource, the Disability Reporting Handbook, was “created to assist journalists to do just that, with a particular focus on various communities with disability”

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(2021: 4). MDA is a nationwide not-for-proft organisation run by journalists and communication professionals. INNOCENTS AND CRIMINALS

There are many interviewees who unwittingly become the focus of the media, or must participate in interviews because of their position, their actions or the actions of others that affect them. Generally journalists can distinguish people who are ‘sources for the moment’ and modify their approach accordingly. For example, obviously a journalist would approach survivors of a train crash with more sensitivity than a hardened criminal who has been sentenced for committing a major crime. Professional codes of ethics and codes of conduct have been established to guide such practices; these differ from country to country. As with all interviews, it is important to be as objective as possible when interviewing alleged criminals – showing neither empathy nor condemnation. This can be very diffcult in cases that involve an interviewee who is alleged to have committed a heinous crime. CHILDREN

Young people are perhaps the most diffcult to interview – particularly on air. Masters of the one word answer, children often become more comfortable if some common ground is established before the interview goes live. This could include asking about school, sports, movies or hobbies. In some cases, establishing rapport with the child and conveying instructions are best done through the parent or guardian, who also gives permission for the interview on behalf of the talent. It’s also useful to phrase questions to children in ways that encourage descriptive answers. Example: “Are you sad that your team lost the game?” is likely to produce a short answer. “You look sad. Tell me about what made this game so sad for you” might produce a more fulsome and endearing response from a child. EXPERTS

Interviewing experts, even for the smallest of stories for a company newsletter or a news brief can be a real challenge. As an example,

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unless you are writing for a niche publication such as a science or fnance journal – most stories should be easily understood by an audience with a literacy level of about 12 years of age. They should not be vocabulary tests.

TYPES OF INTERVIEW VOX POPS

Vox pops (from Latin vox populi, ‘voice of the people’), aka ‘manon-the-street’ (MOS), are used regularly by journalists and have the beneft of immediacy and spontaneity. Essentially MOS or vox pops are ‘street’ interviews to get some opinions about a recent event or topical issue. Because these vox pops are generally only with a few people they should never be considered as a survey or representative of what the general public thinks. For example, if you have done three vox pops, you couldn’t then state: ‘Most people agree . . .’ or ‘The majority of people believe. . .’. MANAGED EVENTS

Managed events include media conferences or pressers, launches and site visits and are a common source of information for journalists today, generally organised by public relations professionals or media advisors. Top tips on how to get the most from what can be described as a controlled ‘group interview’ are explored in Chapter 3. DOORSTEPS/DOORSTOPS/STAKEOUTS

There are some drawbacks to spontaneity, and the ‘doorstop’ method is one that should be used with great care to gain an interview. A doorstop interview – known as a ‘stakeout’ in the US and a ‘doorstep’ in the UK – can be adversarial and involve the interviewee being asked to respond to accusations or allegations of serious misconduct. Doorstops are now used regularly – but not always as an aggressive technique as described above. It is sometimes the easiest way to catch busy sources when they are on their way to or from an appointment, such as a CEO between meetings, a politician after a media conference

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or a celebrity leaving a concert, launch or other interview. An extension of the stakeout – the media ‘scrum’ is defned by journalist and author Tony Harcup as “more than a handful of journalists turning up to doorstep somebody or to seek comment and/or pictures when somebody in the news emerges from a meeting, court case, or similar event” (2014: 176). Political journalist and professor Ralph Begleiter says “in the US, when an on-the-record press conference is complete, journalists (or some, anyway) often gather around the podium to pepper the speaker with a few more follow-ups”. He adds that: These have become known as ‘scrums’ too. They’re not merely a continuation of the press conference, because the cameras and audio recording equipment are turned off. They can be a very useful tool for both journalists and speakers . . . to clarify or expand upon what was said earlier on-camera. (Personal interview with Ralph Begleiter)

SPONTANEOUS EVENTS

Spontaneous events can include anything from allegations of corruption to disasters and accidents. They can present the most diffcult situations, and locations, for interviewers because of the lack of information and research time, as well as safety concerns. Locations of interviews might range from an offce to a red carpet, to a plane (such as on a political campaign trail or a diplomatic or military mission). Other interview locations pose dangers such as war zones, protests, pandemics or natural disasters such as fres, foods, cyclones and tornadoes. Keeping yourself and your interviewees safe in different locations is covered in Chapter 10.

THE GRAB5 METHOD Whether for hard or soft news, managed or spontaneous events, inhouse or external communications, you must be interested in your interviewee – and show it. There are a number of steps for any interview; 17 steps are detailed in Chapters 6 and 7. However, at its most basic, interviewing requires fve major steps – GRAB5:

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1 2 3 4 5

Get the Interview Research and Preparation Ask Questions Be Attentive – LISTEN 5Ws and H* – CHECK.

*The 5Ws and H are the Who, What, When, Where, Why and How questions. The frst four provide essential information for even the shortest of stories, and should be checked – especially the spelling of names. Checking pronunciation of an interview subject’s names is vital before a broadcast interview begins; don’t be embarrassed to ask someone how they pronounce their name, they will appreciate your effort. The GRAB5 method will be detailed throughout this book. THE ‘SECRET’ IS LISTENING

Listening is often described as a neglected skill, but its importance in interviewing cannot be overstated. For this reason it is covered in a number of chapters throughout this book. Described as one of the ‘legends of television’, Sir Michael Parkinson has interviewed more than 3000 of the world’s ‘movers and shakers’ including politicians and entertainers. When asked by Channel 7’s David Koch for his secret to good interviewing he said: It’s a simple proposition, really . . . you listen and then you follow up. The secret is listening. (Channel 7, 15 July 2009) PREPARATION AND ATMOSPHERE

If possible, know as much about the topic as the person you are interviewing, so it becomes more of a conversation. With the challenge interview, preparation will also ensure you know when they are not quite giving you the whole story or distorting the truth. Journalists will often challenge an answer, for example, ‘but you said last year that you would’; this ability only comes with lots of ‘homework’ prior to the interview. Journalists usually try to create a comfortable atmosphere for the interviewee – even if they have to destroy it later in the interview by asking the tough question. Breaking the ice in the frst few minutes

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of an interview can be seen as critical to its success or otherwise. For this reason a whole chapter, Chapter 4, is devoted to The Icebreaker. Technology has increased the number of ways in which an interview can be researched, recorded and published or broadcast. While most interviewers will agree face-to-face interviews are the ideal for providing non-verbal cues – interviews by phone, email, Zoom, Skype and social media apps are becoming increasingly common.

GETTING THE INTERVIEW But all the advice on how to conduct the best interviews relies on you actually getting the interview in the frst place. This can prove to be quite a hurdle in some cases. Extensive research can sometimes mean the difference between getting an interview and missing out. This was certainly the case for journalist and author Michael Smith when seeking an interview with Jack Ma, co-founder of ecommerce company Alibaba in 1999. The technology developed by Alibaba produced “a culture of online shopping that remains unchallenged anywhere else in the world” (Smith 2021: 132). The opportunity to interview Jack Ma, for Smith, Australian Financial Review Magazine China correspondent, resulted from his knowledge of Ma’s passion for philanthropy. “The meeting was a coup as Ma does not do many sit-down print media interviews. The strategy to appeal to his interest in philanthropy and his early ties to Australia had paid off ” (Smith 2021: 136). “‘Oh my god. He said yes!’ an excited public relations person working for Alibaba told me when he called one day, weeks after I’d submitted an interview request for AFR Magazine. ‘I can’t believe it’” (Smith 2021: 136). Broadcast journalist Travis Parry points out: In order to conduct a good interview – you first need to get the interview. There are several strategies you can use when the person doesn’t want to talk to you. It’s amazing how a government minister might be unavailable for an interview on a topic they don’t want to talk about – until they find out you’re also interviewing the opposition. (Personal interview with Travis Parry)

The Interview

News editor at Al Jazeera Media Network based in Doha, Qatar, Travis has also worked for the Australian Broadcasting Corporation and BBC News. How do you get an interview with a reluctant politician or businessman? Travis explains his techniques for getting interviews to video journalist Kirsty Nancarrow in this Zoom interview. Go to www.routledge.com/9781032124063 NB: Please take notes as you watch the video to help answer the questions – below.

PraCTICal exerCIses E

Broadcast journalist Travis Parry gives four (4) top tips in the video Chapter 1 The Interview. Which tip do you believe is the most important? Explain why. E

Watch an interview on television, online or YouTube that runs for at least five minutes. It can be any style (current affairs, news or entertainment). While you are watching, consider the following questions: • What style of interviewing is used? • Is it challenging, confrontational, entertaining or conversational? • Name the Interviewer and the Interviewee and give the correct title for both. • Was it a prestige interview, an interview with an expert, or something else? • What other questions would you have asked if you were doing the interview? E

Working in pairs with a colleague/friend or fellow student, interview each other for about five (5) minutes . . . taking notes as you go. Ask the essential questions – the 5Ws and H (Who, What, When, Where, Why and How).

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Write down the fve 5Ws and H ready to fll in as you conduct your interview – see below – to help as a prompt. • WHO: ask their name and check you have the correct spelling and pronunciation. Ask for contact details. • WHEN: when did they start their interviewing studies/training? • WHERE: where is their family from . . . where were they born . . . where would they like to live? • WHY: why are they studying interviewing? • WHAT: what do they do in their spare time . . . hobbies, sports? • HOW: how will they use what they learn about interviewing? Check that you have answers for all six questions including their contact details. When you have both interviewed each other, check your notes to see if you have covered the 5Ws and H. You are now required to introduce your interviewee to others. NB: Start your introduction with what you consider the most important or interesting fact/s. For example, your interviewee may have been born and spent their childhood in Africa, and would like to return there to live after their studies. NB: Keep your interview notes for further exercises and save your interviewee’s contact details.

REFERENCES (Hint: Copy & paste URLs where required) Alysen, B. Oakham, M. Patching, R., and Sedorkin, G. 2011, Reporting in a Multimedia World: An Introduction to Core Journalism Skills, 2nd edn, Allen & Unwin, Sydney, NSW Barth, A. 1943, Review of The Autobiography of a Curmudgeon by Harold L. Ickes, in The New Republic, vol. 108, p. 677, Republic Publishing Company, Washington, DC Channel 7 15 July 2009, Michael Parkinson interview with David Koch, Sunrise, Sydney, NSW Harcup, T. 2014, A Dictionary of Journalism, Oxford University Press, Oxford, UK Hill, A. 27 April 2022, ‘10 Interviewing Tips for Journalists’, Writer’s Digest, www.writersdigest.com/journalism/10-interviewing-tips-for-journalists

THE INTERVIEW

Media Diversity Australia (MDA) 2021, Disability Reporting Handbook, www. mediadiversityaustralia.org/disability-reporting-handbook/ Media Diversity Australia (MDA) 2018, Reporting on Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Peoples and Issues, Handbook and Quick Guide, www.mediadiversityaustralia.org/resources/ Nelson, D. 2019, Talk to Me: How to Ask Better Questions, Get Better Answers, and Interview Anyone Like a Pro, HarperCollins Publishers, New York Sedorkin, G. and Forbes, A. 2022, Chapter 1 The Interview (video), Interview conducted via Zoom with Travis Parry, News Editor at Al Jazeera Media Network, Doha, Qatar, by video journalist Kirsty Nancarrow, Cairns, Queensland, Australia, 22 December 2021 (Copyright © Sedorkin, G. and Forbes, A. 2022) Smith, M. 2021, The Last Correspondent: Dispatches From The Frontline of Xi’s New China, Ultimo Press, Ultimo, NSW, London Society of Professional Journalists (SPJ) 2022, Journalist’s Toolbox (Expert Sources), www.journaliststoolbox.org/category/expert-sources/

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Jack Whitehall: Before your rise to superstardom you did have some quite random jobs . . . you were a bouncer, you were a secret shopper in Harrods, a door-to-door draft excluder salesman. Luke Evans: Bloody hell, yeah, you’ve done your research. . . . I was very good at that job. Jack Whitehall: A hairdresser? Luke Evans: ( laughs) Okay! Well, yeah. . . . I can cut hair. I don’t know why I can do it, but I can. . . . I’ve watched people get their haircut so many times. (BBC 17 May 2019)

Research can produce interview ‘gold’ as shown above with actor Luke Evans – but it’s so much more than that. I don’t think any interviewer would argue about the value of doing your ‘homework’.

DOI: 10.4324/9781003224396-2

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American broadcast journalist and television personality, the late Barbara Walters says “the frst thing I tell anybody who’s going to be doing interviews is homework” (in Valiente 2014). When describing her interview preparation Walters makes a big claim: “I do so much homework, I know more about the person than he or she does about himself ” (Walters quoted in Valiente 2014). Both a writer and designer, Tobias van Schneider agrees and subscribes to the adage “research the hell out of your guest” (2019). Often considered the most important to ensure success, research or ‘homework’ – is the second GRAB5 step: 1 2 3 4 5

Get the Interview Research and Preparation Ask Questions Be Attentive – Listen 5Ws and H – Check.

WHY RESEARCH? Here are eight main reasons why research is essential. 1. Research helps you establish credibility. It takes a certain amount of courage to ask questions, particularly if you have never met the interviewee before. Those you interview will be more inclined to talk to you if they see you have done your homework and gathered background information. 2. Research improves your confdence to ask ‘hard’ questions. Knowing that you have: • a document up your sleeve • quotes or comments from someone else • information from another source to reinforce the question/s you will ask, will give you the courage to press for answers. 3. Research enables you to get more out of an interviewee. You can go in and try to wing it just by using the Five Ws and one H (Who, What, When, Where, Why and How), but often you need a lot more

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than that. Tobias van Schneider (2019) reveals how his team researches for interviews, doing “everything short of stalking them at their local grocery store”: We spend a couple hours (at least) researching our guests, their work, industry, history, culture, clients, Tweets, etc. before we interview them. We find and read all the interviews they’ve already done. We read what Wikipedia has to say. We read whatever they’ve written themselves. (van Schneider 2019)

His technique for writing “great” questions is based on research: When beginning to write your questions, write down every question you have about your guest. As you research, eliminate the questions you find answers to. . . . This is what helps you ask great questions. It also helps you avoid questions they’ve already been asked. (van Schneider 2019)

4. Research allows you to know when someone you are interviewing is avoiding the question – or the truth. Journalists learn to recognise the infnite ways interviewees can fudge facts in diffcult situations. As journalist and author Barbara Alysen points out: Just because an interviewee tells you something doesn’t make it true. And just because an interviewee denies something, doesn’t mean it’s not true. Check information with multiple and varied sources and corroborate material before you use it. (Personal interview with Barbara Alysen)

5. Research helps you understand trends, patterns and relationships. Some of the best stories written come from reporters who not only have an eye for news, but can see an ‘issues’ story developing. From their experience, from talking to sources, from reading and looking back over their published digital portfolio or clippings and listening to their audio and visual recordings, they recognise social, political or economic trends. 6. Research helps you keep an upbeat pace during an on-air or live broadcast interview. Graham Norton’s easy fowing talk show is not sheer luck, in fact “the researchers provide a twenty-page document on each guest” (Norton 2014: 265).

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7. Research allows you to angle the news so that you are not repeating stories others have already broadcast or published. Chief reporters and news editors would doubtless cite as their greatest frustration the number of stories presented to them by reporters that do not refresh a running story with a new angle. 8. Research improves accuracy. It helps untangle incorrect information and avoid ‘fake’ news – detailed below – and also ensures facts, dates, names, numbers and what sources have said previously are verifed. Remember, you owe it to the people you interview to get it right.

BEWARE ‘FAKE’ NEWS Although there is no absolute defnition of fake news, it generally refers to “those news stories that are false: the story itself is fabricated, with no verifable facts, sources or quotes” (University of Michigan Library 2022). With the increasing presence of fake news, often propelled by social media, fnding and using tools and websites that can be used to verify facts and information is essential. Checking an image’s authenticity including its date of production has also become a necessary part of the fact-checking process. Fake news stories can be categorised as: • Misinformation – incorrect information that is unknowingly or accidentally disseminated without fact checking or reading an article’s content, but isn’t intended to be misleading. • Disinformation – false information that is intentionally constructed to sway the consumer and glosses over the truth (University of Michigan Library 2022) • Malinformation – manipulated information based on the truth which is intended to be misleading and harmful to organisations, governments or individuals. Examples include leaks, cyber abuse, phishing and catfshing.

FACT CHECKS What if you need to do your own fact checking? How would you go about that?

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The International Federation of Library Associations (IFLA) has developed a guide – How to Spot Fake News. The eight steps include checking if the source of the website is legitimate, if the authors exist and are credible, and if the stories are current. The IFLA guide also advises to ask experts such as librarians or try a fact-checking site (IFLA 2017). The following resources can be used to check news stories, news sites, information and images: • RMIT ABC Fact Check (Australia) – RMIT University academics and the Australian Broadcasting Corporation (ABC) work together to determine the “accuracy of claims by politicians, public fgures, advocacy groups and institutions engaged in the public debate” (ABC News 2021). Social media, print and broadcast media are scrutinised for claims that require checking. The audience can also send in their viewpoints, comments and feedback (ABC News 2021). RMIT ABC Fact Check follows the International FactChecking Network’s Code of Principles (IFCN) – a section of the Poynter Institute (ABC News 2021). • FactCheck.org: created by the Annenberg Public Policy Center of the University of Pennsylvania, was founded by philanthropist, Walter Annenberg to “reduce the level of deception and confusion in U.S. politics”. This site checks “the factual accuracy of what is said by major U.S. political players in the form of TV ads, debates, speeches, interviews and news releases” (FactCheck.org 2022). • PolitiFact.com: operated and owned by the Poynter Institute for Media Studies, it has partnered with Facebook and TikTok to reduce the amount of misinformation being disseminated. These social media platforms identify suspect posts that are then examined by the PolitiFact ‘fact-checkers’ who supply feedback on accuracy and validity (Holan 2018). • Snopes.com: a fact-checking website where editorial staff members check stories and photographs that may be fabricated or may include incorrect information. The series of revisions and reviews starts by asking the source for further clarifcation and locating additional material from primary sources with relevant expertise as well as checking secondary sources. Objective sources such as peer-reviewed journals and government statistics are preferred by Snopes (2022).

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RESEARCH STRATEGIES Here are two research strategies – one short-term and one long-term – for discovering background information when you know little or nothing about the person whom you will be interviewing. SHORT-TERM STRATEGY

Ask naively dumb, but not completely stupid questions

Most people you interview realise that interviewers cannot be experts on every subject and every person. There are times when you have to be brave enough to ask naively dumb questions without appearing completely stupid. Coax the subject of the interview to explain the background of a confict, dispute or issue so that your readers, listeners or viewers will understand. Asking technical experts to explain something complex in lay terms is another way of getting information. Never pretend to know more than you do. Be honest enough to say you don’t understand or don’t know when it is appropriate so that interviewees provide the missing information. Another technique is to encourage eyewitnesses to tell their story in their own words frst so that you can pick up enough to ask relevant follow-up questions. LONG-TERM STRATEGY

Develop background knowledge to rely on

Interviewers need to build their own banks of knowledge about the rounds they cover, their communities, politics and the issues of the day. The more information you store about a topic, the more curious you become about the unanswered questions and the unexplained doubts. This background knowledge can be your secret weapon, and it can form the basis of interview questions when you have had no time to research a specifc interviewee. Background knowledge is developed by: • • • •

your own personal reading seeking out news and current affairs – every day regular contact with your sources talking to other journalists in the newsroom.

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When you have no time for formal research you will be more confdent asking the spontaneous question because you have invested in your own bank of background knowledge and current affairs information. Journalist and author Barbara Alysen advocates the long-term strategy of developing background knowledge: A generic rule of thumb is that a journalist should have read (not cover to cover) at least two newspapers and listened to one radio bulletin before coming to work. Online news sites are helpful in that the daily headlines, breaking news and videos are available (Personal interview with Barbara Alysen). You can also personalise your Newsfeed on Facebook or install relevant news Apps which might include ABC News, Al Jazeera, BBC, CNN, Radio Canada International, Radio New Zealand, and The Guardian, to name just a few. FINDING THE ANGLE

What angle is required and what length should the story be? Is the story merely a reaction piece to splice into a longer story, or is it a full interview? Research is essential to fnd the angle that no one else has. For example, the newsroom might have received an anonymous tip-off and wants you to put the information to someone, or they might want a follow-up reaction to a story that is already available online. But don’t just blindly follow newsroom advice. Act on your hunches too, and don’t close your mind to new surprise angles in a story. Before beginning the research, ask yourself: • • • • • • •

How much do I know about the subject? What do I want to fnd out? What would the public want to know? Why should people care about this story? Where can I fnd the information? What is the quickest way to retrieve it? How can I explain this in layman’s terms?

CLIP PORTFOLIOS AND FILES

Electronic Clip portfolios provide a speedy update on stories. Referring to a clip portfolio as a living resource means that you do

Research

not repeat old news or begin at the wrong start point. Free tools for creating and maintaining journalist clippings portfolios that are available online in 2022 include Clippings.me, Journoportfolio.com, Muck Rack and WordPress.com. Electronic filing is necessary and now news outlets have their own search engines that provide electronic updates and easy access to stories and photos using keyword searches and databases. For example, you can search the ABC News (AU) website (www.abc.net.au/news) by topic or program. The TIme FacTOR

Time is the enemy of good reporting. All reporters feel that in some interviews they haven’t asked the right question or gained the most from a newsworthy person because their preparation time for the interview was limited. Few reporters have the luxury of research for every interview. They often hurtle to airports or meetings armed only with native cunning, a scrappy assignment note and recording device, camera crew or a notepad. So what can you do when you have no time for detailed research? Broadcast journalist Travis Parry has a number of tips for researching on the run. He also talks to video journalist Kirsty Nancarrow about reliable sources of information and sources he would avoid: Go to www.routledge.com/9781032124063 NB: Please take notes as you watch the video to help answer the questions at the end of this chapter. A full transcript is provided here.

Cont One of the best sources of information may well be your own contact ‘book’. Right from your very first interview, ensure you obtain all the contact information you may need – including your source’s best after hours details. A good contact book or electronic list of contacts can mean the difference between getting an interview in time for a deadline and failing to speak to someone who is hot news. This list of contacts may come in the form of an address book or an online database. Journalist and public relations consultant Pip Miller says “for contacts that I don’t have, I rely on Google or LinkedIn platforms, or else

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will ask for a referral or recommendation from a colleague” (personal interview with Pip Miller). Pip has built up her own database of contacts throughout the years from when she started out as a magazine journalist and used a hard copy address book that was “forever changing”. Pip’s contacts are now stored in her digital email program (personal interview with Pip Miller). Video journalist Kirsty Nancarrow says she used a notebook for questions and a physical contact book at the ABC, “although by the time I left, I mainly relied on an electronic contacts database within the ABC’s story writing software” (personal interview with Kirsty Nancarrow). TOP TIPS FOR CONTACTS

• Start now – enter contact details from your very frst interview. • Update – update contact details as soon as these change. • Details – add details/links such as publication/broadcast dates of key stories. • Cross reference – the source might be interviewed about the economy, but may also be a triathlete; list in two sections and cross reference. • New sources – ask your interviewee for other reliable contacts. • Story ideas – on a slow news day look through your list to catch up with potential newsmakers or sources. • Rating system – rate your contacts with stars for contacts who supply accurate and timely information to you regularly. The more stars, the better the contact. ‘LIVING TREASURES’

In every community there are people with astonishing knowledge about issues and events. Some reporters have very good contacts because they ‘work their sources’. For example, your news editor tells you on Monday morning that you are to write a feature story on the rising tide of youth crime for Saturday’s feature section. Make a note of where you would start and whom you would speak to. Primary sources could include: • local police • victims’ support groups

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• • • • • •

school teachers parents young people themselves youth aid workers community groups and lawyers politicians, criminologists or academics.

Don’t forget these founts of knowledge may be in your very own university or workplace. RESOURCES, TRAINING AND SUPPORT

The Poynter Institute offers many resources for journalists all on one site at www.poynter.org. One organisation that fosters and promotes quality global investigative journalism with extensive resources, training and support is the Investigative Reporters and Editors (IRE www.ire.org), supported by the Missouri School of Journalism, Columbia.

FINDING SOURCES Need to fnd a specialist source? One place to start is Prof Net (https://profnet.prnewswire.com), which links journalists to academics, professional communicators and other expert sources on the web. Others include: • The Journalist’s Toolbox provided by the Society of Professional Journalists (SPJ) has training and resources including an online directory of “Expert Sources”; just two are “Quote This Woman+” and “People of Color Also Know Stuff ” (2022). • Another useful Internet tool for journalists and bloggers when they are trying to meet a deadline and urgently need an expert source is HARO (Help a Reporter Out) www.helpareporter.com SOCIAL MEDIA

Facebook, YouTube, Twitter, Twitpic, Instagram, Blogs and other social media tools have had a massive impact in our multimedia world. These sites are instantaneous in terms of their application and easily

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accessed, and are now considered serious journalistic tools that assist in gathering and disseminating news faster than any other form of traditional media. For example a journalist might pose the question on Facebook: ‘Does anybody know someone who has been a victim of the latest Internet scam?’ This can potentially be shared with a number of Facebook ‘friends’ or ‘groups’, to fnd people who would agree to be interviewed. A good site with information on developing contacts through social media is https://academy.news.co.uk/behind-the-headline/ build-up-contacts/ Author Phil Bradley uses Twitter to fnd librarians: If I’m having real difficulties finding something I’ll often go straight to Twitter and ask my question there. Since I follow and am followed by lots of librarians, someone can usually come up with a great tactic or strategy for me to use – or even the answer that I need if I’m lucky! (Bradley 2017: 216) WARNING

While online research and reporting is fast, immediate and effcient, sole reliance on information from a computer can be enormously risky. As anyone can create and establish a website or upload a video onto YouTube, it is wise to check the credibility of online content used for research. Most university libraries list ways to determine credibility of websites, for example, this site from Kent State University (https:// libguides.stark.kent.edu/websites 2020).

LIBRARIES AND LIBRARIANS Wherever you are located, make a point of seeking out your local, state, national, university and specialist libraries. Ask a Librarian, an online query form, or a live chat service for a quick question, is available through most major libraries (for instance: UK British Library, www.bl.uk/help/reference-enquiry-team). MEDIA LIBRARIES

Media libraries have moved to electronic access, although in some newspaper libraries there is currently a combination of archival clippings and contemporary electronic fling. Past happenings, and even people, can be accessed via photographic fle searches.

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You may be located close to specialist libraries such as technical libraries, archives and university libraries; however, it is more likely you will access libraries online. Some recommended university websites supplying information gathering resources for journalists are listed below: • Columbia University Journalism Library: https://library.columbia. edu/libraries/journalism.html • James Cook University: https://libguides.jcu.edu.au/InfoSkills • Massey University: www.massey.ac.nz/massey/research/library/ fnd-information/subject-guides/journalism/journalism_home. cfm • University of Missouri: https://libraryguides.missouri.edu/j2100/ j2100news/tools GOOGLE SCHOLAR

One particular Internet search engine Google Scholar (https://scholar. google.com/) is useful for researching academic literature. Google Scholar gives you access to book details, abstracts, articles, theses and court opinions from the one search. INTERNET ARCHIVE

The Internet Archive is a digital library of web pages, books, texts, audio recordings, videos, television news programs, images and music. Access is free (https://archive.org/about/).

PRACTICAL EXERCISES EXERCISE 1

In the video you watched earlier, Chapter 2 Research, choose one piece of research advice given by journalist Travis Parry? Explain your choice. EXERCISE 2

List four (4) sources of news and current affairs you read, listen to, or view each day. These sources can be local, national and international. Include the address if a digital source. 1. 2.

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3. 4. EXERCISE 3

Conduct your own research into Youth Crime to fnd three (3) key primary sources (people) you could interview about this issue and three (3) reliable secondary sources (publications). List these sources below. (Hint: a list of potential primary sources for this issue was included in this chapter in the section ‘Living Treasures’). Primary Sources 1. 2. 3. Secondary Sources 1. 2. 3. EXERCISE 4

Relating to Exercise 3, open two different search engines in your browser such as Google and Bing. Type in your query about youth crime and compare the results. Do all search engines work exactly the same? EXERCISE 5

Choose someone you would like to interview. They can be a celebrity, journalist, writer, artist, teacher, chef or sportsperson; fnd someone who has been ‘trending’ recently. Conduct your research online and choose the top three (3) sites that produced useful information about your interviewee. This can include Social Media. List below with an explanation of why it was useful. (For example: 1. LinkedIn – research produced a full profle of their educational and professional background including major achievements).

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1. 2. 3. EXERCISE 6

Consult your notes from the Chapter 1 exercise where you interviewed a colleague/friend or fellow student. Research information your interviewee told you. For example, they may have an interesting hobby, sport or job that you could explore. Or they may have told you they were born and spent their childhood in a small village in Vietnam; this village could also be the subject of your research. NB: Keep your interview notes for further exercises.

REFERENCES (Hint: Copy & paste URLs where required) Australian Broadcasting Corporation (ABC) 2021, ABC News – About Fact Check, RMIT ABC Fact Check (Australia), www.abc.net.au/news/ factcheck/about/?nw=0 BBC 17 May 2019, Interview with Luke Evans, The Graham Norton Show, Series 25, Episode 7, Host – Jack Whitehall ( Jack Whitehall hosted this program while Graham Norton hosted Eurovision 2019), www.facebook. com/thegrahamnortonshow/posts/2128989950585915 Bradley, P. 2017, Expert Internet Searching, 5th edn, Facet Publishing, London, UK FactCheck.org 2022, FactCheck.org: Our Mission, www.factcheck.org/about/ our-mission/ Google About Google Scholar, https://scholar.google.com/intl/en/scholar/ about.html HARO 2022, HARO – About Us, Cision US, Inc. www.helpareporter. com/about Holan, A.D. and PolitiFact 12 February 2018, ‘The Principles of the Truth-OMeter: PolitiFact’s methodology for independent fact-checking’, The Poynter Institute, www.politifact.com/article/2018/feb/12/principlestruth-o-meter-politifacts-methodology-i/ International Federation of Library Associations (IFLA) 13 March 2017, How To Spot Fake News, https://repository.ifa.org/handle/123456789/167 Internet Archive, About the Internet Archive, https://archive.org/about/ Investigative Reporters and Editors (IRE), Inc., University of Missouri, Missouri School of Journalism, Columbia, www.ire.org/

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Kent State University 16 May 2020, Identifying Credible Websites, Library Guides, https://libguides.stark.kent.edu/websites Norton, G. 2014, The Life and Loves of a He Devil: A Memoir, Hodder & Stoughton, London, UK Poynter Institute 2021, The Poynter Institute, www.poynter.org/ Prof Net 2022, Prof Net for Journalists, https://profnet.prnewswire.com/ Prof NetHome/Profnet-Journalists.aspx Sedorkin, G. and Forbes, A. 2022, Chapter 2 Research (video), Interview conducted via Zoom with Travis Parry, News Editor at Al Jazeera Media Network, Doha, Qatar, by video journalist Kirsty Nancarrow, Cairns, Queensland, Australia, 22 December 2021 (Copyright © Sedorkin, G. and Forbes, A. 2022) Snopes.com 2022, About Us - Snopes, https:// www.snopes.com/about/ Society of Professional Journalists (SPJ) 2022, Journalist’s Toolbox (Expert Sources), www.journaliststoolbox.org University of Michigan Library 4 August 2022, ‘“Fake News” Lies and Propaganda: How to Sort Fact from Fiction’, Research Guides, https:// guides.lib.umich.edu/fakenews Valiente, A. ABC News (US) 17 May 2014, ‘Barbara Walters: The Art of the Interview’, Act 7, Video and Interview: https://abcnews.go.com/ Entertainment/barbara-walters-art-interview/story?id=23737829 Van Schneider, T. 30 January 2019, ‘How to Ask Good Questions’ (for a magazine interview), Blog, DESK Magazine, https://vanschneider.com/ blog/ask-good-questions-magazine-interview/

3 GETTING STARTED

When I began my first job reporting, I spent the first week calling every high school athletic director in the area. That way when I called them actually needing something, it wouldn’t be the first time I would be speaking to them. (Shroff quoted in Clapp 2015: 1)

While you may not always be able to control where and when you conduct your interviews, there are recommended techniques to help you prepare for each encounter. As ESPN anchor Anish Shroff notes, above, it can pay dividends getting to know your sources well before your frst interview with them.

PREPARATION TECHNIQUES DEVELOP YOUR SOURCES

Developing a relationship with sources requires an investment of time and effort especially when frst starting out as a journalist. Sports media writer and news director Brian Clapp says in his article, Five Tips for Developing Reliable Sources, that “true success in reporting, whether on TV or print, comes from the information you get from the sources you develop” (Clapp 2015: 1).

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PSYCHING YOURSELF UP

Psyching yourself up for an interview is only one of several techniques for getting started as an interviewer. As with giving a speech, the more preparation you do for an interview – including your research and getting to know your sources – the more confdent you are likely to be. This is why the second step of GRAB5 is: Research and Preparation. Remember, it is not just new interviewers who become nervous before interviews. Even journalists who have conducted hundreds of interviews have their adrenaline pumping as they ask that frst question. PRACTICE, PRACTICE, PRACTICE

Most interviewers will agree that you feel a little bit more comfortable with every interview you conduct. While that is generally the case, there is no doubt the nerves will still be there no matter how experienced you are. This is preferable to having a ‘ho hum’ bored approach which must surely be obvious to the person you are interviewing, and then to your audience.

TOOLS OF THE TRADE Each form of recording interviews has its advantages and drawbacks – from the humble notepad to the latest video camera. The best advice is to have a system – with a backup. Notepads and recordings should be annotated as neatly as possible with the interviewee’s name, time and date of interview. Broadcast journalists will usually record this before the interview starts to save confusion if they are interviewing a number of people. This is also valuable for providing the correct pronunciation of their names. Recording devices can make some people nervous and selfconscious and inhibit good quotes. But recording an exchange does allow the interviewee to maintain contact with the subject of the interview, and that is valuable for picking up important non-verbal cues. The best advice, if possible, is to spend more time ‘chatting’ at the start before starting with your questions. During the interview, take enough notes to make it possible to write the story without the recording – just in case. You don’t want to return empty-handed if you have a breakdown.

GETTING STARTED

VIDEO JOURNALISM

Video journalist Kirsty Nancarrow says video is becoming an important part of the toolkit for journalists and PR professionals: Audiences increasingly have an expectation of seeing events happen in real time, as we have seen with daily media conferences around COVID-19. This means journalists and PR professionals are often called on to broadcast live from their smartphones. Video content is dominating social media and is a powerful storytelling medium so even newspaper journalists and communications officers are now required to gather video content to complement their written stories. (Personal interview with Kirsty Nancarrow)

Kirsty points out that being a camera operator is physically demanding and requires ftness and technical aptitude to set up the camera, tripod, microphone and lights: If the journalist is working alone, which is often the case, they must then monitor the sound quality and ensure the shot remains in focus and correctly exposed while also conducting the interview. Despite the logistical challenge of balancing journalism and videography skills, I found filming my own news stories incredibly rewarding. As a radio journalist (for ABC Radio), it was rare to leave the office, but filming requires you to be on location so the work is very stimulating and creative. It also helped me to build rapport with interviewees and camera operators from other television networks which was useful in situations where content needed to be shared. (Personal interview with Kirsty Nancarrow)

THE ANGLE In general an interview should provide the reader, listener or viewer with enough information to answer the key ‘Five Ws and one H’ questions; Who, What, When, Where, Why and How. Don’t forget that interviews are essentially about what interests us most – people. More often than not interviews concentrate on the ‘who’ and the ‘what’; ‘who said what’ or ‘who did what’.

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EXAMPLE

The 2022 Academy Awards is an ‘attention grabbing’ example of ‘who’ (actor Will Smith) did ‘what’ (slapped comedian Chris Rock) for ‘what’ Rock said about Smith’s wife. This story went viral.

Choosing a great angle is one of the joys and one of the mysteries of journalism and professional communication. It’s easy to identify what isn’t a great news angle. These include stories that start with areas which have been covered in previous interviews, stories that mumble and stumble their way forward and stories that don’t grab your attention. Starting a story with the ‘when’ – ‘In 2001 Josaui Sadi was born in Fiji’ – is an easy trap to fall into, particularly for a feature piece or a bio. However, it is rarely the ‘when’ that is the news or the most interesting angle. A CLEAR PURPOSE

Every interview should have a clear ‘angle’ or purpose which is often to: • • • •

Be new/timely/current Be relevant Be unusual Capture interest.

TOP TIP

To identify an angle, ask yourself the following three questions: 1 2 3

What’s new or different about the information? Why is it relevant? Who cares? Is it unusual? What will ‘grab’ the attention of readers, listeners or viewers?

The examples below show how the same story can be ‘framed’, using different perspectives and to suit different purposes.

GETTING STARTED

EXAMPLE

One example of using the answers from these three questions is provided – below: 1

2 3

Currency: Interviews started well before the release date of the latest James Bond movie No Time to Die on 11 November 2021. These interviews included the season’s opening episode of The Graham Norton Show on 24 September 2021 and The Late Late Show with James Corden on 8 October 2021 – well before the premiere. Relevance/Consequence: The release of the latest James Bond movie No Time to Die and Daniel Craig’s last appearance as Secret Agent 007 James Bond. Human Interest: Popular actor, Daniel Craig talking about his time in the role of James Bond.

In this case the interview ticks all the boxes – it had currency, relevance and human interest.

How a news story is ‘framed’ can have an impact on story choice and angle, as well as the interview process itself including the sources chosen. As noted in Critical Media Review: Media framing can simply be described as the angle or perspective from which a news story is told. . . . The frame of a story (or group of stories) will have influence on how that story is investigated and reported, who the journalist chooses to speak to, what questions he or she asks and how information is interpreted and reported. (Critical Media Review 2015)

No journalist is unbiased. Whether consciously or subconsciously, our perceptions of society are the result of a frame or context to which we have been exposed. As such, our choices and how we structure message meaning are dependent on what frame information was made available to us. This central organising idea or ‘frame’ can and does set the agenda, not only of what issues we (information consumers) should be thinking about, but also how to think about these issues.

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Journalists bring their own frames when they present information and news in a particular way. These frames are the result of internal factors such as editorial policies, news values, as well as media ownership. The journalist’s attitudes and behaviours then display as set patterns when it comes to story choice, interpretation, emphasis and exclusion in their presentation. (Critical Media Review 2015). Budding journalists would do well to be aware of how they themselves are infuenced in their actions by these organising forces. Depending on the frame in operation, will the ‘usual suspects’ be interviewed, will just one source be interviewed, what interviewing style will be used – for example, confrontational, challenging or conversational? Who benefts from such a story angle? Each interview will have its own unique rationale, but some common lines of inquiry include: current projects, future prospects, motivations, aspirations, past achievements, future challenges, the state of humanity, social problems, business and industry concerns, political confict and personal circumstances. Many great interviews arise from the tension between previous statements and current actions; for example with politicians at election time. What is the point of the interview? Is it to gather facts? Is it to delve deeper to produce an extensive feature. You should have the purpose clear in your mind. Journalist and professor, Lynda Kraxberger, says before approaching an interview, remember to think carefully about the interview subject’s time and your own: What is the purpose of the interview? If you are going to take someone’s time, think through the best way to have a guided conversation. Gather as much information about the person in advance of the interview, so that you can verify facts/spelling/information, rather than asking the person, ‘where were you born?’ or ‘where did you earn your degree?’ Double check your spelling and pronunciation of the person’s name and write down the information, in addition to recording it on either audio or video, or both. (Personal interview with Lynda Kraxberger, University of Missouri) ON THE RECORD?

One of the ‘rules’ to establish before you kick off with your frst question is whether the interview is ‘on the record’ or ‘off the record’. On

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the record signifes permission to use the information and quotes provided by the source plus their name. It differs from ‘on background’, which in US political journalism means: . . . the source doesn’t want to be named, but is willing to be identified as a ‘White House official’, ‘State Department official’, ‘Senate aide’ [for example]. ‘On deep background’ means you can report the information, but you can’t cite where it came from, which poses a challenge for news organizations with high standards of sourcing. ‘Off the record’ means you can’t report it. (Lakshmanan 2018) OFF THE RECORD?

‘Off the record’ becomes a complicated policy because: We can’t un-know something. What if we are told something that could be as big as Watergate? If we sit on such information, we’re derelict in our duty to inform. Yet if we made a commitment to stay silent, we’re bound by it, except in the most extreme circumstances. (Lakshmanan 2018)

An ‘off the record’ request is possible to circumvent legally by fnding another source who can independently confrm the same information on record and provide the story with a credible source. But when interviewing make sure you “establish [the] ground rules” frst, so that you don’t fnd yourself at the end of the interview and the interviewee saying this information is “off the record” (Scanlan 4 March 2013: 2). QUESTIONS OR KEYWORDS?

Interviewers are almost equally divided over whether having a prepared list of questions is a good idea or not. Some always prepare a list of written questions, but it is only to use as a prop. Some believe that with a formal list of questions you risk limiting your news antennae to the areas of those written questions. There is also a risk that you will not follow up on answers because you are tied to the questions on your list. As a general rule, don’t supply questions in advance to people you are about to interview. If you do, you risk losing the element of surprise essential in many interviews, and it can allow interviewees to

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manage and ‘spin’ their responses. It can also inhibit spontaneity when you are seeking colourful quotes. Of course there may be situations where you have to stay within certain subject areas, and you agree to this to get the interview. That’s not to say that an answer might lead you off on a tangent into other areas which you can follow. TOP TIP

Interviewers with less experience are advised to develop a list of questions or keywords. They help boost confdence, the process of devising them encourages good research habits, and they can focus the interview. As with giving a speech, you may feel more comfortable with a list of keywords to remind you of the topics you want to cover.

ORGANISING YOURSELF Organising yourself before the interview is another important aspect of getting started. Here are four top tips. 1

2

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4

Dress for the interview context. If you are interviewing political or business leaders smart clothing is expected. Other contexts may require different dress styles. For example, female reporters covering a Māori tangi funeral should dress in black and wear a long skirt if possible to acknowledge Māori custom at a funeral. Have maps (Google or otherwise), addresses, contact information and all the destination details with you when setting out on an interview assignment. Being late for an interview will defnitely start things off on the wrong foot. Let your workplace know where you are at all times, and alert them to whether or not you have the story as the deadline looms, or if the angle of the story has changed. Your information or quotes from an interview may be vital for the front-page lead or the hourly bulletin. Be aware that you might have to go out without notice to interview disaster victims, witnesses to an emergency, or to a spot

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news event, so always have your essential gear (for example, a smartphone) ready to go.

THE TIMING Gaining access to the person you want to interview can be as simple as calling a phone number. It can also be a major challenge. TOP TIP

A tip given to one young journalist was to always set the time of the interview appointment away from the hour or half hour. For example, rather than choosing 11am, pick 10.45am or 11.15am. The 11am slot implies it may take one hour for the interview and an 11.30am time implies a 30 minute interview. The other two times – 10.45am and 11.15am – suggest a 15-minute timeslot and are more likely to appeal to the busy interviewee. Some interviews have set times every day, for example, journalists covering local rounds or ‘beats’ such as fre, ambulance and police at the start and the end of the day (if not more often). Punctuality, courtesy and keeping faith by turning up, and conducting an interview effciently to minimise time inconvenience to the interviewee becomes second nature to reporters writing routine news stories. But what happens when you can’t get past a gatekeeper, an overly protective secretary or an offcious minder? DROPPING IN UNANNOUNCED

Using surprise tactics is one way to gain an interview – called a doorstep (UK), stakeout (US) and doorstop (Australia). Going to someone’s offce and asking for comment, waiting in a carpark beside a car or staking out an airport entrance or the side door of a courtroom are regular practices for reporters, photographers and camera crews. There is a measure of luck involved in gaining access to a reluctant interviewee, but it is far more likely that persistence rather than luck wins the story. There’s also a high chance you aren’t the only one trying this tactic, so it may turn into more of a media ‘scrum’, with “more than a handful of journalists turning up to doorstep somebody” (Harcup 2014: 176).

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FIGURE 3.1

A media ‘scrum’ is frequently used by journalists to catch busy sources such as politicians after press conferences. This ‘scrum’ followed an announcement by Queensland Education Minister, Grace Grace. © Photo courtesy of Laura McKee.

MEDIA MINDERS The higher the stakes in politics, professional sport and corporate business, the more likely there is to be a professional media ‘minder’. In instances such as civil defence emergencies where the public relations spokesperson is the conduit for information, or where police media relations offcers are handling spot crime news, a strong relationship of trust can develop between journalists and PR people. The majority of public relations practitioners see their job as a positive infuence

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between clients as sources of the news and the news media. In some cases such as the police, fre service or other emergency services the public relations spokesperson is trained in the service they represent and simply want to present it in the best possible light. In war zones the public affairs offcers have the added responsibility of keeping journalists safe while providing access to sources for interviews. PUBLIC AFFAIRS OFFICERS (PAO)

Staying safe while reporting in war zones is one of the frst considerations for journalists and public affairs offcers, as journalist Jodie Munro O’Brien found out while in Iraq. A senior police reporter for Queensland’s The Courier-Mail newspaper at the time, Jodie spent two weeks in Iraq in April 2008, interviewing, writing and taking photographs about the Australian Army being pulled out in June 2008. While Jodie acknowledges the key role played by public affairs offcers in keeping her safe and organising interviews while in Iraq, she also felt it was important to organise her own interviews as she mentions below. ( Jodie is currently a senior digital journalist, producer and editor at The Courier-Mail).

We were always under escort (also because of safety reasons; we were in a war zone, after all). The Australian Army accommodated us very well. Of course, I am sure most of the military personnel we interviewed were media trained first. Usually we were given officer after officer, but I wanted to speak to the majority – the lower ranked soldiers on the ground as well. I personally took advantage of any opportunity to talk to privates who were not necessarily handpicked to chat to us. For example, there was an occasion where we were on patrol in the middle of the night in an ASLAV (Australian Light Armoured Vehicle). Something happened while on the patrol, resulting in our return to base being delayed for a few hours. While our PAO and the other members of the media sat in the back in the dark and tried to get a bit of sleep (sitting up), I put on the headphones and chatted with the two privates who were the drivers of the ASLAV. This proved to be beneficial in a few different ways – I got to know the ‘truth’ about how some of the soldiers felt; I found out about another potential story that would later become my exclusive; and I made some valuable army contacts.

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We had briefings to attend first, usually led by officers. They gave us an overview of the area we were in, the reason the Aussie solders were there, and any other relevant information. Although these briefings were important to obtain key background information and quotes for some of our first stories, they were more like small press conferences, and, therefore, only ‘official’ information would be provided. Our PAO escort or other officers would often choose, organise or recommend a particular soldier for us to interview. Overall, we were fortunate in that, on this trip, we had a great PAO so were given a lot of opportunity to get certain stories. If we asked him if we could interview someone specific, he would try his best to arrange it. (Munro O’Brien extracted and adapted from Sedorkin 2011: 24–25).

Use PR people to: • • • •

provide background information arrange access for interviews indicate where sources can be found for comment provide one perspective on the news.

CRISIS COMMUNICATION Most organisations and CEOs are now trained in working with the media and in crisis communications. Those in public relations (PR) understand that it is better to get correct information out quickly than to fuel speculation. For this reason it often falls to the PR professional to conduct interviews with CEOs and managers to produce press releases and other materials for the media – knowing it is preferable to ‘no comment’ or ‘unavailable for comment’ – particularly in times of crisis. These interviews can be conducted under high pressure in terms of time available, and ensuring all the information is correct falls on the shoulders of the PR manager or media advisor. It’s at times like these that the communications professional will be glad they have developed strong links with their own management team if working in-house, or with their clients.

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Journalist and public relations specialist Laura McKee was able to combine her public relations role with interviewing teachers to get their ‘personal stories’ – starting as Facebook posts and resulting in a successful weekly series of interviews that ran online for six months.

The key to the success of this campaign was interviewing. The teachers loved that even though I worked for the Education Minister and was usually doing 10 things at once while visiting their school (taking pictures/videos, dealing with the journalists, setting up press conferences, taking multiple calls and keeping the Minister on time), I was approachable and friendly and took the time to ask them about themselves and their life outside of school. I made time to listen, despite how busy I was. (Personal interview with Laura McKee)

MANAGED EVENTS Interviewing opportunities may also come up during press and media conferences, press junkets, set visits, the red carpet, and roundtables (when multiple journalists huddle in a room as a publicist enters with your interviewee). A press or media conference (sometimes called a presser or news conference) is an event organised by a publicist in order to promote a product, performance or a celebrity. It is also regularly called by a politician, a police spokesperson or other government offcial in order to announce a new law or policy, updates on a developing event (such as vaccination rates, a missing person) or to deny an allegation of a wrongdoing. These occasions are to the beneft of the person calling it as they then have a roomful of journalists who, by virtue of being present, create the illusion that the event or issue at hand is of far greater importance than perhaps warranted. For the organiser, they are relieved of the burden of repeating themselves to countless journalists, and with proper preparation, they control the story angle, often by providing them a well-written media release and other materials.

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Journalist and public relations consultant Pip Miller says she frequently interviews people for media releases, feature articles and bios – often provided to journalists in the form of digital media kits at press conferences. Pip says she also produces audio and video clips, often at the request of the journalist (Personal interview with Pip Miller). Many PR professionals such as Pip Miller start their media careers as journalists, and as such understand news values and what information is required. Despite this, journalists should view the media release/kit as a starting point, or background, and ask the following questions.

• • • •

Are there other questions you need to ask the source quoted in the media release? What is the angle or ‘spin’? Is there another stronger angle for this story? Is there missing information? Are there other sources who could be interviewed?

ADVANTAGES

The managed event is favoured by organisers, because it gives them the opportunity to disseminate information to a large number of people at one time – a kind of ‘group interview’. Advantages include: • The chance to ask questions of a person who might be diffcult to catch on a one-to-one basis. • The workload of questioning is shared; with the number of journalists in attendance, it is unlikely that an important question will be missed. • The answer to other journalists’ questions can be used by all. • Background research/photographs/audio and video clips are provided in media kits.

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DISADVANTAGES

On the other hand, there are several disadvantages for journalists and their audiences. These include: • Managed events may be limited to a single topic, forestalling questions from probing journalists which might be relevant to the personality or the business host. • Little opportunity for an individual reporter to get a scoop, or an exclusive, when they ask their questions in public at a media conference. Reporters who come to the event with inside information are generally reluctant to ask about it during a managed event, because they’d be giving away their information to competing journalists. • It’s diffcult for reporters to follow-up a line of questioning, since organisers rarely call on the same journalist more than once, and since other journalists have their own lines of questioning in mind. • The organisers might allow individual time at the end for journalists, but journalists may well have to conduct a ‘doorstop/doorstep’ or join a media scrum after the event. MEDIA STAKEOUTS AND SCRUMS

What will make your interview with a visiting celebrity different from the rest of the media? Your aim is to walk away with extra information the other journalists didn’t get. A tip here is to hold back an original question and ask it after the formal media conference has ended when other journalists can’t use the answer. As this is quite a commonly used tactic, even this individual ‘doorstep’ or ‘stakeout’ may not be possible and could turn into more of a media ‘scrum’. JUNKETS, FAMILS AND PREMIERES

Press junkets or ‘famils’ (familiarisations) used to be the domain of the entertainment and travel industries but today, other sectors such as sports, publishing and even politics have utilised them. It’s a means to corral journalists in a single location for a day or two, even on board Air Force One, in the case of the US president on a campaign trail.

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TOP TIPS FOR MANAGED EVENTS

1 2 3

4 5 6

Do come in early especially if you intend to record the press conference (Q&A). Use the time to locate yourself and your equipment in the best position relative to the interviewee. Try to ask even one question, if just to signify your presence. Prioritise the questions you will be asking. At roundtables, journalists have a short period of time – usually no longer than 30 minutes – to fre questions at the interviewee before the publicist calls time. If you have prior information or research that may give you an exclusive story, don’t ask that during the Q&A. Instead, seek an individual interview. Do ask the PR or media manager for additional photographs or reports the interviewee may have mentioned during the Q&A. At the end of the press conference, do not be in a hurry to leave. You may get your exclusive by asking for clarifcation on a point just as the interviewee is about to exit the door, or get into a vehicle.

PRACTICAL EXERCISES EXERCISE 1

At the end of Chapter 2 you chose, and researched, one person you would like to interview. Now write an email to them requesting an interview. Don’t forget to include a Subject line as indicated below, and, in the content of the email, include a time, place and reason for the request; explain the purpose of your interview. Use your research to guide you as to the focus of your interview request; something different, new or unusual that you didn’t know about them. From: (your email address) To: (your interviewee) Subject: (include a subject line)

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Body of the email: Request for an interview including time, place and focus/angle of the interview. EXERCISE 2

Now do the same email exercise for the person you have interviewed; your colleague/friend or fellow student. Based on the research you conducted on them (at the end of Chapter 2) write and send an email request to your interviewee. The focus or angle should come from your research on them. Complete the following: From: (your email address) To: (your interviewee) Subject: (include a subject line) Body of the email: Request for an interview including time, place and focus/angle of the interview.

REFERENCES (Hint: Copy & paste URLs where required) Clapp, B. 7 May 2015, ‘Five Tips for Developing Reliable Sources’, WorkInSports Resource Center, www.workinsports.com/resourcecenter/jobseeker/pages/ fve-tips-for-developing-reliable-sources Critical Media Review, 19 October 2015, ‘What is Media Framing?’, https:// criticalmediareview.wordpress.com/2015/10/19/what-is-media-framing (This entry was posted in Ciara Graham, Framing, Henry Silke, Ideology, Irish Media, media bias and tagged Framing, Methodology by Critical Media Review.) Harcup, T. 2014, A Dictionary of Journalism, Oxford University Press, Oxford, UK Lakshmanan, I.A.R. 19 March 2018, ‘Why Off-the-Record is a Trap Reporters Should Avoid’, Poynter, www.poynter.org/ethics-trust/2018/ why-off-the-record-is-a-trap-reporters-should-avoid/ Scanlan, C. 4 March 2013, ‘How Journalists Can Become Better Interviewers’, Poynter, www.poynter.org/reporting-editing/2013/howjournalists-can-become-better-interviewers/ Sedorkin, G. 2011, Interviewing: A guide for journalists and writers, 2nd edn, Allen & Unwin, Crows Nest, NSW

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4 ICEBREAKERS

Edwina Bartholomew: Elton, so many amazing artists on this album . . . Charlie Puth lives a couple of doors down from you in LA . . . he wanted to collaborate. Did you get any complaints from your neighbours about the noise you two are making? Elton John: No . . . most studios are soundproof . . . but we are making a lot of noise I can tell you [laughs]. (Channel 7 Sunrise 22 October 2021) This interview with Sir Elton John and journalist Edwina Bartholomew was defnitely not the frst or the last about his album, The Lockdown Sessions. But it was almost certainly the frst time he had been asked if his neighbours complained about his recordings. This ‘icebreaker’ got a laugh out of Sir Elton and set a relaxed conversational tone which continued throughout the interview.

WHAT IS AN ICEBREAKER? Anyone who conducts interviews regularly will undoubtedly tell you that the frst few minutes of the interview are the most crucial – and DOI: 10.4324/9781003224396-4

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the most diffcult. This is the ‘frst impressions’ time that can make or break an interview. It’s this informal time before an interview that sets the atmosphere and the tone, and is the time to establish a connection or rapport with the interviewee. It’s also the time to establish trust with the interviewee, particularly if they are new to this role and understandably hesitant. Journalist and author Emma Lee-Potter says some interviewees “will be nervous and inexperienced, so you’ll need to do your utmost to put them at their ease” (2017: 20). The frst few minutes are critical and can be the key to a great interview – or in some cases, getting an interview at all. A common technique to get the conversation rolling is known as an Icebreaker. It can take anywhere from ten seconds to ten minutes, sometimes longer, but is an essential start to any interview. Icebreakers can be divided into two main categories: 1 2

Research Icebreakers On-the-spot Icebreakers.

RESEARCH ICEBREAKERS Research icebreakers are devised as a result of the journalist’s knowledge of, and research on, the interviewee. These icebreakers are preferable and are one preparation technique that is practically guaranteed to produce positive results. A Muck Rack blog by writer Carson Kohler on “How to conduct a good interview” puts research as the number one tip (of 14) for journalists, including how this can help break the ice: Survey their online presence. It doesn’t hurt to see where else they’ve been quoted and on what topics. Lauren Anderson, a staff writer at Showbiz Cheat Sheet, shares a pro tip: ‘Check their social media in the days/hours leading up to your interview,’ she says. ‘This gives you something to talk about to break the ice.’ (Kohler, Muck Rack 2021)

Bruce Grundy, author of So You Want to be a Journalist? (2007) says if you can’t fnd any background information on a prospective interviewee, to admit it. However, if the interviewee does have a sporting

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background, for example, then “be professional” and perform your research (Grundy 2007: 320). Today digital sources such as Facebook and LinkedIn, or even an Internet search, often produce full profles or biographies.

‘HOMEWORK’

Those who interview regularly agree that ‘homework’ or research always pays off when it comes to icebreakers, and in fact interviews as a whole. People are generally fattered if you have gone to the trouble to fnd out about them; regular sources will expect it. Understandably the interviewee would be impressed that you have gone to the trouble to fnd out about them and their interests.

EXAMPLE

Early in their career a radio journalist had to interview a conservationist and television personality about a talk he was giving on sustainable development (not a common topic at the time). The journalist read widely, including getting a copy of the talk from the last venue where the interviewee had spoken. The subject had planned to talk for about 15 minutes but, when he realised the journalist had gone to some trouble (and actually said as much to them), the interview continued for almost two hours.

ON-THE-SPOT ICEBREAKERS From the outset of a live Zoom interview for Apple Music 1, DJ and record producer Zane Lowe successfully broke the ice with a question about a stand-up bass he could see on-screen behind legendary singer and songwriter Sir Paul McCartney. While it is an on-the-spot

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icebreaker, clearly Lowe’s music industry knowledge, including knowing this instrument is hard to play, ensures its success and leads straight into an enthusiastic story about the bass from Sir Paul: Sir Paul McCartney: Zane, great to see you, man. Zane Lowe: man, can you play that thing over your shoulder? Everyone tells me the stand-up bass is no joke. Paul: that stand-up bass is no joke, but listen . . . That is the Elvis Presley bass, played by Bill Black. If you check out the album cover Elvis Presley Vol1, you will see that bass on the cover, with the white trim. That’s actually Bill Black’s bass. Zane: my days . . . Do you touch it, do you play it . . . Paul: I played it on the new album, yeah . . . I love it. ... Paul: Yeah, it’s on a few songs . . . That’s the story of that man. (Apple Music 1, 21 December 2020).

ESTABLISH YOUR CREDIBILITY

If you know someone is interested in surfng, skiing, photography or any other sport or hobby, this can be very useful, particularly if you share the interest and can talk knowledgeably about it. DJ, record producer and television presenter Zane Lowe – above – has clearly forged his place in the music industry, comfortably interviewing musicians around the world including Sir Paul McCartney. Unfortunately you do not always have this shared knowledge, so this is when you must call on your general knowledge or powers of observation to formulate On-the-spot Icebreakers. If all else fails, comment on the weather, but this is defnitely a last resort unless it really is worth mentioning.

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“GET STUCK IN”

Journalist and author Mandy Oakham says you are normally better off to “get stuck in”, particularly with experienced and busy sources. A journalist in both the UK and Australia, Mandy says: There’s nothing worse than a younger or less experienced journo trying to come up with a contrived icebreaker . . . ‘my what a lovely rose’ . . . you are better off just explaining what you are trying to do with your story . . . if appropriate. Obviously if the interviewee comes to the door dressed as Freddie Mercury, you not only have your icebreaker but you also have your intro! Of course if things arise naturally – if it’s 50 degrees Celsius outside – you could comment on that. (Personal interview with Mandy Oakham)

Once you’re inside a subject’s offce or home there are good opportunities for icebreakers. Possible conversation starters include: • • • •

Pets Paintings Photographs Books.

If you’re in an offce you might comment on the view (if there is one), but if the location is neutral perhaps you might comment on their jewellery, their watch or some other personal effect. Avoid concentrating too much on their personal appearance, though. IN THE STUDIO

Studio locations can be daunting, and a good way to break the ice is to empathise with the talent’s nervousness. Make a comment about how hot the lights get in a television studio, or how all the equipment in the radio studio can be daunting. This is one of the few times when the interviewer can talk about their own experiences and background, using it as a way to put the interviewee at ease.

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EXAMPLE

One radio journalist started a diffcult interview by confessing her (genuine) fear of all the studio equipment and some of her early mistakes. It not only showed a more personal side to the journalist, but also broke the ice with a few laughs. No matter what technique you use for your icebreaker, there is no substitute for genuine interest and enthusiasm. There are not too many people who do not enjoy telling their story, particularly to a good listener. Make sure it is obvious right from the start that you want to hear their story. If you keep up to date with current affairs (which should always be the case), you could comment on a recent issue or event to break the ice. Be wary about making political or religious comments, though, as this could have the reverse effect and make the atmosphere very frosty. It may also set you up for accusations of bias. You and the interviewee may have a mutual friend or colleague, and a greeting from them ‘should’ get things started on a good note.

BEWARE A word of caution; ensure that your interviewee is defnitely on friendly terms with the mutual friend or colleague before you start name-dropping. A journalist remembers one interview becoming very uncomfortable when a colleague was mentioned; they later found out the person had been the interviewee’s manager and tried to fre them early in their career. Another way to shut down an interview before it has even begun is to express doubt or disapproval. Making a judgemental response will probably cause offence. Equally, you should not be disingenuous and make false expressions of approval. The best approach is to be as objective as possible with each and every interview. BEFORE THE ICEBREAKER

Before you get to use your icebreaker, your initial contact with the interviewee should be polite but confdent; introduce yourself and greet your interviewee. But when should you use an icebreaker? Who appreciates the time to relax before an interview and who does not? In most formal settings, a handshake before the icebreaker is appropriate. However, it’s best to take your cue from the interviewee or the

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current situation. For example, during the height of the COVID-19 pandemic shaking hands was defnitely off the radar. WHEN?

The time for your icebreaker is before the actual formal interview but after the initial introduction has been made. It should give you a chance to gauge how the interviewee is feeling about the exchange and to put everyone at ease (including yourself ). The interviewee gets a frst impression of the interviewer from the person’s frst question and may show more of his or her personality responding to a nonthreatening question. This is not the time to bring out your recording devices, even a notepad, particularly if the interviewee appears uncertain about the exchange. This is also not the time to start asking questions or discussing areas that are critical to your interview. If your interviewee is still looking uncomfortable or threatened after your initial icebreaker, don’t launch into your interview regardless. Keep the conversation going; even if this takes ten minutes or more, it will pay off in the end. Journalist and public relations specialist, Laura McKee says her icebreakers are very basic: I try to stick with topics totally unrelated to the interview that don’t use much thinking and require small engagement. But I also try to make it topical and mirror what I’m thinking. For example, if there’s been a recent COVID outbreak I’d say ‘How are you going in lockdown?’, ‘Have you got a good puzzle?’ (Personal interview with Laura McKee)

Electronic journalists seeking a short news grab would rarely spend time on icebreakers, unless the person was inexperienced with the media. However those conducting a longer podcast interview, for example, are more likely to spend time easing into the interview to establish a more friendly tone before the podcast begins. WHO?

If the interviewee is someone you call on frequently as a source or is experienced in dealing with the news media, less time needs to be

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devoted to the icebreaker. Establishing a rapport is always important, but busy people value their time and expect an interview to be conducted quickly and effciently. Unnecessary chit-chat will be seen as time-wasting and not conducive to an effective interview.

OBSERVING CULTURAL PROTOCOLS When interviewing ‘talent’ from cultures or religions other than ones you are familiar with, you may be unclear about whom to approach for comment. In Australia, it is important to know which Community or Language group your talent identifes with, and to understand that Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander are two distinct cultural groups. Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander communities and organisations often have protocols that are based on community values, procedures and priorities that have been adapted to their own community context. Journalists should research the protocols of each individual community before interviewing members. Most communities’ communication protocols have guidelines prepared by their Community Councils (in consultation with the Community Elder groups) and these would be the frst point of contact. Certain customs and practices are performed by men and women separately and sometimes privately – referred to as Men’s and Women’s Business – but this will vary from community to community. Media Diversity Australia (MDA) has produced a number of resources for the media including a handbook and a quick guide to ensure protocols are followed for any interviews conducted with Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples. It is advised that: While this document can provide you with some top line suggestions, please remember that every Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander person, community and group is different. This guide seeks to help media professionals navigate protocols around Indigenous stories. When in doubt, ask the question to whoever you’re interviewing or reporting on. (MDA 2018: 3)

Reporting on Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Peoples and Issues was produced by MDA in partnership with National Congress of Australia’s

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First Peoples and the Australian Broadcasting Corporation to “assist journalists when reporting on, or interviewing, Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples” (2018: 2). Numerous sources and further reading are provided such as the Reporter’s Checklist from Reporting in Indigenous Communities (Canada) (riic.ca/reporters-checklist). Members of Pacifc Island communities who have been underreported in the mainstream media will often be apprehensive, if not suspicious, of journalists. Explaining the purpose of the story and why the interview is essential can allay justifed concerns and facilitate a successful interview. Keep in mind, too, that Pacifc Islander culture is highly collectivist and values the needs of the group (family and/or community) over the individual. RESEARCH

If you are interviewing someone from another culture, it is essential, if you don’t already have the background knowledge, to research conversational ‘do’s’ and ‘don’ts’. You need to honour the cultural practices and protocols for engagement, reciprocity, and social and spiritual inclusiveness. For instance, if you were interviewing someone from the Torres Strait Islands, you should fnd out exactly which island they are from, as each has its own diverse history and culture. If they are from Moa Island, for instance, get a map and fnd out exactly where it is, and research information about the island and its people before the interview. With Māori, it is important to establish their ‘iwi’ (people, tribe or nation) and then show that you know where it is based, which Māoris call ‘rohe’ that describes the territory or boundaries of iwi. With Pacifc Island and Asian communities it is essential to recognise and appreciate national identity and difference. Journalists who don’t may cause offence before the interview even gets going.

EYE CONTACT In interviewing Latinos, formality is the best way to show respect. Being able to speak Spanish is a bonus. Don’t ask if they speak Mexican, Puerto Rican or Cuban. Except for a few regional or idiomatic expressions, Latinos speak Spanish. Unlike many Western cultures, Latinos

ICEBREAKERS

feel uncomfortable giving much eye contact especially if they perceive the other person as having authority. This is very similar to what you may encounter among Asians and Africans where extended eye contact may be viewed as an affront or a challenge to authority. Among Japanese women, for example, avoiding eye contact is the polite and culturally appropriate thing to do. It neither signifes lack of interest or lack of self-confdence. In the Middle East, men and women regard eye contact differently. Between them, they are allowed the briefest of eye contact. For same gender interactions – especially between men – direct eye contact establishes sincerity and trust. If you are a Western female, returning a Middle Eastern man’s gaze may be interpreted as saying you are open to a sexual advance.

RELIGIOUS PRACTICES AND TABOOS As a journalist and communication professional, you would also do well to familiarise yourself with religious practices, etiquette and taboos. With growing world interest in the Middle East and Islam, knowing and observing religion-based etiquette is critical if you are female. For instance, handshaking among men in many Middle Eastern countries is now a common gesture followed by the common greeting “Assalamu alaikum” in Arabic (Peace to you). The appropriate response is “Wa alaikum salaam” (And upon you be peace), which returns the well-wishing. This is not the case for women. It is best that you start with a greeting and a nod, and wait to see if the other person is comfortable extending their hand. Depending on which country you are in, you may also be required under law to wear a veil or a hijab (head covering). It goes without saying that you must dress modestly. As practices and observances vary from country to country, a great resource you may want to look at is the Cultural Atlas that is a collaborative project between the Special Broadcasting Service (SBS), International Education Services (IES), and Multicultural NSW (SBS 2022). Available online, this resource aims to educate the public in cross-cultural attitudes, practices, norms, behaviours and communications. Described as “a work in progress”, the Cultural Atlas currently has more than 70 cultural profles. (SBS 2022). (Current social distancing and contact protocols/mandates should always be observed).

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Top Tips • Do your homework. • Choose something from your research, but not an area critical to the actual interview. • Good on-the-spot icebreakers can be about books, pets, trophies, paintings or photographs. • Keep up-to-date with current affairs as a way of breaking the ice. • Know cultural ‘do’s’ and ‘don’ts’. • Don’t be too personal; an interesting watch or piece of jewellery should be reasonably safe. • The last resort – comment on the weather!

PRACTICAL EXERCISES EXERCISE 1

Look back at the exercises you completed at the end of Chapters 1 and 2 – where you chose a celebrity/leader/sportsperson you would like to interview, and conducted research on them. Choose from the information you sourced, or do some more research, to write your own Research Icebreaker. For example: I’ve read that your favourite food is . . . Review recent photographs/videos/interviews/blogs where your interviewee features to write an On-the-spot Icebreaker. For example: I notice that you . . . (NB: Read the transcript or watch the Apple Music 1 interview by Zane Lowe with Sir Paul McCartney mentioned earlier in this chapter for an example of an On-the-spot Icebreaker that got the interview off to a great start. See References below.)

ICEBREAKERS

EXERCISE 2

It’s time to write and use your own icebreakers with your colleague/ friend/fellow student. From the Research you conducted on them (Chapter 2 Exercise): • Write a Research Icebreaker you will use. • Now write an On-the-spot Icebreaker you will use. Use the two icebreakers and record them to discuss later. Ask: • • • •

Did the icebreakers work? Did you get the response you expected from them? Which icebreaker had better results? Was your eye contact appropriate?

REFERENCES (Hint: Copy & paste URLs where required) Apple Music 1, 21 December 2020, Sir Paul McCartney interviewed by Zane Lowe for the Zane Lowe Show on Apple Music 1 (Apple’s international radio station). Transcript, www.the-paulmccartney-project. com; www.youtube.com/watch?v=ozUdiABdAdw&list=RDozUdiABd Adw&index=1 Channel 7, 22 October 2021, Sunrise with [ Journalist] Edwina Bartholomew, Australia, Interview with Sir Elton John (LA), The Lockdown Sessions, https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=m46cYF1jzJo Grundy, B. 2007, So You Want to be a Journalist? Cambridge University Press, Port Melbourne, Vic. Kohler, C. 7 October 2021, ‘How to conduct a good interview: 14 go-to interview techniques for journalists’, Muck Rack blog, https://muckrack. com/blog/2021/10/07/how-to-conduct-a-good-interview Lee-Potter, E. 2017, Interviewing for Journalists, 3rd edn, Routledge, London Media Diversity Australia (MDA) 2018, Reporting on Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Peoples and Issues, Handbook and Quick Guide, www.mediadiversity australia.org/resources Special Broadcasting Service (SBS) 2022, The Cultural Atlas, https://cultur alatlas.sbs.com.au

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The moral: Shut your mouth. Wait. People hate silence and rush to fill it. Ask your question. Let them talk. If you have to, count to 10. Make eye contact, smile, nod, but don’t speak. You’ll be amazed at the riches that follow. (Scanlan 2013: 2)

Though it can be diffcult sometimes, you must always ask questions, otherwise you could be treated as a personal assistant taking down a prepared speech. It’s not all about asking the questions though – as noted by Scanlan above – non-verbal communication plays a major role in interviews, especially active listening. It’s now time to look at the fnal three steps of GRAB5: 1 2 3 4 5

Get the Interview Research and Preparation Ask Questions Be Attentive – LISTEN 5Ws and H – CHECK.

DOI: 10.4324/9781003224396-5

THE QUESTIONS

ASK QUESTIONS Asking questions sounds so simple – just do your homework, think of the information you would like to know and ask questions to get it. Of course, it is so much more than that; the following techniques and top tips have been written to help you ask the right questions in the right way at the right time. Questioning techniques have been divided into three main areas: 1 2 3

Questions to USE Questions to TRY Questions to AVOID.

CASE STUDY: To explore these varied techniques and tips we will use the example of an interview with a bank audit manager, Jon Coyne, conducting a tour/audit of small regional branches of Bankco Bank.

DO USE THE ‘WHO CARES’ QUESTION

One of the essential news values is consequence or relevance – in other words, a story must be signifcant or affect people to be newsworthy. Generally the more people who are affected by a story, the larger the story and the closer it will appear to the top of the bulletin or to page 1 of the newspaper. News editors will apply the ‘who cares’ principle when deciding where your story will be placed and its length. With the bank story it would be essential to determine not only how many branches and staff would be involved in the tour, but also the extent of the region (including population) that would be affected if any changes or closures were made to the branches. Examples: Q: How many branches will be visited in this tour? Q: How many people are employed at these branches? Q: What are the major regions serviced? Q: How many customers are involved?

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DO USE CLOSED QUESTIONS BUT NOT TOO OFTEN

These are the questions that require only a very limited response – usually a ‘yes’ or ‘no’. Examples: Q: Have you conducted a tour like this before? Q: Have you been to these areas before?

If your subject is not particularly forthcoming and is inclined towards giving short answers, using closed questions will not help. Generally you are discouraged from using closed questions, but they can come in handy if you just want the facts. During the interview with the bank audit manager visiting the branches, it would be useful to ask: Q: Are you going to close any branches as a result of your tour?

If the answer is ‘NO’, it should be kept on record in case there is a change of heart in the future. If the answer is ‘YES’, you have a ‘page one’ news story. DO USE OPEN QUESTIONS FOR MORE INFORMATION

Closed questions are easily converted into open questions – the sort of questions that require more than a ‘yes’ or ‘no’ answer. By the simple addition of one of the six essential questions (5Ws and one H), the question is opened up and should ensure longer answers. For example, the closed question ‘Will you visit a number of branches during your tour?’ (which would probably only elicit a yes or no answer) is easily converted into six open questions that ask for longer and more interesting responses: Q1: Who will you consult during the tour? Q2: What do you hope to achieve? Q3: When will you be touring? Q4: Where will your tour take you? Q5: Why have you chosen this region? Q6: How will this affect these branches?

The ‘how’, ‘why’ and ‘what’ questions will generally elicit the most indepth information but the ‘who’, ‘when’ and ‘where’ questions should always be asked for the essential facts required for even the smallest story.

THE QUESTIONS

DO USE SHORT PRECISE QUESTIONS THAT ARE EASY TO ANSWER

A sage piece of advice given to a print journalist moving into radio was that the audience has tuned in to hear the person being interviewed – not the journalist. This is also the case with print interviews – the interviewee should not have to interrupt the interviewer to answer. Some broadcast journalists have been known to ask questions of more than 45 seconds – sometimes up to one minute. This is far too long. For example, instead of asking: Q: This bank tour is said to be far more extensive than others that have been conducted in the past, which have not resulted in any significant changes and have just been fact-finding missions with no outcomes. What is the focus of this tour?

Why not ask: Q: How will this tour differ from ones conducted in the past? DO USE THE ‘BIGGER, BRIGHTER, BETTER’ QUESTION

A lot of interviews should present ‘must ask’ questions for the journalist. These are the sort of questions the public would want to ask if they were conducting the interview themselves. For instance, an interview with a police detective about a drug raid invites the ‘bigger, brighter, better’ question. The curious journalist should be wondering: what makes this raid different, unusual or worthy of coverage? What gives it that newsworthy angle? If these questions are forgotten a good angle is lost. Example: Q: Is this the biggest drug raid in this region/state/country? A ‘Yes’ answer to this question could easily result in a ‘front page’ story. DO USE THE CHALLENGE OR INVESTIGATIVE QUESTION

Many answers, particularly those given by people used to dealing with the media, should not go unchallenged. However, if you do want to investigate an answer it is advisable to do your research frst. For instance, let’s say the bank audit manager answered your closed question – ‘Are you going to close any branches as a result of your

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tour?’ – with a defnite ‘No’. However, your research found that a similar tour fve years earlier resulted in the closure of four branches and the loss of 15 jobs. Knowing this you must ask: Q: When you toured five years ago you also promised no closures or job losses. Four branches were closed and 15 people retrenched. Why is this time different?

The offcial will either explain the difference, if there is one, or ask for the evidence that backs up your ‘statement question’. You must be able to provide this. Without proof, a statement like this could get you into a lot of trouble or leave you looking foolish. (NB: while this question is quite long, the background information is essential in this case). DO USE A SUMMARY FOR MORE INFORMATION

This technique requires the interviewee to agree or disagree with information you have summarised. As a device to clarify and sometimes to extract a defnitive answer, the summary can be an effcient tool. Instead of getting a ‘yes’ or ‘no’ answer to just one closed question, the interviewee either agrees or disagrees with the information in the summary. DO USE QUESTIONS THAT ASK FOR SUMMARIES, RANKINGS OR CHOICES

An excellent way to obtain more from an interviewee is to ask them to provide their own summary, to rank information they have been given, or to make a choice. Not only does this provide more detail but it also gives their order of priority or importance. For instance, the bank audit manager could be asked for a summary: Q: Could you summarise the main reasons for this tour?

Then to rank the summary: Q: Could you put those four reasons in order of importance for your company?

THE QUESTIONS

Or to make a choice: Q: What do you believe is the most important reason for looking at these regional branches? DO USE REQUESTS FOR CLARIFICATION BY REPEATING THE ANSWER

The best interviews are the ones in which journalists are listening intently, then using the interviewee’s answers to lead into the next question. Taking this point even further, the actual words of the answer can be used to formulate the next question. This is a useful technique for ensuring that you have heard correctly, and for stressing the importance of the answer. For example, in the interview with the bank audit manager visiting the regional branches try: Q: What changes do you expect to result from your report? A: I expect there could be changes in staffng levels and the services provided. Q: Staffng levels could be changed? How? Or: Q:

What changes would be made to services?

DO USE • • • • • • • • •

The ‘who cares’ question Closed questions (but not too often) Open questions for more information Short precise questions that are easy to answer The ‘bigger, brighter, better’ question The challenge or investigative question A request for a summary for more information Questions that ask for summaries, rankings or choices Requests for clarifcation by repeating the answer.

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DO TRY REPEATING OR REPHRASING QUESTIONS

Repeating or rewording questions might work with the interviewee who doesn’t deal with the media very often, but politicians and business leaders pick up on this technique very quickly. They are just as likely to point out that it doesn’t matter how many times you repeat the question or rephrase it, they are not going to answer. Examples: Q: You said staffing levels could change as a result of the tour. How? A: I really can’t answer that until it has been conducted. Q: Are you trying to say that staff may be put off? A: No, I’m not saying that at all. I can’t say what will happen until we look at the branches. Q: Do you have any indication that the branches in this region are overstaffed? A: Again, no, not until we do the tour.

EXAMPLE

ABC TV journalist Leigh Sales tried repeating the question several times in an interview with Senator Anne Ruston, Minister for Social Services: Leigh Sales:

Can I start by asking why are unemployment benefts in Australia set below the poverty line? Anne Ruston: Well obviously the frst thing you would have to establish is . . . Leigh Sales: A single person on JobSeeker will receive a little over $300 [AU] a week to live on, as I mentioned before. A politician receives more than $280 [AU] per day in travel allowance when they are in Canberra on top of their salary. Why is that fair?

THE QUESTIONS

Anne Ruston: Well, as you would be well aware the rate . . . Leigh Sales: Sorry to interrupt you, Minister, but just for the average Australian watching, a politician gets $280 a day in travel allowance, someone on JobSeeker has to live off $300 a week. Why is that fair? Anne Ruston: Well, certainly the most important thing that we can do as I said, this is a safety net . . . (ABC 7.30 Report 23 February 2021)

If your interviewee does not understand your question, they might ask you to reword it or to clarify what you want. This could mean your questions are too wordy. Remember: the interview is not a contest; it is a means of obtaining information from a source for publication or broadcast. Don’t make it too diffcult for the interviewee or your audience; avoid complex words, jargon or overly long statements or questions. DO TRY POSING A HYPOTHETICAL QUESTION

Most interviewees would have diffculty answering the hypothetical question, and many will refuse to tackle a problem that might never arise. For instance, with bank audit manager, Jon Coyne, you might try: Q: What will you do if bank staff goes on strike as a result of your recommendations?

But the offcial is likely to answer: A: I think this is a highly unlikely scenario, which I’d prefer not to discuss.

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EXAMPLE

Australian Senator Penny Wong demonstrates how easily hypothetical questions can be dismissed when interviewed by David Speers on ABC TV’s Insiders program on 27 February 2022. David Speers:

Do you think Russia’s invasion of Ukraine will embolden China to seize Taiwan? ...

David Speers: Penny Wong:

This does sharpen the focus on the question, though – what should Australia do if China did try to seize Taiwan? You know I won’t get into those hypotheticals. I would just simply say this . . . (ABC Insiders 2022)

DO TRY PLAYING THE ‘DEVIL’S ADVOCATE’

Playing the ‘devil’s advocate’ is a useful technique to challenge interviewees and their answers. This provides the opportunity for a more balanced coverage of the issue; you can state quite clearly what you are doing. Example: Q: If I could just play the devil’s advocate here – don’t you think the criteria you are using to judge the viability of the branches is unfair? DO TRY THE TOUGH QUESTION

Asking the tough question – or dropping the bomb – is not for the frst-time interviewer or the faint-hearted. It is diffcult asking the hard question, but most journalists feel it is only fair to give the interviewee the opportunity to tell their side of the story or to answer criticism.

THE QUESTIONS

Example: Q: With profits in the billions, why audit the branches at all?

DO TRY THE ‘HOW DOES IT FEEL’ QUESTION – SPARINGLY

This question is overdone by the media, appears to be asking the obvious, and is the one question the public complains that it hears far too often. The journalist who asks the champion swimmer, ‘How does it feel to have made the Olympic team?’ does not expect them to say, ‘It feels terrible’. Put more thought into this question if you want to use it. You could ask the swimmer: Q: What was the best feeling – knowing you had made the Olympic team, or that you had broken the world record?

Despite its overuse, the ‘How does it feel?’ question will almost always work in a positive situation. However, caution must be used if you decide to ask this question in less happy circumstances. For instance, the television journalist who asks recently bereaved parents: ‘How does it feel to know you will never see your child again?’ cannot expect them to be very forthcoming. This sort of question can also be used as an aggressive device, but you must be prepared to hold your ground if the interviewee becomes defensive. For instance, with the bank audit manager you could try: Q: How does it feel to have the fate of the staff and their families in this region in your hands? However, don’t be surprised if the official becomes less than helpful after you ask this.

DO TRY PROJECTION

To soften the diffcult question, or to reduce hostility in the interview, journalists often project accusations to a third party – ‘some people might say’ or ‘your critics might ask’.

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EXAMPLE

The most famous example of using this technique – and seeing it go wrong – is the much-repeated interview between British Prime Minister Margaret Thatcher and George Negus (a journalist for Channel 9’s 60 Minutes at the time). George Negus:

Why do people stop us in the street almost and tell us that Margaret Thatcher isn’t just infexible, she’s not just single-minded, on occasions she’s just plain pig headed and won’t be told by anyone? Margaret Thatcher: Would you tell me who has stopped you in the street and said that? George Negus: Ordinary Britons. ... Margaret Thatcher: I’m sorry, it’s an expression that I’ve never heard . . . tell me who has said it to you, when and where? (Little 1994: 23) Of course, Negus couldn’t. While this exchange was described as ‘good television’, it should serve as a warning if you plan to use the projection technique.

DO TRY THE ‘DUMB’ OR INNOCENT QUESTION

Asking the innocent or ‘dumb’ question such as, ‘I don’t really understand this. Could you explain it to me?’, can work very well, particularly in getting the interviewee to explain something in simpler terms more suited for publication or broadcast. It is also a useful device to get the interviewee to reveal more information. For example, with Jon Coyne, you could ask: Q: I’m sorry, I don’t quite understand. Could you explain how you decide whether a branch is viable?

THE QUESTIONS

Journalist and professor Lynda Kraxberger of the University of Missouri agrees: It’s worth using open-ended questions like ‘tell me about’ or ‘describe’ or ‘walk me through this information’. Or how would you explain what you do to someone who has no experience in this field . . . That will go a long way to simplifying and getting them to remove jargon and technical language from their answers. (Personal interview with Lynda Kraxberger)

However, the journalist at an international press conference following a major basketball tournament took this technique a little bit too far when he asked: ‘Could you tell me please why you get two points when you score a goal?’

DO TRY THE LEADING QUESTION

This technique is used as a way of getting the interviewee to use your words in their answer. It might work if the interviewee agrees with what you are saying, but otherwise it is rare that your lead will be used. For instance, in the interview mentioned earlier in this chapter, Senator Anne Ruston never followed journalist Leigh Sales’ lead or used any of her words or phrases such as “poverty line” or “fair”, despite Sales repeating them several times (ABC 7.30 Report 23 Feb. 2021). DO TRY THE TRICK QUESTION

Sometimes a question can be worded in such a way that the interviewee will be trapped if they attempt to answer it. This technique is generally used with those who are trained in dealing with the media and either is left unanswered, or the answer could be that they have recognised the trick. It might work, but it is rare when it does. Example: Q: Don’t you feel it is unfair to look at reducing services in this region?

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Whichever way the bank offcial answers – yes or no – will be a confrmation that services are being reduced, so a savvy interviewee would defect this question.

DO TRY: • • • • • • • • •

Repeating or rephrasing questions Posing a hypothetical question Playing the devil’s advocate The tough question The ‘how does it feel’ question – sparingly Projection The ‘dumb’ or innocent question The leading question The trick question

DON’T ASK DOUBLE- OR TRIPLE-BARRELLED QUESTIONS

Questions that are ‘two in one’ or even ‘three in one’ are confusing for even the best and most practised interviewees. If a journalist asks a long triple-barrelled question, the interviewee would be likely to choose either the easiest question of the three or the last question. Some interviewees are so profcient at interviews that they will answer all three, but this sort of ability is rare. For example, don’t ask the bank offcial: Q: Do you plan to close bank branches as a result of this tour, and will this be the first time you have conducted an audit such as this?

It would be an unusually rare and forthcoming interviewee who would answer the frst of these two questions when given the option. DON’T ASK THE ‘TELL ME ALL ABOUT YOURSELF’ QUESTION

This is an incredibly lazy question and everyone knows it, even someone who is rarely interviewed. One journalist asked this exact question

THE QUESTIONS

at the start of an interview with a university professor. The professor handed over a CV and told them to come back when they had some ‘real’ questions to ask. Sometimes the ‘tell me about yourself ’ question is used in feature interviews, but usually in reference to a more specifc timeframe or situation such as, ‘Tell me what it was like when you heard about your father’s death’, or ‘Tell me all about when you decided to travel to India’.

DON’T ASK

• Double- or triple-barrelled questions • The ‘tell me all about yourself ’ question – unless in relation to a specifc event or time.

DO KEEP IN FOCUS AND IN CONTROL

One of the most important elements of an interview, and often the most diffcult, is maintaining control. Some journalists will rise to the bait and start verbal sparring with the interviewee. All this does is let the interviewee off the hook, while the journalist loses control, their cool and – in the case of broadcast journalists – the respect of the audience. Above all – avoid the obvious. For instance, the journalist who asked the two members of the popular singing group sister2sister ‘How did you meet?’ should probably go back to the drawing board. THE LAST QUESTION

It may be the last question – but in some interviews it can be the most important. Follow the basics but always fnish off any and every single interview – whether it’s an in-depth feature or a short pic story with: “Is there anything else you would like to add?” Sometimes this last question ends up providing information that turns into the angle for the entire story.

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BE ATTENTIVE – LISTEN

Step 4 of the GRAB5, paying attention to the answers – or what is commonly called ‘active listening’ – can make all the difference. The key ingredients of all interviews are the questions, but the power of listening and silence cannot be underestimated. Journalist Debra Jopson agrees: I found out that you get amazing things from people if you just shut up. (Jopson quoted in Dodd and Ricketson 2021: 109). LISTENING AND SILENCE

Together with listening, it is commonly agreed that silence can be a useful technique in interviewing. Sometimes used as an aggressive technique, journalists believe that if they wait long enough the interviewee will feel obliged to fll the space. However, this can be diffcult for say, radio journalists, who will be left with what is known as ‘dead air’. In some interviews, though, if the interviewer wants ‘considered’ answers they should be prepared to wait. Whether you are reporting for a news brief or a cover story, you should always be interested in your interviewee – and show it. This should be clear in both your verbal and non-verbal techniques. The simple technique of asking informed questions, then listening to the answers for cues for the next question, is the best way to display interest. Well known for her Indigenous Affairs reporting, journalist and author Debra Jopson says “her aim was to avoid being the one who decided what Indigenous communities were saying” (quoted in Dodd and Ricketson 2021: 108). Joe Hight and Frank Smyth (2009) also emphasise the importance of listening, in this case when interviewing victims of tragedies. In their Dart Center booklet Tragedies & Journalists: a guide for more effective coverage, they strongly advise: Don’t overwhelm with the hardest questions first. Begin with questions such as, “Can you tell me about Jerry’s life?” Or, “What did Jerry like to do? What were his favorite hobbies?” Then listen! The worst mistake a reporter can do is to talk too much. (Hight and Smyth 2009)

THE QUESTIONS

EYE CONTACT

Considered an important aspect of every interview the use of regular eye contact has always been recommended to show interest and to indicate you are listening ‘actively’. While this may be true in most Western cultures, it’s important to be aware that many cultures will fnd this both challenging, and in some cases, confrontational. As a general guide to appropriate ‘eye contact’ cultural variations can be identifed as direct or indirect eye contact. Indirect refers to eye contact that is brief. You will notice this when someone breaks eye contact regularly and briefy during a conversation – it doesn’t necessarily mean they are disinterested, a dishonest person or being disrespectful. It may however mean that their culture, social background or religion infuences this response. In particular, deliberately sustained eye contact or staring is considered offensive or challenging by many cultures. Direct eye contact is generally accepted in cultures such as Australia, America, Canada, England and Europe. Sustained ‘direct’ eye contact with Indigenous Australians could be considered offensive. Indirect eye contact is more commonly used by Asian, African, Middle Eastern and Latin American cultures (TechFeatured 18 June 2017). ‘LESSON ONE’

Former foreign (China) Correspondent for the Australian Financial Review Magazine, Michael Smith was given advice by his Mandarin teacher when working in China including: “‘Lesson One: . . . Don’t be offended if someone ignores your greeting or does not look at you during an interaction, or even while talking to you’”. (Smith 2021: 87).

Journalist, author and educator, Dean Nelson (2019) advises that maintaining eye contact and recording notes is a skill developed over time: When you ask questions, you want to show your source that you are listening with your whole body. Eye contact matters.

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Try to keep looking at your source, while only occasionally looking down at your notes. This takes practice. When your source is speaking, lean forward a little. . . . Keeping eye contact while taking notes is an acquired skill. . . . But if you work at it, you’ll get better. (Nelson 2019: 182–183)

WARNING

Don’t force your body language; trying to ft in a certain number of head nods, smiles or leaning forward will look – well, just weird. Even worse, when it comes to recorded interviews for broadcast or online, do not speak over your interviewee with ‘um-hum’, ‘yes’, ‘I see’ or grunts to show you are listening. These unwanted sounds will simply make it harder to get a clean edit later. Allow your interviewee to answer fully without interruption unless they begin to stray from the question. If you’re interested and listening actively, the interviewee will know from your natural body language.

GRAB5 – THE FINAL STEP We’ve been following the fve GRAB5 steps, so it’s time now for the fnal step: checking you have the 5Ws and H. While you have probably asked these six questions at the start of your interview, it can be quite critical to check again at the end to ensure the interviewee has answered them all. The ‘When’ is frequently missing. For example, you have interviewed the Mayor of your city about a public meeting and found out it will be held this Saturday. But what time will the meeting be held? When should the public arrive? It is amazing the number of times this detail is forgotten. However, the most important ‘W’ question is the Who (spelling is critical). Do not be afraid to check and check again.

THE QUESTIONS

EXAMPLE

The interview excerpt below shows how sometimes the most basic interview questions are the best ones. Donald Trump: Jonathan Swan: Trump: Swan: Trump: Swan:

And there are those that say you can test too much. You do know that. Who says that? Oh, just read the manuals. Read the books. Manuals? Read the books. Read the books. What books? (Rev.com 2020, transcript)

Political journalist Jonathan Swan’s use of the ‘who’ and ‘what’ (above) during the 3 August 2020 interview with the then President of the United States, Donald Trump, were simple closed questions aimed at revealing the facts. The 5Ws and H, and in particular the ‘Who, What, When and Where’ questions, are the basis for any interview – providing facts – and were used effectively by Swan in this interview.

PRACTICAL EXERCISES EXERCISE 1

Below are fve ‘Closed’ questions. Rewrite into open-ended questions: • Do you take a lot of selfes for your blog? • Are you unhappy when your parents still tell you what to do now that you are a successful artist? • Do you work well under pressure?

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• Is managing a social media site hard to do? • Are you a happy person? EXERCISE 2

You have been asked to interview an up-and-coming media infuencer/blogger who is a university student. Write down at least fve open-ended questions for your interview. EXERCISE 3

Plan to interview yourself. Set two types of interviews: a personality interview, and the other, an interview about a specifc skill or knowledge set you have. Develop fve questions for each type. Refect on the similarities and differences in the questions you ended up writing for each. Record yourself asking the questions and watch the recording. You will soon see if the questions sound natural or if they should be changed. EXERCISE 4

Go to the ABC Radio National website (www.abc.net.au/radiona tional/transcripts/) and select a program and download its transcript. Life Matters and Background Briefng are two good programs that provide full transcripts. Analyse the questions and answers. Are they ‘closed’ or ‘open-ended’ questions? Did the interviewee answer the questions? What follow-up questions would you have asked? (NB: You may prefer to choose a program from your own location.) EXERCISE 5

Watch one of the videos, Chapter 1 The Interview or Chapter 2 Research again. Take notes on the non-verbal language used by Kirsty Nancarrow in the Zoom interviews with Travis Parry. How does she encourage him without interrupting or speaking? Do you think this works?

REFERENCES (Hint: Copy & paste URLs where required) ABC News (Australia) 27 February 2022, ‘ABC Insiders with David Speers’, Insiders, Transcript: pennywong.com.au/media-hub/transcripts/abc-insi ders-with-david-speers-27-02-2022/

THE QUESTIONS

ABC News (Australia) 23 February 2021, ‘Leigh Sales interviews Anne Ruston’, 7.30 Report, Transcript: https://formerministers.dss.gov.au/ 19365/jobseeker-abc-7.30/ Dodd, A. and Ricketson, M. (eds), 2021, Upheaval: Disrupted lives in Journalism, NewSouth Publishing, Sydney, NSW Hight, J. and Smyth, F. 2009, Tragedies & Journalists: A Guide for More Effective Coverage, https://dartcenter.org/content/tragedies-journalists-6? section=all Little, J. 1994, Inside 60 Minutes, Allen & Unwin, Sydney, NSW Nelson, D. 2019, Talk to Me: How to Ask Better Questions, Get Better Answers, and Interview Anyone Like a Pro, HarperCollins Publishers, New York Rev.com, 3 August 2020, Donald Trump Interview Transcript with Jonathan Swan of Axios on HBO, Transcript: www.rev.com/blog/transcripts/ donald-trump-interview-transcript-with-axios-on-hbo Video: www.youtube. com/watch?v=yJIhxKFH9gI Scanlan, C. 4 March 2013, ‘How Journalists Can Become Better Interviewers’, Poynter, www.poynter.org/reporting-editing/2013/how-journalists-canbecome-better-interviewers Smith, M. 2021, The Last Correspondent: Dispatches from the Frontline of Xi’s New China, Ultimo Press, Ultimo, NSW, London, UK TechFeatured 18 June 2017, ‘Eye Contact in Different Cultures’, https:// techfeatured.com/10604/eye-contact-in-different-cultures

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Remember, good interviews are more than just having the source say yes to your request and hoping that the interview gods will smile upon you. . . . With an interview, you generally want to have one question lead to another, in some type of order, with a sense that it is heading somewhere. . . . You have to be intentional about what you’re after. (Nelson 2019: 13–14)

Award-winning journalist and author Dean Nelson emphasises, above, the need for preparation and having a purpose for any interview. His advice reinforces the key steps of an interview that are detailed in this chapter – 17 of them, in fact! Interviews can be divided into two major categories: • hard news (usually spot news or news of the day and heavily fact-reliant) • soft news or features (timeless material featuring people). There are, of course, many variations within these categories that govern the length of the interview and the techniques used. The news print interview could be seeking the latest facts for anything from a three-paragraph news brief about a fre (in journalism this equals three sentences) to an investigative piece exposing corruption. News DOI: 10.4324/9781003224396-6

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interviews are also used by professional communicators to obtain information to write media releases, media alerts, briefng notes and backgrounders. On the other hand the feature or soft news interview focuses on the human interest angles (or the emotions), and is very often for a personality piece (a feature story about a person published in a newspaper or magazine). This will be covered in detail in the next chapter, while this chapter concentrates on news interviews (sometimes called hard news). THE FIVE Ws AND H

At its most basic, for a news brief or media alert for example, the news interview will concentrate on four key questions (Who, What, When and Where) and generally is about ‘who said what’ or ‘who did what’. These are closed questions, but this is what you want at this stage – just the facts. Longer stories also need these basic facts, but must extend the interview to obtain comment and opinion – aiming to discover the ‘Why’ and ‘How’ of the story. So the two building blocks for news interviews are: • Facts • Quotes. There is no set formula for conducting any of these interviews, but there are some essential steps that should be carried out before, during and after the exchange. The interview checklist – below – is for a hard news story and incorporates interviewing for facts and quotes (opinion). CASE STUDY: To explore these 17 steps we will use the case of an interview with a bank audit manager, Jon Coyne, conducting a tour of small regional branches of the Bankco Bank.

While we have included 17 steps for conducting a hard news interview, this list and its order of presentation is not prescriptive. Every

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interview you conduct will be different and should be treated as such. Keywords from GRAB5 – the fve major steps of every interview – have been highlighted in the summary of the 17-step checklist below: Just as a reminder, the fve steps of GRAB5 are: Get the interview; Research and Preparation; Ask Questions; Be Attentive – Listen; and 5Ws and H – Check. 1 Get the Interview. Arrange an interview time and place. 2 Do your Research and Preparation. 3 Organise your questions. What is the purpose or angle of the interview? 4 Organise your notepad and equipment. 5 Arrive at the interview early. 6 Get set up and check your equipment again. 7 Ask your Icebreaker question. 8 Explain the purpose of the interview. 9 Ask your frst interview question. 10 Ask the Who, What, When and Where questions. 11 Ask the comment or opinion questions – the Why and How. 12 Be Attentive and Listen to the answers (can’t be emphasised enough). 13 Ask the ‘who cares’ or ‘who will be affected’ question. 14 Follow up with the challenge or ‘tough’ question. 15 Ask if there’s anything they would like to add before you fnish. Ask for other sources. 16 Check your notes for contact details and the 5Ws and H. 17 Thank the interviewee for their valuable time.

THE 17 KEY STEPS IN DETAIL: NEWS INTERVIEW 1. Get the Interview. Arrange an interview time and place. The venue can play a major role in the success or otherwise of an interview. Choosing a quiet spot is important; their offce may be quiet but can mean interruptions from work colleagues and the phone. Choosing a suitable time is also important, particularly with busy interviewees. If you choose a time on the hour – such as 4pm – the interviewee may well perceive it as an open-ended slot (at least

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for an hour anyway), and be unwilling to commit to this amount of time. However, if you choose 3.45pm, or even 3.30pm, it appears as though you have confned the interview to a shorter time – between 15 and 30 minutes respectively. This frst step should also be the time when you introduce yourself and your organisation, and ensure that the interviewee knows the interview will be on the record and for publication. Confrm all arrangements (date, time and place) at the end of this step. You may also be interviewing more than one source to get other ‘sides’ of a story. 2. Do your Research and Preparation. Even if you only have a short time before the interview, use it for research. The more you can fnd out about the source/s and the story, the better the interview result. A starting point in this story would be to research Bankco Bank, its branches and Jon Coyne. 3. Organise your questions. What is the purpose or angle of the interview? Writing down your questions will help you focus your attention on the story or person. Before you fnalise your questions, summarise the purpose or ‘angle’ of your interview. If you cannot do this in less than 30 words, it’s back to the drawing board. You should have a clear and concise idea of what you want from the interview, but don’t be afraid to deviate if new angles appear. Just as a reminder; key ‘angles’ include currency, prominence, impact and relevance. You may decide to use keywords to remind yourself of the questions you want to ask rather than writing out full questions. 4. Organise your notepad and equipment. Whether it’s a Zoom interview or using your smartphone, make sure you are ready to go. There’s nothing more embarrassing than having your one and only pen run out halfway through an interview or your smartphone run out of charge. 5. Arrive at the interview early. Early is good – but no more than about ten minutes. If you arrive much earlier than that it puts pressure on the interviewee to fnish

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what they are doing sooner than they had planned, and your ‘superpunctuality’ might not be appreciated. 6. Get set up and check your equipment again. Don’t forget to ‘unmute’ if you are ‘zooming’. In these few minutes before the interview get set up and comfortable. If the interviewee is not conversant with media interviews, you might want to wait until you have progressed through your icebreaker before you bring out any recording devices (even your notepad). 7. Ask your Icebreaker question. This is where your research is essential in providing an area of interest to use for the icebreaker. If you do not have the luxury of this preparation, you could comment on the surroundings or something in the news that day. If all else fails, talk about the weather. 8. Explain the purpose of the interview. Start your interview by explaining what you are hoping to achieve, and where and when the story is likely to be used. Do not give a guarantee that it will be used in the next edition of your publication, as a major story may break, pushing yours out. 9. Ask your frst interview question. With print interviews you usually have the time to ask your easy questions frst, working up to the ‘tough’ questions or ‘bombs’. The correct title and spelling of the interviewee’s name should be the No. 1 question on your list. Don’t assume anything. Even if your interviewee’s name is ‘Jon Coyne’, you cannot assume the usual spelling of these names. ‘Jon’ could be spelt ‘John’, ‘Jonn’ or ‘Johnn’ and ‘Coyne’ could be ‘Coin’ or Coiyne. At this point don’t forget to request their preferred title.

TOP TIP

Please do not take this advice too literally – some cadet journos have even asked prime ministers to spell their names!

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10. Ask the Who, What, When and Where questions. While the subject of the interview is generally the ‘Who’, quite often there are others involved in the story. In this case you would need to clarify which bank branches were to be included in the audit by Jon Coyne and the staff and customers ‘who’ could be affected. 11. Ask the comment or opinion questions. In this story the ‘Why’ and ‘How’ is critical. Ask questions such as: ‘Why is the audit being conducted in this region?’, ‘Why have these particular branches been chosen?’ and ‘How will this affect staff and their families in the region?’ 12. Be Attentive and Listen to the answers (can’t be emphasised enough). You will be observing and listening throughout the whole interview – listening to answers and ensuring that the interviewee’s body language is in sync with their verbal responses. Listening is critical, and in fact may produce totally unexpected results. If an answer deviates from your line of questioning, make sure you note it down, together with a small question or keyword nearby to make sense of the answer. A note about note taking: Don’t try to write down every answer ‘word for word’. You will not use every answer as a ‘direct quote’ (the exact words spoken by the interviewee). Do note down keywords and facts. However you should be on high alert from Step 11 – above – to Step 14 – below – where the ‘who cares’, challenge and tough questions are likely to produce a newsworthy answer (or quote).

13. Ask the ‘who cares’ or ‘who will be affected’ question. This is a critical question and could determine the prominence of the story when published. For instance, if you were able to fnd out that the audit was going to result in a reduction of jobs and services, it may well make page 1 of the newspaper. This is because there is a large group of people ‘who care’ and will ‘be affected’ by this story;

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in this case, staff, their families and local businesses. These people are also potential sources.

This is the time to ask: “Who is affected? Who will benefit from this? Who will pay the biggest price? Who wins? Who loses?” (Nelson 2019: 26)

14. Follow up with the challenge or ‘tough’ question. Time for the ‘bomb’ or ‘tough’ question. In this particular interview the tough question may well be the same as the ‘who cares’ question. This should be left until towards the end of the interview. If the interviewee handles this question well, then continue with some softer questions before dropping another ‘bomb’. If you don’t get a suitable response – one that dodges the question or is not easily understood – ask again. This applies to all your questions. Refer back to Chapter 5 for some helpful questions you can use if this happens. 15. Ask if there is anything they would like to add before you fnish. Ask for other sources. The end of the interview often is the source of a new angle that has not occurred to you. You could also ask if they know anyone else you could interview for this story. 16. Check your notes for contact details and the 5Ws and H. If you have covered all the areas you had planned in your interview, now is the time to quickly check through your notes. Explain to the interviewee that you are checking to ensure you have all the information you need. Most interviewees would prefer to spend a couple of minutes at the end of the interview while you check your notes, rather than receive a number of follow-up calls or messages chasing missed information. Check any answers you don’t fully understand. Don’t hesitate to check facts if you are unsure – the interviewee would undoubtedly prefer you to impose a little longer on their time than see mistakes published.

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TOP TIP

In Step 16 make sure you have answers to the Five Ws and one H questions. If it helps, list these six essential questions in your notepad, before the interview, and fll as you go. This makes it easy to check at the end (see below). Who: What: When: Where: Why: How:

Jon Coyne, bank audit manager, Bankco Bank Full audit of small bank branches At the start of the new fnancial year Regional branches To assess the viability of the branches A full audit of staff/services.

Don’t forget to check you have all their contact details (including after-hours information).

17. Thank the interviewee for their valuable time.

INVESTIGATIVE JOURNALISM As mentioned at the start of this chapter, hard news interviews could be for the shortest of news briefs to in-depth and long running investigative pieces; one example of the latter is provided below. While investigative journalism is most likely to feature later in your career, this example is included as it highlights the importance of research and fnding key sources to interview. The winners of the Nieman Foundation, Worth Bingham Award for Investigative Journalism 2020 were Associated Press reporters Margie Mason and Robin McDowell who conducted extensive research into widespread abuses in the palm oil industry. Their investigative series, Fruits of Labor, involved an intensive two-year probe that examined “the dangerous conditions laborers face on large palm oil plantations in Indonesia and Malaysia” by interviewing “more than 130 current and former workers from eight countries at two dozen companies” (Nieman Foundation 2021).

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PRACTICAL EXERCISES EXERCISE 1

Using the material in the Case Study in this chapter, write down the purpose or angle of your news interview with Bank Audit Manager, Jon Coyne (30 words max). Interview Purpose/Angle: Use this angle to assist you to write fve questions you would ask him before he departs on his audit of the regional branches of Bankco Bank. NB: you already have the information from the 5Ws and H questions – above – so these fve (5) questions may be follow-up questions, tough questions or challenges (See Steps 11–14 in the News Interview checklist in this chapter for question ideas). 1. 2. 3. 4. 5. Now write at least fve (5) keywords that you could use instead of the questions. Would you use the questions or the keywords? Explain your choice. EXERCISE 2

Conduct and record your own print news interview (about 10–20 minutes). The story could be about something that’s happening at your university/college, workplace or where you live. It doesn’t have to be ‘page one’ material or a major investigative hard news interview. A smartphone video recording of your interview will be suffcient; ensure equipment used is placed to record both you and your interviewee. Please read through the following information, including the Review Questions at the end, BEFORE you start your preparation. Use the 17-step checklist in this chapter as your guide. • This print news interview could be for a story about an upcoming open day or concert at the university, a local sporting event, fun run, book launch or charity event.

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• Once you have selected your interview topic, list some potential interviewees (3–5) you could interview. • Use a search engine to research published articles on your topic. Be sure to document sources. • Choose your interviewee from your list and request an interview. Confrm interview, location and time. – Name: – Title: – Location: – Time: • Write the purpose or story angle (in less than 30 words) then prepare 8–10 questions for your interviewee. Arrange your questions in a coherent and logical order with introduction/icebreakers and ‘closed’ fact fnding questions frst, and probing ‘open’ questions to follow. – Purpose/angle: – Questions: NB: Record your news interview using your smartphone and keep your original interview notes to analyse later. (Let your source know the recorded interview is for practice only, and will not be posted, published or broadcast). REVIEW QUESTIONS

Review your recorded interview and discuss all the elements, including: Was the location and timing of your interview appropriate? Did you check the spelling of their name and their correct title? Did your Icebreaker question/s work? Did you ask the Five Ws and H questions? Did you ask leading, challenge or tough questions? Did they work? Were your questions concise and easy to understand? Did the answers meet your interview purpose/angle? Did you listen and follow-up on answers for more information or clarifcation? Did you keep the interview on track? Did you interrupt? Was your body language appropriate? Did you ask if the interviewee had further information they wanted to add? Did you ensure you obtained their contact details? Did you take enough notes to write your print news story including suitable direct quotes?

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REFERENCES (Hint: Copy & paste URLs where required) Nelson, D. 2019, Talk To Me: How to Ask Better Questions, Get Better Answers, and Interview Anyone Like a Pro, HarperCollins Publishers, New York Nieman Foundation for Journalism, Harvard University 20 April 2021, ‘The Associated Press Wins 2020 Worth Bingham Prize for “Fruits of Labor” Investigation’, https://nieman.harvard.edu/news/2021/04/ap-wins-2020worth-bingham-prize-for-fruits-of-labor-investigation/

7 PRINT – FEATURE INTERVIEWS

As a nervous 21-year-old straight out of university, I didn’t have any experience to fall back on when I was working at the newspaper and interviewing multiple people every day. But I knew I could talk to anyone, listen and show compassion. That’s what got me interviews with reluctant talent and also led to exclusives and front-page stories. (Personal interview with Laura McKee)

You can read more about interviewing from journalist and public relations specialist Laura McKee at the end of this chapter. There’s a reason features are often referred to as human interest stories – because people are generally interested in stories about other people. This is the enjoyable, ‘lighter’ and more colourful side of interviewing – getting those little gems that make your stories stand out. Remember, everyone has a story to tell. So how do we conduct interviews for these human interest stories? Who do we talk to and what questions do we ask? How do we interview for the colour, emotion and quirkiness? Basically it comes down to adding another building block to the news interview: Anecdotes.

DOI: 10.4324/9781003224396-7

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FACTS, QUOTES AND ANECDOTES

Hard news interviews are about collecting facts and quotes to support those facts. While also seeking facts and quotes, the feature interview concentrates on ‘softer’ human interest angles designed to appeal to the emotions. Feature or soft news interviews require a whole new dimension – adding what is often referred to as ‘colour’ – through the use of anecdotes. These anecdotes, or short stories, are undoubtedly harder to elicit, but are well worth the effort. They can be funny, sad, inspiring and even frightening. So now the building blocks increase from the two used for hard news to three for ‘soft news’ or features. The three are: 1 2 3

Facts Quotes Anecdotes.

ANECDOTES Anecdotes, or short stories, can be used as an engaging way to add colour to a feature story. It could be the exhilarating moment the owner knew their business was going to be a success, the scariest moment when they started their new business, the funniest experience with a customer, or the devastation of a fre. Even for the smallest feature such as a “Twitter-short” bio, US based freelance writer, Joanna Furlong says it’s important to ensure it attracts the reader’s attention – and that this is done by asking colourful questions. She notes that people do want to read bios, even those that are: “Twitter-short to a few paragraphs”, but “they’d rather not fall asleep while doing it” (Furlong 2015). Furlong values asking colourful questions to avoid “super boring bios” (2015) and follows this advice to ensure her own bio on her createfully site is engaging: “I have a slight obsession with sharpies (I use them for editing!), a serious obsession with reading, and I’ll never pass up a glass of velvety red” (2018). From Furlong’s list of 20 favourite questions to ask, a more unusual question would be: “If we went to happy hour, what would you order?” (Furlong 2015). In the list of 20 she also includes one question about ‘causes’ or charities that the source cares about.

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This approach was used by journalist Gail Sedorkin to elicit an anecdote when interviewing Indigenous Australian actor, Ernie Dingo. The interview with the popular television presenter, at the time of the release of his new television program, Outback Wildlife Rescue, was to be conducted by phone. Ernie Dingo has been, and still is, interviewed by hundreds, possibly thousands of journalists and publicists, so it was essential to fnd a different angle, a different way to tackle the interview. With little time for research the Internet proved most useful with background information on Ernie, the new program he was hosting and several short biographies. One of these revealed that Ernie Dingo was an ambassador for the Fred Hollows Foundation. This information prompted the question: Why, of all the charities he could support, did Ernie Dingo devote his time to this foundation? The answer was revealing and produced the following anecdote and angle for his story:

“A grasshopper loose in Queensland,” sang the young boy with a huge grin on his face. “As big as any goose and he drinks pineapple juice all over Queensland,” he continued singing to the older man. The boy was a very young Ernie Dingo singing one of his favourite Slim Dusty tunes to eye doctor and surgeon Fred Hollows, as he worked, checking the eyes of all the children of Ernie’s Western Australian community, Mullewa. (Sedorkin 2008: 10–11)

Once you have secured the interview, if you are fnding that anecdotal material is proving problematic (that is, the interviewee either has diffculty remembering details or can’t think of anything to say) then use questions structured in such a way that these details can be elicited. TOP TIP

Avoid the “tell me all about your life” question – it’s far too broad and hints at a lack of research or preparation. Clearly it is essential to do homework to ask questions that will elicit something different, particularly with those that are regularly interviewed such as Ernie Dingo.

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DESCRIPTION While anecdotes are essential for colour, most feature writers would argue that there is another important building block – Description. When you are setting up for your interview you will naturally be viewing your surrounds before concentrating on your interviewee once you start the interview. You may well use these observations for your on-the-spot icebreaker, but there’s no reason why you can’t also use this information as description to add further colour to your piece. So now the building blocks increase from the two used for news to four for features. The four are: 1 2 3 4

Facts Quotes Anecdotes Description.

Teresa Watanabe of the Los Angeles Times used description to paint a picture in her feature story of young ‘whiz kids’ aptly titled “A sixth-grader was sick of coloring. So she skipped six grades to attend Cal State L.A.” (Watanabe 2019).

The young scholars are just tall enough to blend in with the college crowd at Cal State L.A. – at first glance, anyway. . . . But Mia’s wide smile reveals shiny silver braces. Shanti totes around a flowered backpack, a pink pen topped with a plastic bunny head and a laptop cover with the Shakespearean quote: ‘Though she be but little, she is fierce’. (Watanabe 2019)

Watanabe’s description conjures up an image of these two young gifted students, Mia, 13, and Shanti, 12, – cleverly illustrating the age gap between them and the other students in the class. Another example might be striking artwork that catches your eye when you are interviewing a CEO in their offce. This could lead to:

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• A question for an Anecdote • Description, as shown below • An on-the-spot icebreaker (which elicits an Anecdote), as shown below. EXAMPLE

Question: I couldn’t help noticing the (On-the-spot Icebreaker) striking paintings on your walls – who is the artist? Answer (Anecdote): I’ve always enjoyed painting in my spare time . . . But I’m not the artist . . . the artist is actually my talented daughter who has been painting sideby-side with me since she was just two . . . she won a local art award when she was six . . . her work is now exhibited at the City Art Gallery. Description: Big bold paintings burst out from the bland, grey offce walls of Shari Nohad’s offce. They seem to be at odds with the piles of white paper on her desk and the grey fling cabinets against the wall.

THE ‘ME-ME-ME APPROACH’

British journalist and author David Randall says: When it comes to big set-piece interviews – the kind that fill a page or two – I’m not a fan of the me-me-me approach: how you got to the venue, the coffee you had, and what you thought of the interview subject. All this stems from thinking of the interview as an ‘event’ whose beginning, middle and end needs to be reported as if it were a

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football match. To me, an interview is an opportunity to tell the story of a subject’s life . . . (Randall 2021: 119)

Journalist and author Mandy Oakham agrees. “Interviews are about the person being interviewed NOT you” (Personal interview with Mandy Oakham; original emphasis).

SOURCES AND LOCATIONS For longer features such as magazine cover stories you are most likely to conduct interviews in a number of locations with a number of people, which can add further colour to your piece. For example, for the feature on the CEO, above, talking to Shari’s daughter, to colleagues and friends, would add extra body and colour. Customers, mentors, sponsors and supporters can also provide valuable insights, anecdotes and even description. As for location, it’s good to start with the CEO in their workplace to get the ‘bones’ of your story, but be aware you could be interrupted by colleagues and phone calls. This frst interview is a good time, probably towards the end, to ask who else to interview for the feature, and perhaps ask them to smooth the way. It’s also your best opportunity to set up a second interview which could be in their favourite café – or in this case the art gallery where her daughter’s art is exhibited.

CASE STUDY: Feature interview for a personality piece – 17 key steps. The bank audit manager for Bankco Bank, Jon Coyne, is about to retire after 40 years of service with the same bank.

Keywords from GRAB5 – the fve major steps of every interview – have been highlighted in the 17-step checklist below. Just as a reminder, the fve steps of GRAB5 are: Get the Interview; Research and Preparation; Ask Questions; Be Attentive – Listen; and 5Ws and H – Check. NB: Every interview is different and should be treated as such. While many of the steps for a feature interview are relatively similar

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to those for a news interview, you are seeking different information. The following 17 steps are suggestions (only) to guide you through a feature interview. 1 Get the Interview. Arrange interview times and locations. 2 Do your Research and Preparation. 3 Organise your questions. What is the purpose or angle of the interview? 4 Organise your notepad and equipment. 5 Arrive at the interview early. 6 Get set up and check your equipment again. 7 Ask your Icebreaker question. 8 Observe your interviewee and their surroundings (for description). 9 Ask your frst interview question/s. 10 Don’t forget to Be Attentive and Listen (can’t be emphasised enough). 11 Ask the ‘easy’ questions frst. 12 Look for off-beat questions. 13 Make time to get anecdotes. 14 Gather essential background. 15 Ask if there’s anything they would like to add before you fnish. Ask for other sources. 16 Check your notes for contact details and the 5Ws and H. 17 Thank the interviewee for their valuable time.

THE 17 KEY STEPS IN DETAIL: FEATURE INTERVIEW 1. Get the Interview. Arrange a couple of interview times and locations. The ideal when interviewing someone for a print feature story is to be able to interview them at least twice – preferably face-to-face both times and in different locations. More often now though the frst interview is conducted remotely (phone, email) then followed up face-to-face (this may have to be on Zoom or Skype). A feature story should cover the public and private persona of the interviewee, and separate locations can often help. If the story is primarily about their work, hobby, art or sport, the frst interview should be conducted where they are involved in these pursuits. In this way you can get a feel for their ‘job’, their surrounds

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and how they interact with others. It would be ideal to catch the person at home for the second interview for their ‘private persona’, but if this is not possible, try to interview them in a ‘neutral’ location such as their favourite café. Confrm any arrangements. Obviously you will need to explain the reason you require the interview(s) and where and when it is likely to be published. As with hard news stories, don’t give cast-iron guarantees to your interviewee/s. 2. Do your Research and Preparation. It would be rare not to have advance notice of print feature interviews. With some celebrities you will probably have to organise the interview months in advance. This is good! Use this time to dig hard for everything you can about the interviewee. Celebrities and sports stars tend to get a little jaded because of the number of interviews they do, so it is nice if you can surprise them with a new question or information about an interest of theirs that is not widely known. Use primary sources (people) and secondary sources (publications) for your information. Primary sources are other people who can give you reliable information (and perhaps an anecdote or two) about your interviewee. They can include friends, family and colleagues and you may want to talk to them before you do your main interviews with the subject of your feature. British journalist and author, David Randall, says research is essential, particularly when interviewing a ‘prestige’ interviewee: If you are assigned to interview a ‘big name’, above all do your research. If time’s short, read some previous articles about them and a few online biographies; read their ‘autobiography’ if time allows. All but the biggest names will be tickled by this, and you then don’t have to waste interview time asking where they were born, etc. (Randall 2021: 118)

3. Organise your questions. What is the purpose or angle of the interview? A feature story will generally be far longer than a news story, so you will need to collect more information in your interview(s). Summarise the expected angle or theme, in less than 30 words, before organising the questions or keywords. Don’t be concerned if the theme changes after the interview(s). For example, the theme for the feature story on Jon Coyne could be the ‘highs

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and lows’ of 40 years with the same bank, but this may change as the interview progresses. 4. Organise your notepad and/or recording equipment. Whether it’s a Zoom interview or using your smartphone, make sure you are ready to go. 5. Arrive at the interview early. Don’t make it too early as it pressures your interviewee to fnish what they are doing. 6. Get set up and check your equipment again. Don’t forget to ‘unmute’ if you are ‘Zooming’. 7. Ask your Icebreaker question. Your research will probably be essential in providing an icebreaker, but don’t discount using additional on-the-spot observations to help establish a rapport. For instance, if you are interviewing someone at their home, your observations while you are setting up will be extremely useful to get the conversation going. Photographs, pets, artwork, books, trophies and their music collection are obvious clues. 8. Observe your interviewee and their surroundings. Your observations should provide valuable additions to your fnal story. Feature stories should consist of three main elements: facts, quotes and anecdotes. However, many feature writers believe a fourth element – description – should be included as an essential and this may well come from your observations. Journalist and author Len Granato points out that: Just as people have individual ways of speaking, they have individual ways of looking and acting. They assert their individuality by how they dress, how they wear their hair . . . how they furnish and decorate their personal space. Good description conveys people’s images and their personalities. (Granato 1997: 81)

9. Ask your frst interview question/s. With feature interviews it does not hurt to confrm the correct title and spelling of the interviewee’s name frst. Remember: don’t assume

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anything. As with the news interview, please don’t ask for the spelling of the person’s name or their title if they are well known. 10. Don’t forget to Be Attentive and Listen This can’t be emphasised enough. It should be understood that listening, and observing, is essential in any interview. As we have noted in other chapters, of all the techniques a journalist can use, most agree that listening is the key to interviewing success. Journalist and Public Relations specialist Laura McKee says listening is crucial. In my experience as a journalist, there are three key ingredients that make a good interviewer: • the ability to strike up a conversation with anyone • warmth • listening. (Personal interview with Laura McKee).

Listen to what they say and also observe their body language. If they are clenching their teeth and folding their arms when you ask a question, you may need to go down another line of questioning. If they are smiling and leaning forward after a question – proceed! 11. Ask the ‘easy’ questions frst. In the case of the feature interview this will depend to a large extent on your interviewee. If it is someone familiar with being interviewed, spend less time at this stage. However, others may be put at ease by a slower start. You will need facts for your story, so collect that frst. Don’t ask anything that is common knowledge. Questions for Jon Coyne could include: ‘What was your favourite subject at school?’, ‘What has been the best part of your job?’, ‘If you hadn’t gone into banking, what other job interested you?’, ‘What are your hobbies?’ and so on. British journalist and author David Randall (2021) points out: attempts to be clever will probably end with your subject speedily proving they are smarter than you, as the following shows: Reporter: ‘What are all your great rock songs really about?’ Bob Dylan: ‘Three and a half minutes’.

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Instead, keep it simple. Describe them as precisely as possible and concentrate on questions that will enable you to compare their personality with their public image. (Randall 2021: 118)

12. Look for off-beat questions. You don’t want to overload your story with quotes, but you do want to feature some of the interviewee’s thoughts and opinions. Jon Coyne could be asked his opinion: ‘What do you think about the banking system of today?’ Or for an anecdote, you could ask Jon Coyne: Did you want to be a freman/pilot/writer when you were a child? 13. Make time to get anecdotes. Anecdotes are the lifeblood of a feature story. They are basically small stories explaining a situation – often humorous, sometimes quirky, sometimes sad or frightening, hopefully colourful and inspiring. They give a story vitality, but are quite diffcult to elicit. As you are collecting your facts and quotes, there will invariably be opportunities to ask for anecdotes. Don’t be too general when asking for these ‘stories’. For instance, asking ‘What was the best moment of your career?’ is too open and may prove diffcult for the interviewee to answer on the spot. However, when talking to Jon Coyne about his frst job, you may well ask, ‘What was your frst day like?’ When talking about his family, Jon may well tell you that he followed in his father’s footsteps into banking. He might have a memory of going in and watching his father at work that would make a great anecdote. This step may take quite a while, and may happen progressively throughout the interview when you are talking about certain topics. You may also elicit anecdotes about your subject from other primary sources such as family, friends, customers and close colleagues. Journalist and author, Emma Lee-Potter recommends: It’s useful to keep a list of supplementary questions, just in case the conversation with an interviewee dries up or you run out of questions. Write six ‘trigger questions’ – questions that you will be able to ask when an interviewee you are profiling for a feature is monosyllabic or unforthcoming. (Lee-Potter 2017: 69)

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14. Gather essential background. You will need to fnd out more about key people in Jon’s life, for instance, his father and his wife. This is also the time to get background on the organisation Jon is leaving if this hasn’t come up earlier in the interview or in your research. 15. Ask if there’s anything they would like to add. Ask for other sources. Ask who else you could talk to and if the interviewee has anything they would like to talk about or add that hasn’t been covered. 16. Check your notes – the 5Ws and H. With a feature interview you sometimes get the most interesting information at the end when the interviewee relaxes. Check your notes and ask for clarifcation on any unclear information. You may also have to ask extra questions to elicit anecdotes if you feel you haven’t got enough ‘colour’ in the story. Ensure you have contact details for any follow-up questions and for any other sources. 17. Don’t forget to thank the interviewee for their valuable time. It is important to acknowledge that the interviewee is being generous with their time and in sharing their story with you. Not only have they given you their story but also you might need to interview them at a later date, so it is always a good policy to fnish on a positive note.

Journalist and public relations specialist Laura McKee explains why she enjoys interviewing: I have always been a question asker. My grandfather used to call me ‘The Inspector’ when I was a little girl because I was constantly asking him ‘but why, Pa’? That’s why I pursued journalism. I love finding out details about someone’s life/experience that they themselves don’t find interesting. And I especially love learning about the obstacles people face and how that shaped them into who they are today. Interviewing comes naturally to me because I am friendly, empathetic and genuinely interested in other people. And I care.

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If you don’t possess some or any of these qualities, I believe interviewees are much less likely to open up to you when you’re asking questions. Armed with my Bachelor of Multimedia Journalism degree from James Cook University, and a short internship experience covering the 2013 Audi Hamilton Island Race Week, I began my career at the Gladstone Observer newspaper as a cadet reporter before moving into breakfast radio news reading in Townsville. I then moved to Brisbane and tried my hand at politics and public relations. I worked for the Palaszczuk Government in Education Minister Grace Grace’s ministerial office as a Media Advisor for almost four years before moving into the private world at Mater Health as a Communications Advisor in Brisbane, Queensland. Being a good interviewer is a skill I use every single day, despite not working as a journalist in the last five years. It is crucial to collecting information and communicating this with a wide audience. When I worked in the Minister’s office, I was in charge of her social media channels (Facebook, Instagram and Twitter). When I travelled with the Minister to schools across Queensland, I always went out of my way to chat to the teachers and staff over a cup of tea in the staff room. They told me why they loved teaching which led to me asking a few questions about their careers. I met some incredible teachers, some who had been in front of the classroom for 40+ years and had seen a lot of change. These people are shaping our future leaders and play such an important role in young people’s lives – I knew they needed more of a spotlight shone on them. I started to get into the habit of interviewing them, taking their photo and turning their stories into Facebook posts each day. I knew this kind of content had solid potential so I ended up turning the posts into a weekly series that I named Humans of State Schools. I based this off Brandon Stanton’s ‘Humans of New York’ series. My posts featured a simple photo with the talent smiling and a post to accompany it. For example, “This is Mary. She’s the cleaner at Hermit Park State School and has been part of the furniture for 35 years . . .” It quickly grew momentum. Teachers, admin staff, parents and students started sending in their nominations of who they

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wanted featured in Humans of State Schools. I ran this campaign on the Minister’s page for six months every Saturday morning and I never ran out of content. The key to the success of this campaign was interviewing. I made time to listen, despite how busy I was. This proved to the teachers that I respected them and wanted to share their story for the right reasons. In my current job at the Mater I also coordinate the social media posts, regularly touching base with the hospital staff across the Mater campuses in Queensland to find out if they’ve got anything interesting happening, or a new treatment/piece of equipment. I use my interviewing skills to talk to doctors, nurses and patients when I am on marketing photo shoots in hospital wards. I always take the time to introduce myself, make some small talk and do a quick interview. The amazing stories they give me are plentiful and can be used for magazine articles, Instagram posts and news stories. I am very grateful for my interviewing skills. I would encourage anyone struggling to cut through with their talent to always remember to be curious, to truly listen, and care.

PRACTICAL EXERCISES EXERCISE 1

Look back at the exercises you completed in previous chapters where you chose a celebrity/leader/sportsperson you would like to interview, conducted research, and wrote a Research Icebreaker and an On-the-spot Icebreaker for an interview with them. Where would you interview your subject . . . what locations would be best? Choose two potential locations and list below. Location 1: Location 2: Now it’s time to write some questions you would ask them for a Feature Story.

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Using your research, devise a set of fve potential questions you would ask to elicit an anecdote (small story) and list below. Anecdote Questions: 1. 2. 3. 4. 5. Find a photo, video or social media post featuring your subject – write a description from it – below. Description:

Who else would you interview for their feature story? List at least three potential primary sources. Sources:

EXERCISE 2

Conduct and record your own feature interviews. For this exercise your interviewee/source does not have to be a celebrity or someone in the limelight (remember, everyone has a story to tell). It may be the barista from your local café, someone in business or politics, a teacher, a student, artist, nurse or sportsperson – the

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choice is yours. Choose someone you can interview twice; one interview MUST be face-to-face (see details below). Interview 1: The frst interview can be a remote interview, for example, by phone or email. Interview 2: The second interview MUST be conducted face-toface and recorded. If this is not possible, the interview can be via Zoom or Skype. It must still be recorded and show you both in the recording. Keep your video and original interview notes to analyse later. (Let your source know the recorded interview is for practice, only, and will not be posted, published or broadcast). NB: Please read through the following information, including the Review Questions at the end, before you start your interview preparation. Use the 17-step Feature Interview checklist in this chapter as your guide. Choose your interviewee and request two interviews. Confrm interviews, locations and times: Name: Title: Location Interview 1: Time Interview 1: Location Interview 2: Time Interview 2: Write the purpose or angle of this feature interview (in less than 30 words) then prepare 10–12 questions for your interviewee. Arrange your questions in a coherent and logical order with Icebreaker and ‘easy’ fact-fnding questions frst, with off-beat questions and ones designed to elicit anecdotes to follow. Purpose: Questions (10–12): List three (3) potential primary sources (family, friends, co-workers) you could also interview for this feature piece. (NB: you do not have to interview them for this exercise).

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Sources: REVIEW QUESTIONS

Review your interviews and discuss all the elements including: Was the location and timing of your interview/s appropriate? Did your Icebreaker question/s work? Did you ask the Five Ws and H questions? Did you follow up with off-beat questions to get more colour? Did your questions to elicit anecdotes work? Were your questions concise and easy to understand? Did the answers meet your feature interview purpose/angle? Did you listen and follow-up on answers for more information or further anecdotes? Did you interrupt? Was your body language appropriate? What description/s would you use in your fnal story? Did you ask if the interviewee had further information they wanted to add? Did you ensure you obtained their contact details? Did you take enough notes to write your print feature story including suitable direct quotes?

REFERENCES (Hint: Copy & paste URLs where required) Furlong, J. 2018, About Joanna, Createfully, http://createfully.com/ Furlong, J. 13 July 2015, ‘Writing a Bio: My 20 Favorite Questions to Ask’, createfully, blog, http://createfully.com/blog/2015/7/13/writinga-bio-my-20-favorite-questions-to-ask Granato, L. 1997, Newspaper Feature Writing, Deakin University Press, Geelong, VIC Lee-Potter, E. 2017, Interviewing for Journalists, 3rd edn, Routledge, New York Randall, D. with Crew, J. 2021, The Universal Journalist, 6th edn, Pluto Press, London Sedorkin, G. 24–30 September 2008, ‘Ernie’s Choice’, cairnseye magazine, pp. 10–11, The Cairns Post Watanabe, T. 26 April 2019, ‘A Sixth-Grader Was Sick of Coloring. So She Skipped Six Grades to Attend Cal State L.A.’, Los Angeles Times, www. latimes.com/local/education/la-me-edu-cal-state-gifted-programchildren-student-20190426-htmlstory.html

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Steve Hargrave:

. . . it’s a big movie. This is your 1,000,365th interview, I think you’ve done. Are you getting a bit of Zoom fatigue? Scarlett Johansson: I’ve had Zoom fatigue for about a year and a half now . . . (7News Sunrise 2021) The interview excerpt above showcases one of the failures of remote interviewing. While on the one hand it allows access to the source by so many more interviewers, both the interviewee and the interviewer may begin to suffer from virtual or ‘Zoom fatigue’. The entertainment business is certainly not alone as more workplaces have had to resort to remote work during the many months of pandemic lockdown; a trend predicted to continue post-pandemic. The overuse of virtual meetings has certainly contributed to work burnout with demands that you are always ‘on’. There is also the added step of ensuring equipment and connections are ready to go. Even experienced interviewer UK showbiz correspondent Steve Hargrave forgot to unmute his microphone at the start of the Zoom interview above with actor Scarlett Johansson about her new Marvel movie Black Widow.

DOI: 10.4324/9781003224396-8

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Traditionally in journalism, the face-to-face interview is the ideal way of gathering information from primary sources. Today more interviews are being conducted by fewer staff turning to faster methods of gathering information. In the past, the two most common timesaving methods used were telephone and email interviews. While they do not have the advantage of providing non-verbal cues (such as eye contact and body language), they are very convenient for both the interviewer and interviewee.

FIGURE 8.1

In the weekly television news program, The Chiefs, two of the four hosts, Ed Lingao (left), Chief of news content at OneNews, and Roby Alampay, former editor-in-chief of Business World broadcast live from studio.The program’s other hosts, Head of News5 Luchi Cruz-Valdes and Philippine Star editor-in-chief Amy Pamintuan, join them via Zoom. © Luchi Cruz-Valdes Collection.

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This is particularly the case with email interviews where those involved in the exchange are in different time zones. Also, you don’t have to play ‘phone tag’ with your source, plus their responses provide you with a ready transcript of quotes that you can cut and paste into your article. Newspaper editors tend to frown on the use (or overuse) of the telephone interview whereas broadcast news editors generally accept it as a necessity imposed by tight deadlines. While a high percentage of face-to-face interviews may have been possible for print journalists in the past, radio journalists producing fve news bulletins or more each day had little choice but to rely heavily on the phone to interview sources and record sound bites. Since the pandemic, and with strict distancing regulations, resorting to either telephone or in many more cases, Zoom or similar videotelephony or online chat services have become standard.

SMARTPHONES For both print and radio, a phone interview may suffce when a faceto-face interview is not possible. They still provide the interviewer with some important clues, including tone of voice, silence, volume and laughter. It is essential, too, that the journalist gives encouragement to the interviewee when conducting an interview on the telephone. With the advent of smartphones and their inbuilt cameras and integrated operating systems, both journalist and interviewee are able to see one another, and in many cases the journalist is able to record both sound and picture. Indeed, many high-end smartphones today have suffcient memory storage and a chipset powerful enough to enable flming, editing, or even livestreaming an interview conducted in the feld. Such mobile reporting is standard across newsrooms around the world today. Where in the past the journalist was unable to go to places without a full camera crew, today a video recorded on a smartphone is perfectly acceptable for broadcast. In many instances, audiences are not even aware that the news story they are hearing or watching had been recorded using a mobile device. However, recording quality varies widely, and it is up to the journalist or professional communicator to experiment or train so that the best quality audio and video are achieved.

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Whatever the technology used, the ability of the journalist to be anywhere in the world and still be able to gather that all important sound bite or video clip means audiences receive the very latest news and content. Couple this with suffcient preparation, a genuine interest in fnding information, and in many cases, talking with the right person at the right time, and you just might be rewarded with a ‘scoop’ (the frst person with a major story). BEWARE OF AVOIDANCE

While email and phone interviews are convenient for reporters, they can be equally convenient for elusive news sources. Politicians, sports stars, public offcials and celebrities sometimes don’t want to reply to email inquiries. Some also have gatekeepers or public relations advisors who devise carefully crafted responses on behalf of the source, or whose task is to simply fob off phone calls. There is also a raft of phone paging devices and mobile phones that incorporate technology allowing the receiver to know who is calling before answering. This permits avoidance behaviour. Reliance on email or telephone interviewing is probably a mistake if the news source wants to play hard to get. Only persistent and ingenious methods of making contact with elusive news sources work. PROTOCOLS

Both phone and email interviews have a certain protocol, and steps that should be taken to increase the success of the exchange. Essential steps for conducting telephone and email interviews, with explanations and advice for each step, are provided below. However, in any exchange, whether face-to-face or via a telephone or computer terminal, politeness and curiosity are essential. The same rules apply to both the journalist trying to interview a source such as a CEO of a major corporation and the public relations professional conducting an internal interview with that same CEO. Internally, anticipating potential questions, and crafting suitable responses should be part of any company’s strategy of what, how and why they communicate with their target publics. Almost every company employs a public relations or media person to act as a bridge between that company and its CEO, and its various

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publics including the media. Unless the story is controversial or potentially damaging to the company, CEOs are often more than happy to oblige an interview. After all, a basic tenet of good management is to align business priorities with communication goals and plans. A CEO with strong journalist relations and social media skills can be a great asset to the company particularly in times of crisis.

THE TELEPHONE INTERVIEW For every telephone interview you must have a clear idea of what you are trying to fnd out from the interviewee. Usually, these are busy individuals who will have assistants and gatekeepers to weed out ‘unimportant’ or ‘unannounced’ callers. Be polite and friendly to everyone you speak to on the telephone. Once your desired party is on the line, observe the following 15 steps.

1. Introduce your organisation, yourself and the fact that you want to do an interview for a publication – print, broadcast or online. It is unethical to try to get news by pretending you are not a journalist. State your name second, as people sometimes miss the frst few words of a phone conversation. You should quickly follow this introduction by asking the interviewee if they have a few minutes to spare. If they don’t, respect this, then ask when you might be able to call again to interview them. If they do indicate they have the time, repeat the details about the interview, what information you would like from them and where and when it might be used. If you can avoid it, try not to pressure people into giving you detailed information in a hurry. This may not always be possible, particularly for radio journalists, but most people will not appreciate being given a tight deadline and might either refuse to be interviewed or be abrupt in their responses. 2. Thank anyone who takes the trouble to return your messages – it doesn’t happen that often – even within your own organisation.

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3. As a general rule, smile while you are talking on the phone. Try it, and you will realise that it makes you sound much more encouraging and friendly. However, you may not want to do this in every phone interview, particularly if you are asking ‘tough’ questions. Don’t talk too loudly or softly; just use your ordinary speaking voice. If you’re using a mobile phone, make sure you’re in an area where the signal is strong and won’t drop out. 4. Restrict your Icebreaker. As a general rule you are using the telephone as a time-saver, so get to the interview as quickly as you can. 5. Have your questions (or keywords) well organised before you get on the line. You don’t want to be wasting the other person’s time while you are searching through pieces of paper to fnd your list. 6. Keep your questions simple. This should always be the case, but it is particularly diffcult for interviewees to remember long and complex questions on the telephone. Two sentences is the maximum – one sentence is better. Don’t be afraid to ask for examples, and even description. The latter is particularly important if you are conducting a feature interview over the phone. Journalism educator and author Carole Rich writes about an American reporter, Nancy Tracy, who “had a way of almost seeing through the telephone”: She would ask her sources for details. She asked what they were wearing, what they were doing, what they were thinking, how they were coping and reacting. She was always empathetic. Sometimes she would apologize for asking difficult questions; sometimes she would sympathize. Then she would ask more questions. And rarely did anyone refuse to answer her. (Rich 2010: 125)

7. Take down your notes as quickly as possible. If you’re recording the interview for broadcast or for your own record, you must tell the interviewee before you start.

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8. Ensure you understand all the answers given. If you don’t, ask again or request a simpler explanation. Don’t be afraid to admit you don’t understand – you can’t be an expert in every feld. Pulitzer Prize-winning investigative journalist Ron Suskind has this advice: Be honest; and always say, ‘Please explain this to me in words so I can understand it’ . . . Don’t be afraid to ask a stupid question. (Suskind in Wihbey 2012)

9. Listen carefully and be ready to follow up any unexpected answers. 10. Avoid pauses. In a face-to-face interview, pauses may serve to encourage the interviewee to continue speaking. Over the phone, your interviewee may well think that the interview is over, and hang up. 11. Resist the urge to interrupt with further questions particularly if you intend to use the recorded audio for broadcast. Instead, take down your questions and comments and bring them up when the interviewee fnishes. This will also make it easier to edit the piece later. 12. Be polite from beginning to end. Keep your cool – even when your interviewee does not. 13. Obtain the correct spelling of the interviewee’s name and their correct title. Repeat these over the line if you are unsure. 14. As a last question, ask: “Is there anything else you would like to add?” You also can ask the original source who else you should contact. They could give you names and contact information for sources you hadn’t previously considered.

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15. Don’t forget to obtain their other contact details. Try not to call/text/message/email people outside work hours – unless unavoidable. Thank the interviewee for their valuable time. Finally, if the source doesn’t answer your call, leave a detailed message. For example: Hi, this is Jinu Davio from The Gazette. I’m calling to schedule an interview with you to discuss the reopening of the airport and resumption of international flights. My deadline is Thursday, and I’d really like to speak with you for the story. Please call me back at 555–555–5555 at your earliest convenience.

Now, give yourself a deadline, and if your source has not returned your call by then, move on to your next best source.

THE EMAIL INTERVIEW The email interview is an excellent way to contact your sources for information, and far cheaper than using the telephone. Contacting people quickly and cheaply anywhere on the globe is the major advantage, though your emails can easily be ignored. Nevertheless, the email interview has joined the list of tools that enable journalists to interview sources and conduct research. Managing editor of The Poynter Institute’s website Mallary Jean Tenore says journalists have resorted to a “blended approach to interviews, . . . . The key is fguring out which approach works best for you and the story you’re working on” (Tenore 2012). Tampa Bay Times’ Lane DeGregory who is a narrative writer, said face-to-face interviews will always remain the best approach. She recalled a story she wrote about a manager who had undergone a sex change operation. During the interview, DeGregory noticed and asked “about two shelves of identical red journals” in the interviewee’s home offce (2012). ‘He had been keeping a personal diary for 30 years, writing every night; on one side of the book he was Steve, on the other Susan – there it was, a life history of his hiding being transgendered,’ DeGregory said. ‘I would never have dreamed to ask him whether something like that even existed’ (DeGregory quoted in Tenore 2012).

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TOP TIPS

Former CNET New York Bureau Chief Sandeep Junnarkar says your frst step should be to “introduce yourself, and your news organization, its circulation, and its importance to your community” ( Junnarkar 2003). Some of his other tips for email interviews include explaining “just enough about your story or project to entice the source to participate” (2003). Junnarkar’s tip to offer to make it a phone interview (2003) is recommended if you have more than three to fve questions and it will take longer than 15–20 minutes for the interviewee to answer by email. More sound advice includes: “Never send questions in an attachment, a Microsoft Word document or other format. People are uncomfortable opening fles they receive from strangers lest there be a computer virus or worm attached” ( Junnarkar 2003). Use the subject line to clearly and concisely convey your request in fve or six words; explain your purpose and deadline in the frst sentence of your email. PROS AND CONS

One of the major advantages of an email interview is that you have a written record of the questions and answers – so you can’t be accused of misquoting. The major disadvantage, particularly with an exchange conducted over a period of time (not ‘real time’), is that the answers are not spontaneous and may lack ‘colour’. As author Jane Dorner points out, the “email interview gives your subject time to think, so chances are that they will express what they really want to say more carefully” (2000: 32). ‘GOOD TALENT’

As email interviews are in written form, you must ensure that your questions are well framed and not vague. You are also relying heavily on the fact that your interviewee will be ‘good talent’. However, be prepared for the fact that you may be interviewing someone who is not conversant with email, has diffculty formulating written answers (though they may be extremely articulate on the phone or in person),

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and who may use streams of bureaucratic jargon. Your interviewee might also be a ‘two-fnger typist’, so responses could be a long time coming. As emails are practically indestructible and may be forwarded to other parties, always keep exchanges professional and always identify yourself. Email interviews have also been broadcast during television programs, when the source was hesitant to appear in person. Visually, what the audience sees projected on a computer screen is the equivalent of the email interview in graphic form.

SOCIAL MEDIA Social media such as Facebook, Google Chat, Kik, WeChat, Yik Yak, Snapchat, Weibo, Twitter and other messaging apps have expanded the ways by which a journalist is able to identify, interview and use sources for a news story. These social media have enabled journalists to crowdsource the sentiment of a wide range of the population. Posting a question in a Facebook group may yield responses that you can use as ‘vox pop-like’ content in your piece. Chat channels and other messaging platforms enable text and voice messaging, broadcast (one-tomany) messaging, video conferencing, photograph/video and location sharing as well as creating and viewing discussion threads. PROS AND CONS

As in face-to-face, email or telephone interviews, these technologymediated platforms have advantages and disadvantages. Advantages include the immediacy and ease of connecting with other people, the informal atmosphere of exchanging views and opinions, wider distribution of fnished journalistic content that increase audience reach, and engagement with the audience in a variety of participatory and interactive activities. Some disadvantages include being unable to vet if the person behind the chat is really the person you think you are chatting with, where the chat is not in real time, you don’t have the ability to ask a spontaneous question or an immediate follow-up, and, while you may get quotes, they don’t often produce a revealing interview.

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SKYPE, ZOOM, TEAMS AND OTHER LIVE VIDEO CONFERENCING PLATFORMS When the COVID-19 pandemic hit, people around the world found themselves isolated from loved ones, workmates, and friends, and from even the most normal day-to-day activities such as going to the gym, or seeing a GP. Zoom, FaceTime, Microsoft Teams, Skype, Google Hangout and a multitude of other video-calling apps became essential means to staying connected. Of these, Zoom has been the standout performer with more than 300 million users in 2022. It is now unthinkable to go through the day without using Zoom to come to work, check in on a loved one who may be housebound, participate in virtual classroom lessons, attend a conference, do Zumba or yoga lessons, or consult with a doctor, therapist or psychiatrist. It is easy to download and install on a computer, plus if there’s just you and your interviewee, it is free to use up to 24 hours. The 40-minute limit applies to groups of three to 100. For the journalist whose work never stops and who must continue to pitch stories, gather news and report on events, the use of Zoom, Skype and other popular apps have become so standard that even the Associated Press Stylebook now recognises Zoom, FaceTime, and Skype as verbs but of course, “does not recommend such usage” (Fu 2021). Author of Zoom for Dummies, Phil Simon, notes that Zoom is ideal for those new to interviewing because it is ‘user friendly’. For the novice it doesn’t require the expertise of a computer technician. It’s versatility in how it operates means it works on a variety of digital devices for instance PCs, iPads, tablets, and smartphones with operating systems including Windows, Android, iOS, MacOS (Simon 2020: 25, 27). ZOOM

Zoom has been a boon to journalists as it addresses some of the inherent weaknesses of telephone and email interviews discussed earlier. The biggest advantage is that it is possible to Zoom from the interviewee’s home or offce where they tend to be more relaxed than face-to-face in a studio, while still providing valuable nonverbal cues.

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However, the use of Zoom, particularly in the early days of the pandemic and lockdowns certainly had its share of headaches and hilarity.

You probably can recall a BBC news Zoom interview where the interviewee was discussing South Korean politics just as his toddler stomps into the room, closely followed by the baby rolling past in his walker. Or what about that attorney who accidentally had the Zoom cat flter turned on while joining a virtual court hearing? You would certainly not want viewers to remember your interview for something other than your news content. It’s strongly advised that you let everyone know you are interviewing and recording so there are no interruptions and noise levels are kept to a minimum.

TRAINING

Zoom actually provides extensive training in everything from general on-boarding (getting started), to joining a meeting and connecting via phone, using the chat function, to recording your session. Registration is free at https://zoom.us As with all interviewing, the best advice is to prepare and practice; conduct mock zoom interviews with friends and family. When securing a Zoom interview, explain to the interviewee that they will need access to a computer with a camera and microphone, and that they need the Zoom app downloaded onto their machine. Walk them through these tips – below – for using Zoom. These tips apply to both you and them: LOCATION, LIGHTING AND SOUND

Select a suitable location where the interview will take place. Instruct them to select a well-lit area and not to sit with their back to a window or strong light source as this throws the face into shadow. Other simple tips are included below.

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• Check microphone levels and camera position before starting. • Position the camera at eye level and leave enough space between the top of the head and the edge of the screen above. This is known as ‘headroom’. Journalist and media trainer, Kerry Barrett adds that the camera angle is important because “no one needs to see your nostrils, half of your face, or your kitchen ceiling” (Barrett in Simon 2020: 94). For eye contact, make sure you are both looking at the camera and not at the screen. Don’t forget to ‘unmute’. • Check your background. Choose or create the most professionallooking background you can. Curate what viewers will see. A blank wall, while not ideal, is preferable to a view of a cluttered shelf, or worse, a view of your bed. • In order to have the highest quality recording, it is recommended you select ‘Record on this computer’ rather than the Cloud. DRESS APPROPRIATELY

Outfts that are white, black, with thin vertical stripes/pinstripes and other wild patterns may be distracting. In general, colour blocks work better than patterns. Avoid ‘fying saucer’ or large ‘chandelier’ earrings, and bangles or watches that jangle. BE PROFESSIONAL

If using Skype or Zoom, where your username might be visible on the screen, make sure your username creates a good impression. SexyReporter2023 defnitely does not sound professional. DON’T INTERRUPT

If you will be using the recording as part of your production, do not interrupt or audibly react in the middle of answers with phrases like ‘Um-hum’, ‘I see’, or ‘I agree’, as this can be mistaken as agreement with what is being said. Also, the unwanted sound will ‘bleed’ into the recording and make it diffcult to edit the responses later. Instead, just as you would in a face-to face-interview, nod your head, smile, catch the eye of the interviewee (but don’t stare!), or use body language to indicate that you are actively listening.

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SEEK CONSENT

Seek consent if you intend to record the interview, and alert the interviewee when you’ve stopped recording. Ask if there is anything they would like to say off the record. It’s important that you go about your business ethically and that boundaries are clear, even in the virtual world. MANNERS AND TONE

Finally, remember your manners and thank the interviewee for their time. End on a polite note and leave the door open by asking if you may call back if you have some points to clarify with them. More essential tips for Zoom, Teams or Skype interviews are provided by marketing, public relations and digital media company, Marx Layne & Company on their website (marxlayne.com/tips-for-zoomtv-interview/). These include to “make sure your device is charged, turn off notifcations” and use a ring light “that provides attractive light without shadows or harsh lines” during the interview (2021). Whatever platform you choose, know what type of information you are after; the purpose or angle of your interview. Most people tend to become more formal in their responses to an email interview as they are able to review your questions and prepare responses in advance. If this is the case, you may want to follow up with an informal phone conversation where the interviewee’s responses may be more representative of how they typically talk. In the same way, responses over social media are generally short and lacking in detail. Treat social media as a means to identify and connect to interviewees who can provide depth to the conversation.

PRACTICAL EXERCISES EXERCISE 1

Open your Zoom account and sign in to the web portal. Schedule a meeting with someone for 30 minutes in the next 15–20 minutes. Send the invitation. Were you able to do this easily? Still on Zoom, locate a good background for yourself. Using your computer, record a session with yourself reading a news story. Use your normal speaking voice. Frame your image such that you are

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visible from the chest up (also known as a medium shot). Move closer to the computer mid-way during recording. Play back and note the following: Do you look comfortable in front of a camera? Do you look nervous? Do you look ‘natural’? What can you see in the background? Is the closer shot more pleasant? Did moving closer to the computer and microphone affect the audio quality? Take note of which distance from your computer works best. EXERCISE 2

Run a practice Zoom interview with a friend. Ask the 5Ws and H questions. Record the session and then listen to it. • Can you detect behaviours such as speaking too quickly, mumbling, saying ‘uhm’ or ‘like’ all the time? • What about energy level? Do you sound friendly or stiff and fumbling over your words? Is your voice hoarse or croaky? NB: This can be addressed by doing some vocal exercises such as tongue twisters to relax the mouth and jaw. Drink plenty of water.

REFERENCES (Hint: Copy & paste URLs where required) Dorner, J. 2000, The Internet: A Writer’s Guide, A & C Black, London, UK Fu, A. 9 April 2021, ‘How the AP Stylebook Has Kept Up with the Pandemic’, Poynter, www.poynter.org/reporting-editing/2021/how-the-ap-stylebookhas-kept-up-with-the-pandemic/ Junnarkar, S. 7 October 2003, ‘Step-By-Step E-mail Interviewing Tips’, Poynter, www.poynter.org/archive/2003/step-by-step-e-mail-interviewing-tips/ Marx Layne & Company 25 March 2021, ‘Tips For a Successful TV Interview on Zoom, Teams or Skype, https://marxlayne.com/tips-for-zoom-tv-interview/ Rich, C. 2010, Writing and Reporting News: A Coaching Method, 6th edn, Wadsworth, Boston, MA (Wadsworth, Cengage Learning: Online pdf Chapter 7, p. 125) 7News 5 July 2021, ‘Scarlett Johansson Chats about Her Return as Black Widow in New Blockbuster’, Sunrise, https://7news.com.au/sunrise/

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entertainment/scarlett-johansson-chats-about-her-return-as-blackwidow-in-new-blockbuster-c-3311650 Simon, P. 2020, Zoom for Dummies, John Wiley and Sons Inc., Hoboken, NJ Tenore, M. J. 2012, ‘How Journalists Decide Whether to Interview by Phone, Email or Face-to-Face’, Poynter, www.poynter.org/reporting-editing/ 2012/how-why-jou r na l ist s-a re -t a k i ng -a-blended-approach-to interviews Wihbey, J. 29 May 2012, ‘Research Chat: Ron Suskind on Investigative Reporting, Interviewing and Documents’, The Journalist’s Resource, https:// journalistsresource.org/home/research-chat-ron-suskind-investigativereporting-interviewing-documents/

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I hope it’s been obvious that I’ve always approached this job with one goal – and that is to ask frank questions of people in power, without fear or favour . . . I’ve tried to shut down wafflers, call out bullshit, hold powerful people to account, expose lies, incompetence and exaggeration in all political parties and on all issues, and present facts, even when they’re unpopular or inconvenient.

Journalist Leigh Sales sums up the role of the interviewer, when announcing stepping down as the anchor of the ABC’s current affairs television program 7.30 Report after almost 12 years (Wearring 2022). For all interviewers, one of the golden rules of interviewing is to always be prepared, especially for the unexpected. This is especially true for live broadcast interviews where you may lose power or suffer from a technical malfunction, your interviewee freezes or refuses to answer a question leaving you with dead air, or worse, walks off completely. It is helpful for an interviewer to consider the possible responses to any given question and to devise follow-up questions, given a particular response. Asking the easy questions early may be another tactic in case the interviewee does walk out, so at least you already have some footage for your piece. Some of the most experienced interviewers fnd that a particular reaction throws them off track – what is then important is the recovery. DOI: 10.4324/9781003224396-9

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RADIO AND TELEVISION INTERVIEWS Working as a broadcast journalist can be daunting for the newbie, but it can also be fun. Many journalists will say the ‘basics’ of interviewing and reporting are the same as for print, and so they are. However, broadcast adds that element of immediacy and the need to obtain an audio recording or video footage with suffcient quality as to be ft for broadcast. THE BASICS

At its most basic, newswriting for print journalism always begins with the lead; a summary of the news, indicating the subject and action of the story. It must have enough news value to entice the reader to read the rest of your story. In broadcast journalism, particularly television, you may start with a strong visual and not have any words to go with it. If you do, the words are used mainly as a cue to the start of the piece. You may even start with footage of a recorded dialogue of the main interviewee or character in the piece, and then follow with a background of what the story is about. Broadcast news scripts are usually shorter than print pieces, as most broadcast pieces last no more than 90 seconds. However, broadcast feature-like stories can be anywhere from 30 minutes to a full hour, in which case the script may be as long or longer than a print piece. Today’s broadcast journalist needs to be able to do everything from ‘seeing’ the story in their head, shooting the interviews and visuals including any piece-to-camera of the reporter, editing the package on a laptop or on a smartphone, and uploading it. In any platform, good writing is essential. However, in the case of broadcast, sentences are kept short and simple to make it easier for the listener or the viewer to absorb the information. That’s because, unlike print, where readers can always go back and re-read a complex paragraph, in broadcast scripts the paragraph is already gone by the time a viewer realises they might need to review it. Broadcast adopts a more conversational tone; tell the story as if you were telling it to your mother, friend or neighbour. You also have to make sure your piece not only looks good with great visuals, but also sounds good. Studies show audiences can excuse a few blurry, shaky, over or underexposed shots. They cannot tolerate

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poor sound or annoying delivery for any length of time and are likely to abandon your story. THE APPROACH

Before you start, think of your interview approach. Is it going to be an informational interview when the main purpose of the interview is to elicit information from a credible source? Or perhaps it is a niche interview, for example, the reporter identifes a newsmaker with the aim of sharing something that has not been covered before, or to have an extraordinary or unique person share something equally unique or a new way of thinking. In interviews on a controversial topic, the interview approach may be adversarial, or even confrontational. Even in confrontational or adversarial interviews, however, at no time should a journalist be impolite or rude while asking questions. For more information on these approaches, please see Chapter 1. Reporters need to know about the different sorts of interviews conducted on radio and television and to adapt their interviewing styles and use of equipment accordingly. Broadcast reporters sometimes have to be pushy. At press conferences and on location, their microphones and cameras must be well positioned to collect high-quality audio and visuals. The highly visual nature of television interviewing means that if there are no pictures, there is no story.

VIDEO JOURNALISM Broadcast journalists today have added pressures resulting from modern technology and staff cuts. These ‘video journalists’ or VJs not only have to conduct their own interviews but also shoot video and audio footage of the interview, and sometimes even edit the piece. This is not just the case with smaller broadcasters as political reporter and professor, Ralph Begleiter explains: Even in major networks like CNN, today’s journalists are often expected to shoot, record, edit and upload their work from their laptops. The Ukraine war is an excellent example of this.

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Such ‘one-man-band’ journalists have the benefit of being able to thoroughly control the content of their reports because from ‘soupto-nuts’, they’ve done it themselves. (Personal interview with Ralph Begleiter)

Video journalists need to be fexible and multiskilled to gather and produce quality stories. Armed with a smartphone or a small digital camera and tripod, these VJs must ensure that they obtain broadcast-quality footage and sound as well as strong ‘grabs’. There are several advantages of being a ‘do-it-all’ reporter/videographer including cutting costs, fexibility, originality and broader options on what to report on. Multiple Edward R. Murrow and Emmy Award-winning journalist Mike Castellucci is one such person, a do-it-all video journalist. He says he strives to capture the human spirit in his award-winning show, Phoning It In, using just an iPhone, tripod and microphone. He points out that: ‘Everyone has a story to tell, even if they don’t know it. . . . It’s a combination of good writing, beautiful pictures and a lot of natural sound. . . . If I can evoke any emotion out of a viewer . . . it’s a victory’. (Castellucci in Scott 2019)

RESEARCH AND PLAN Veteran journalist, former CNN Beijing Bureau Chief Jaime FlorCruz offers his ‘to-do’ checklist that he used to prepare for interviews or to cover an event. FlorCruz has had more than 40 years’ experience covering China and has witnessed and reported that country’s economic and social reforms, the crackdown on Tiananmen protests in 1989, the death of Deng Xiaoping, the 1997 Hong Kong handover, the Sichuan earthquake, the 2008 Beijing Olympics and ethnic unrest in Tibet and Xinjiang. He says keeping the following in mind helps minimise unexpected, sometimes, catastrophic reporting diffculties in the feld: • Research and plan well, make a list of sources, contacts, story ideas. • Secure, of course, plane tickets, hotel rooms and local fxers. Fixers are people who know the place who you can hire as guides and

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• • • •

translators, so bring enough cash, bring some food and water. And sometimes you also have to bring tents and portable generators. After the Sichuan earthquake, for example, there was no housing and electricity in the area. When covering a story, always think pictures, sound and text – that’s the totality of a TV package. Work as a team. Keep your home desk informed while you’re out in the feld to let them know where you are and that you are safe. Always get a wide establishing shot. Now, that’s TV speak, which refers to video shots to show viewers where you are and that’s your date line. While you are out in the feld, think of the sound bites, the raw sounds and the pictures that you may use. (Personal interview with Jaime FlorCruz)

FIGURE 9.1

Pictured on location reporting in the Panda Nature Reserve in Sichuan Province in the early 2000s, veteran journalist, former CNN Beijing Bureau Chief Jaime FlorCruz records a pieceto-camera (PTC) seated beside one of the Reserve’s pandas. © Courtesy FlorCruz Library.

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KEY PRINCIPLES Having engaged in hundreds – perhaps thousands – of broadcast news interviews during a lifelong career in radio, television and higher education, political reporter and professor Ralph Begleiter offers some basic principles and techniques – below. He says these are built on the foundation of a political environment in which journalists are considered independent of their host government, and independent of other business and political interests. These principles include: ESTABLISH RULES

Successful interviews begin with well understood ground rules, confrmed by both the subject and the interviewer. Ground rules may be established in the moments before the interview, or days or weeks in advance. Below are some issues and questions that need to be addressed early: • Will the interview be ‘on the record’? Or is the interview being conducted ‘on background’, from which no attribution (or limited attribution) is allowed? • If it’s a broadcast interview, will it be conducted ‘live’ onthe-air? Or will it be recorded for later broadcast? • If it’s ‘live’, is there a time limit to the interview? Both sides should agree on any limit. • If it’s recorded, does the interviewer guarantee to broadcast the interview? When? Or are there circumstances under which a recorded interview might not be broadcast? • Will video or audio recorders be used? By either/both the journalist and the subject? • For what purpose will recorders be used? For note-taking and quotation accuracy only? Or will the recordings themselves be published? By whom? • Will the recordings be published in their entirety, unedited? Or will they be edited? By whom? • What are the outlines of the subject areas to be covered during the interview? Are there limits? If there are limits, both

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the interviewer and the subject must agree beforehand. If there are no limits, the subject should agree in advance. ESTABLISH WHO’S IN CHARGE

Interview subjects (interviewees) should never control their interviewer. The conficts of interest are too powerful to be ignored. INTERVIEWERS HAVE PREROGATIVES, BUT INTERVIEWEES HAVE RIGHTS, TOO

Journalists conducting interviews can study and know their subject matter well. They can devise interesting, informationeliciting questions. They can choose the circumstances and demeanour of their interview. They can ask anything they wish. Even so, journalists are rarely in full control of their interviews because interview subjects themselves have a variety of ways to infuence the content of an interview. • Subjects may simply refuse to be interviewed, leaving the interviewer without an important point of view. Even if a subject has previously agreed to be interviewed, circumstances may change before or even as the interview is being conducted, or the subject’s supervisor or media handler may decide not to allow an interview. • Interviewees may choose not to answer certain (or many) questions. This is an important point. Interviewers may be free to ask anything they wish during an interview. But the interviewee is under no obligation to answer every question – or even any question! • ‘No Comment’ may be a hard-to-understand choice, but in some instances, it’s the right approach for an interview subject, even one who has previously agreed to be interviewed. Although journalists may try to elicit answers by repeating or rephrasing questions, the interview subject ultimately holds the trump card of declining to answer. • Interview subjects may choose to answer questions any way they like. An interviewer might expect or anticipate the

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nature of an answer, but the subject is perfectly free to choose a different answer. Even if the journalist feels the answer is not responsive to the question, the journalist has no power to force a responsive answer. In these circumstances, the best the journalist can do for their audience is to make clear – with a phrase (in print) or even a facial or vocal expression (in broadcast) – that the interviewee was unresponsive. • Interviewees may dodge questions, sometimes repeatedly. In the case of today’s media savvy politicians, they or their media people may have prepared sound bites that they will deliver regardless of the relevance to your question. LISTEN CAREFULLY

It’s absolutely critical for interviewers to listen carefully to what their subjects are saying, no matter what the nature of the interview. While the subject is answering your question, don’t busy your mind worrying about the next question; instead, pay close attention to what your subject is saying. Interviewers who robotically move to the next question on their list often miss some of the most revealing moments of their own interviews, and therefore fail to follow up. Listeners and viewers will catch those revealing moments, and they’ll wonder why the interviewer didn’t ask the next obvious question. BUILD AND MAINTAIN TRUST

Perhaps the most important principle underpinning the best journalistic interviews is the supreme importance of building and maintaining trust between the journalist and their audience and between the journalist and their interview subjects. Journalistic interviews are almost always ‘transactional’. That is, both the journalist and the interviewee understand that they each gain something with a successful interview. The interviewee gains a public conduit for their points of view or their story. The journalist gains credibility with their audience by virtue of being granted access to popular or senior public fgures. So both sides have strong incentives to make an interview succeed.

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Those incentives also mean journalists must be trusted by their interviewees to abide by whatever rules were established at the start, and must be trusted by their audiences to represent the public interest, not the interest of their interviewees. Remember that it’s counterproductive for a journalist to burn bridges of trust with interviewees, particularly with public authorities. Likewise, offcials – even those who don’t particularly enjoy being interviewed – know that a crisis is likely to force them to face journalists repeatedly, so those offcials realise they cannot afford to burn bridges of trust with the journalists covering them. Both offcials and journalists understand that messages conveyed to the public through interviews won’t be trusted by the public if interviews are clearly being conducted without some level of trust between the journalists and the public fgures they interview. This is a long-term relationship. After all, today’s police chief could become tomorrow’s mayor. Or a local public health offcial could one day be appointed to a nationally important public health position. And the local journalist may fnd themselves covering the same offcials for a national news organisation.

LIVE VIDEO CONFERENCING PLATFORMS

With the improvements in technology and connectivity, what has emerged with the use of video conferencing technology such as Skype is the journalists’ use of these apps to connect to any interviewee at any given location, worldwide. And video and audio quality do not have to be poor. Occasionally, we do see cringe-worthy framing that leaves audiences staring up an interviewee’s nose, or dialogue drowned out by traffc noises or dogs barking, but on the whole, these unfortunate sights and audio are more the result of improper or poor staging than limitations of technology. They also illustrate the importance of paying attention to such details before an interview begins. A Skype or Zoom interview has defnite benefts to the producer as you need not have a studio or a large budget to set up, and even broadcast or live stream an interview. There are relatively inexpensive

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add-on streaming engines for direct streaming via the Internet to YouTube, Facebook, Twitter, Instagram and other forms of social media. These presenters serve as mini television transmitters that stream direct to your channel on Facebook Live, YouTube Live, Instagram Live, Tiktok Live, Vimeo Live, Twitter, Twitch Live or many other ‘Lives’. For the PR professional, these platforms can be used on behalf of a client as part of an overall communication campaign that is inexpensive, easy to use, and with potential to reach target audiences in specifc social media platforms.

THE PODCAST NETWORK We are living in an age where there are sophisticated technological broadcast alternatives. Even as data shows that audiences still trust television news, it is undeniable that many are turning to online media such as podcasts and podcast networks such as PodcastOne in Australia for their news and information needs. Podcasts are as varied as the people who create them. In a nutshell, a podcast is a collection or series of digital audio fles that are made available for downloading or listening via the Internet. Each individual audio recording is known as a podcast episode. They are typically hosted by an individual or individuals who lead a conversation, share stories, or report the news. Think of it as akin to radio except podcast listeners are able to download and store content at any time about a specifc topic ranging from politics to religion, to sports, cooking and community issues. Podcast formats range in duration from 10 to 30 minutes, but they can also stretch to two hours as in the case of Accidental Tech Podcast, self-described as “Three nerds discussing tech, Apple, programming, and loosely related matters” (https://atp.fm). Just because a podcast has no fxed length doesn’t mean listeners will stick with the program no matter its length. So journalists creating podcasts as their medium for conveying news should keep in mind most of the standards for broadcast interviews. A sharp, focused, clearly-organised podcast is more likely to be consumed in its entirety and to generate return listenership than a rambling, disorganised conversation.

In this video, accomplished broadcast journalist Travis Parry outlines the steps he takes before he starts and fnishes every broadcast interview.

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RECORDED MATERIAL There are four categories of recorded material: actualities, questions and answers, voicers and wraps. ACTUALITIES

Actualities are the most basic kind of audio. They allow listeners a chance to hear the voices of the newsmakers themselves such as eyewitnesses to terrifying and tragic deaths in COVID-19 ICUs whose accounts may be punctuated by the sound of the laboured breathing of patients on ventilators. Very often, speakers do not speak grammatically, may use colloquial language and do not fnish their sentences. Once you have collected the recordings from an eyewitness to an event such as a house fre, how do you select the actuality you want? Generally it is when the newsmaker says something in a much clearer or more emotive way, than the journalist ever could.

Top Tip: Actualities can include eyewitness reports, expert knowledge from the police, comments by hospital staff, and subjective comments from news sources about their feelings and beliefs.

QUESTIONS AND ANSWERS (Q&As)

Q&As are when the question is either heard on radio or seen being asked and answered on television. They show the reporter on the scene. These can be recorded live in the studio, conducted on the telephone, or recorded at a press conference with other reporters present. Where the reporter is unable to edit in the feld, including the questions provides context to the responses. A sub-variant of the Q&A is the Vox Pop interview. Vox pop is short for vox populi, a Latin phrase meaning ‘voice of the people’. It is conducted almost as an on-thestreet intercept interview to obtain public opinion on a specifc issue from different people. One important caveat for journalists about ‘vox pop’ interviews: Unless you conduct a truly representative research survey to determine

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‘public opinion’, don’t make the mistake of conveying to your audience that the voices they’re hearing actually are representative. ‘Vox pop’ sound bites usually represent one person. They lend your news report a favour of opinion. Don’t give listeners the impression with your writing and presentation that ‘everyone’ or even a majority feels just like the one or two people you interviewed on the street. VOICERS, STANDUPS, PTCs

Whenever possible while on location, shoot what we call in TV speak, Standups. Others call it piece-to-camera (PTC) or voicers, with you, the reporter, saying a few lines on camera to, one, show your viewers that you are on the scene, and two, to explain something interesting or important that does not have pictures except your face. Voicers or PTCs are monologues from the reporter who are responsible for what’s recorded or broadcast. In television, these take the place of the newsmaker/source when there are none early in a story – for example when a story has just broken. Standups are also used regularly where the reporter provides a description of unfolding events. Standups can also offer a chance for reporters to “sum up” at the conclusion of their report, to leave the viewer with a lasting fnal impression, or sometimes to direct viewers to think about “the next step,” or “the next unanswered questions” that remain to be considered. And it can be a dangerous job, especially if you cover crime, war, and natural disasters. ABC-13 journalist Steve Campion found himself part of his live broadcast on the heavy fooding that struck Houston in 2016. Campion was about to start his coverage when he and his crew noticed a car heading towards a heavily fooded intersection where only moments ago, two other vehicles had become submerged. Sure enough, the car began to sink and the elderly driver seemed disoriented. Campion yelled at the man, “Dude, you’ve got to get out of the car. You’ve got to get out! Leave the car, swim!” (Campion quoted in Smith 2016). The man fnally did so as Campion abandoned his broadcast and valiantly waded into the water to bring the man in safely. Realising his camera was still rolling and the microphone live, he proceeded with his interview, frst confrming the man was uninjured just as a visual of the car showed it slipping below the foodwaters (2016).

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Top Tips • Write your script. That is the narration of words over pictures. Do this whenever there is a lull or spare time in the feld. You can do this while, say, riding the car or in the taxi on your way back from an interview or a shoot. Now doing that will give you a head start, especially when you are working under a tight deadline. Many standups or voicers are written out in advance but some may be written on the run – on a scrap of paper, in a feld notepad or an address book. • Show empathy while doing your own reporting and interviews. Be nice. Show empathy in your stories. • View your edited story before you transmit, or before you send them to make sure there are no careless mistakes. • The last and most important, always think of the safety of your crew wherever you go, whatever stories you are covering. We always remind everyone. Safety frst. There is no story worth dying for.

WRAPS

Wraps are like a broadcast sandwich, with one layer of a voicer, then a layer of actuality, and then another voicer. First, the reporter’s voice is heard, then the newsmaker is heard, followed by the reporter doing the conclusion. The reporter wraps the story around the actuality, and the story usually becomes a self-contained package. Below is a partial transcript of an actual television report broadcast from near Nuku’Alofa, (the capital of Tonga) over New Zealand Public Broadcast Service when the Hunga Ha’apai volcano erupts: Man:

[Sound of boom] Oh sh*t! Holy sh*t! Oh! Holy sh*t! Oh![Sounds of scrambling residents]

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Reporter: This woman is in a church in the village of Patangata. She’s talking to friends on her phone. ... Reporter: They tell her to leave. ... Reporter: “I can’t go,” she says. The water’s too high outside. [Sound of waves] (TVNZ 2022) NATURAL SOUND

In the example above, the TVNZ reporter covering the eruption of Tonga’s Hunga Ha’apai volcano made good use of actualities as well as natural sound to establish the tone and mood of the story. These audio elements help listeners get a vivid picture of the action taking place and enhance the realism and authenticity of what is being reported. In your work, make sure you capture quality natural sound to edit into stories. They show that you are at the scene of the action rather than just reporting from the studio. In the same way, the use of natural sound conveys your listeners to the scene, in their minds; this is among the most powerful and infuential tools distinguishing broadcast from print reporting.

GETTING THE GRAB While you’re interviewing for broadcast, you not only have to listen to the content of the answer, you have to listen to it for the ten-, 15-, 30-second or even one minute-section (grab) that really encapsulates – or is the “nugget” of - what the person is trying to say. You are also on the lookout not just for the dramatic bit, but the bit that fairly captures what the person is trying to say. This section or ‘grab’ can sometimes be as short as three to fve seconds in a radio news bulletin. GRABS

Grabs are short snips of audio played in a story as part of the broadcast item. These cuts or ‘grabs’ are usually of people talking at the scene of

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the event or shortly thereafter. In addition to these word grabs, environment (or actuality or natural) sounds are also powerful additions to an audio broadcast or podcast. When the 2018 Woolsey fre that destroyed Miley Cyrus’ Malibu home, the 2020 bushfres in Australia, and the 2021 California wildfres that destroyed more than 2.5 million acres of forest and property were raging, audio of the crackling fres and howling blowtorch-sounding winds brought audiences closer to the reality of these fateful events. THE HARD NEWS INTERVIEW GRAB

The key to getting the grab is timing and the right question. In hard news interviews the questions are likely to be quite specifc and intended to restrict the focus of the answer to the question. In 2019, the Duke of York, Prince Andrew, sat down for an interview with BBC journalist Emily Maitlis to respond to the sexual abuse allegations brought against him in a civil lawsuit by Virginia Giuffre(née Roberts). Maitlis wastes no time getting to a round of ‘yes’ and ‘no’ questions after Prince Andrew categorically stated he had never met his accuser: Emily Maitlis: Prince Andrew: Emily Maitlis: Prince Andrew: Emily Maitlis: Prince Andrew: Emily Maitlis:

Prince Andrew:

Is it possible that you met Virginia Roberts, dined with her, danced with her in Tramp, had sex with her on another date? No. Do you remember meeting her at all? No. Do you know you didn’t meet her or do you just not remember meeting her? No, I have . . . I don’t know if I’ve met her but no, I have no recollection of meeting her. Because she was very specifc, she described the dance that you had together in Tramp. She described meeting you, she was a 17-year-old girl meeting a senior member of the Royal Family. It never happened. (BBC News 2019)

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‘“Ms Maitlis said the interview was not designed to “catch out” the duke. Instead, it was “to have a record of Prince Andrew’s own version of events”. . . . we had just one chance.”’ (Maitlis quoted in Churchman 2022). THE SOFT NEWS INTERVIEW GRAB

Soft news interviews on radio and television are extended conversations with people telling stories, and they employ open-ended questions. Unlike hard news stories that are urgent and time-sensitive, soft stories may be about lifestyle and entertainment and typically revolve around culture, art, and human interest events that remain relevant for long periods of time. You may do the interview today with a view to publishing next week, next month, or even for a planned special at the end of the year. Interviewees may be well-known personalities, celebrities, and even politicians who you normally expect to be interviewed only for hard news stories. DON’T IRRITATE THE INTERVIEWEE BEFORE THE START

An extended interview has a rhythm of its own, and listeners and viewers need to feel that the interview went somewhere. The opening question sets the scene. A common failing of inexperienced interviewers is that they irritate or annoy the interviewee before the interview has started. Displays of indifference and discourtesy to the newsmaker in the studio can be off-putting. Chatting to someone in a civilised and interested manner before the interview is a way of establishing mutual respect even if hard questions have to be asked later. INVOLVE THE INTERVIEWEE IN THE DYNAMICS OF THE INTERVIEW

Novice interviewers often bury their heads in their notes the whole time. Interviewers do have to refer to written material or question sheets during an extended interview to refresh their memory about a line of questioning. It’s a good idea to tell the interviewee that you may not look at them from time to time as you refer to your notes, but that you are always listening to what they are saying. It pays to keep up a non-verbal dialogue with the interviewee which helps them relax, be spontaneous and enter into the spirit of the conversation.

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BE WARY OF CLIPPINGS

Research is essential for extended interviews. Often soft interviews are conducted with personalities and celebrities, visiting stars and sports people who have been written about comprehensively. These clippings form part of the celebrity archaeology that all broadcast interviewers undertake in the research process. In many of her interviews, Oprah’s guests would often ask, ‘How’d you know that?’ and Oprah would say she has two folders full of information about the guest that she had studied thoroughly before the interview. But be wary of clippings as they may not always be accurate. You could fnd yourself saying to a studio guest, ‘You did this and that’, and the person responding, ‘No, I did not’ and ‘Who told you that?’ and then you’re in trouble. Very few top interviewers go into an interview without doing research. The late Larry King was such an interviewer, according to writer and publisher Bill Murphy Jr: I had the first national radio talk show. We used to do . . . ‘Who Is the Guest?’ They would not tell me who the guest is. I’ve got to do a two-hour interview, guy or woman, and all they have to do is tell me their name. And then I’d find out who they were, and then I’d ask them questions. I loved that. . . . I’m in the same boat as the audience, they haven’t read the book. So we’re all in this together. (King quoted in Murphy Jr, B. 2021) DON’T BECOME THE STORY

English broadcaster, journalist and television personality Piers Morgan is no stranger to being the story in the media. Perhaps it is his background as a former tabloid editor that cultivated his brash and somewhat aggressive tactics when dealing with politicians, celebrities, sports people and even British royalty. In 2021, Morgan clashed with weather presenter Alex Beresford on Good Morning Britain over comments about Meghan Markle and Prince Harry’s controversial interview with Oprah. Morgan dramatically “stormed off the set” and two days later, resigned from the breakfast show (Robertson 2021). FREEZING AND ‘UMMS’ AND ‘AHHS’

As well as technical troubles and bad judgement calls by the broadcaster, interviews, especially ‘live’ ones, can be fraught when either

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the newsmaker or the reporter freezes. Many journalists would say the really horrifc live broadcast interviews are the ones in which people freeze into silence. When amateur newsmakers who are not accustomed to being in the news freeze in front of the microphones or cameras, it is often because of the unnatural intrusion of the technical equipment. They suddenly realise that the world is watching and listening to them, and they become nervous. It pays to try to minimise technological intrusion in certain sorts of broadcast interviews. ‘Umming’ and ‘ahhing’, mumbling and poor enunciation and pronunciation turn off the audience in broadcast interviews. These ‘verbal fumbles’ are all very obvious when reporters are doing pieces to camera. The following are some simple tips to avoid them: • • • •

Breathing exercises before facing the camera and going on air. Thinking about the question and not your answer. Slowing your speech down and consciously trying to avoid ‘umms’. Walking, doing voice exercises, talking to yourself out loud are just some of the things you can do as you develop the art of performance as a broadcast journalist. • The single most helpful tool is to make yourself knowledgeable about the subject of the interview. If you know what you’re talking about, you’re much less likely to stumble over a question. When you’re on solid informational ground, you’ll be confdent about conducting the interview.

SIX TIPS FOR BROADCAST INTERVIEWS These tips have been compiled after talking with experienced broadcast journalists about the Do’s and Don’ts of broadcast interviews. 1. Listen, listen and listen. The most important advice for anyone conducting a broadcast interview is to actively listen to what the interviewee is saying. Interviewing is primarily a listening exercise. In broadcast interviewing you often only get one chance – particularly if the interview is live. You may have prepared your list of questions but don’t simply go down the line and not listen to the responses.

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Let’s say you’re interviewing the author of the latest bestselling novel and he says the worst part of his life was when he suffered from depression following the death of a parent. You don’t just go ahead to your next question, “So what’s your next book going to be about?”

2. Establish rapport. Forming some sort of rapport with the person to be interviewed before the interview is absolutely critical to what happens at the interview. This could be as easy as showing genuine interest and empathy with your interviewee, asking questions that encourage the interviewee to talk, maintaining eye contact and using body language to subtly show that you are listening and watching attentively. 3. Avoid questions that may be answered by a simple ‘yes’ or ‘no’. Do not ask the poor broadcast question that results in a ‘yes’ or ‘no’ answer such as: ‘I understand you heard a loud sound when the volcano erupted?’ Questions should be phrased so that the person being interviewed does the talking. For example, ‘What did you hear and see when Hunga Ha’apai erupted?’ 4. Be transparent and honest. Some newsmakers are ‘oncers’ or ‘innocents’. They are in the right place at the wrong time or the wrong place at the right time and witness tragedy, accidents, war, natural disasters or unique events. ‘Oncers’ have little knowledge or understanding of the intricacies of broadcast interviews and aren’t used to dealing with the media. It is good practice to remind them not to use coarse language, to maintain basic respect as well as to steer clear of potentially defamatory or legally-risky comments. At the other end of the scale, some public fgures are so adept at interviews you can usually ask them for a ten-second ‘grab’ on a

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particular issue or event, and that’s precisely what you’ll get courtesy of their training with their own public relations people. 5. Guide the interview. In a media-centric world victims should, on cue, say that their plight is terrible, victorious sport winners should be ecstatic and gracious about their opposition in equal measure, and those who survive death-defying accidents should talk of miracle escapes. While these reactions are the ones journalists pray for, news sources are not always so obliging. As a reporter you know what you want recorded from the people you interview. So how far can you go? Most broadcast reporters believe that guiding is appropriate so that those making the news say the right things and provide usable recordings. But it is inappropriate to coach people you interview or to put words into their mouths. 6. Keep on track. Newsmakers can quickly go down a different track during an interview. You have to keep the interview focused on what it is the public wants to know. This is not as easily done especially in live interviews when a guest chooses to ‘blank’ the host. This happened to Channel 9’s Today Extra presenter David Campbell when he and co-host Sonia Kruger interviewed Kourtney Kardashian live. This was after her sister Kim was robbed at gunpoint of about $10 million worth of jewellery in a Paris hotel in 2016. Campbell asks the reality show star: “How is Kim doing?” Kourtney freezes and appears to be talking to someone behind the camera. Co-host Sonia Kruger tries to wrap up the segment but David seems less than impressed saying, “I think she’s blanking me” . . . “She’s totally blanking me on that question”. (Bucklow 2016).

PRACTICAL EXERCISES EXERCISE 1

List two people you would like to interview on video. Choose: 1 2

A politician, sportsperson or celebrity A member of your community who is not necessarily well-known.

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Write down a set of questions for each of these interviewees. Refect on the following: • Which interviewing approach would you use? (See Chapter 1 for interview approaches) • What diffculties can you anticipate before, during and after the interview? • In the case of diffcult questions, what techniques might you use to elicit a response? • How would you handle a walk-out from your interviewee? EXERCISE 2

Interview, and record, a family member, friend or co-worker on an issue of your choice (for example, youth crime, health, rising cost of living, climate change). This will require you to: • Select the time and location for your interview and confrm with your interviewee. • Research your topic of choice. • Write the purpose or angle of the interview – then write your questions (or keywords). • Record your interview on your smartphone (6–10 minutes). Ensure all the elements of a broadcast interview including location, sound and appropriate dress have been addressed. (NB: please review the discussion questions below to remind yourself of the key points before you start your interviews). Review your recorded interview and discuss: • Were you dressed appropriately? Was the location and timing suitable? • Was sound and vision suitable for broadcast? • Did you record your talent stating their name and title before the interview? • Was your body language appropriate? Did your icebreaker/s work? • Were your questions concise and easy to understand? Did you ask the Five Ws and H questions? Did you follow up with more challenging open questions?

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• Did the answers provide what was required for your story purpose/ angle? Explain. • Did you listen and follow-up on any answers? Did you interrupt? Did you keep the interview on track? Did you challenge any of the answers or repeat any of your questions? Did you summarise what was said to clarify an answer? • Did you take suffcient notes to produce the fnal piece?

REFERENCES (Hint: Copy & paste URLs where required) Arment, M., Liss, C. and Siracusa, J. (hosts) 2013–2022, Accidental Tech Podcast, https://atp.fm BBC News 17 November 2019, ‘Prince Andrew Newsnight Interview: Transcript in Full’, www.bbc.com/news/uk-50449339 Bucklow, A. 21 October 2016, ‘Kourtney Kardashian’s bizarre interview on Today Extra’, https://www.news.com.au/entertainment/tv/morning-shows/ kourtney-kardashians-bizarre-interview-on-today-extra/news-story/92 7aae243f 7d7ed92ca9ce4cfc94b304 Churchman, L. 5 January 2022, ‘Prince Andrew’s Newsnight Interview Was ‘Jaw-Dropping’, says Presenter Emily Maitlis’, Independent.ie, www. independent.ie/world-news/europe/britain/prince-andrews-newsnightinterview-was-jaw-dropping-says-presenter-emily-maitlis-41210490.html Murphy Jr, B. 26 January 2021, ‘Larry King Always Asked Questions Like This, and It Was Pure Emotional Intelligence’, https://www. facebook.com/Inc/posts/5-key-insights-into-how-king-asked-hisquestions/10158079375288107/ Robertson, K. 16 September 2021, ‘Piers Morgan Signs a New Deal with his First Boss, Rupert Murdoch’, The New York Times, www.nytimes. com/2021/09/16/business/media/piers-morgan-rupert-murdoch-newscorp.html Scott, C. 14 January 2019, ‘Mobile Journalism News Series ‘Phoning It In’ Proves the Art of Storytelling Does Not Require a $40,000 Camera’, journalism.co.uk, www.journalism.co.uk/news/how-mobile-journalismshow-phoning-it-in-proves-the-art-of-storytelling-doesn-t-requireexpensive-cameras/s2/a733221/ Sedorkin, G. and Forbes, A. 2022, Chapter 9 Broadcast Interviews (video), Interview conducted via Zoom with Travis Parry, News Editor at Al Jazeera Media Network, Doha, Qatar, by video journalist Kirsty Nancarrow, Cairns, Queensland, Australia 22 December, 2021 (Copyright © Sedorkin, G. and Forbes, A. 2022)

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Smith, O. 19 April 2016, ‘Dramatic Moment Journalist Stops Broadcast to Save Elderly Man from Raging Flood Waters’, Express, www.express. co.uk/news/world/662400/Journalist-stops-broadcast-save-elderly-mandrowning-Texas-viral-video TVNZ 16 January 2022, ‘Many in Tonga Had No Time to Flee as Tsunami Struck after Volcano Eruption’, 1News, www.youtube.com/watch?v= dUGBtp7jHKc Wearring, M. 10 February 2022, ‘Leigh Sales Announces She is Stepping Down as Presenter of 7.30’, ABC News, www.abc.net.au/news/202202-10/leigh-sales-announces-she-is-stepping-down-as-presenter-of7.30/100821496

10 ETHICAL, LEGAL AND SAFE INTERVIEWING

It is my view that the deceitful way the interview was obtained substantially influenced what my mother said. The interview was a major contribution to making my parents’ relationship worse and has since hurt countless others. (Prince William quoted in Sweney and Davies 2021).

Prince William’s television statement – including the above quote – was made after the Report of the Dyson Investigation by former British judge and barrister, Lord John Dyson (14 May 2021) about the broadcast of Martin Bashir’s interview with Diana, Princess of Wales. It is a profound reminder of the fow-on effects an interview can have. The above refers to the one-hour interview with the late Princess Diana and BBC1’s Martin Bashir broadcast in November 1995, viewed by millions of people around the world. In the interview with Bashir, Princess Diana revealed private details about her marriage and life. Australian journalist, Christopher Warren commented: Taken as an interview, it’s a work of art, equal parts firm and gentle, giving space for Diana to tell her story in her own words while nailing DOI: 10.4324/9781003224396-10

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the critical news points. . . . The problem, we now know, is that Bashir obtained the interview under false pretences. (Warren 2021)

More than 25 years later the Dyson Investigation found that the controversial interview, deemed a journalistic scoop, was obtained by deceptive means. Bashir presented fake bank documents as evidence to gain Earl Charles Spencer’s trust and obtain access to his sister Princess Diana for the interview. More specifcally, the ‘bank statements’ listed ‘entries’ to show that Earl Spencer’s “former head of security was receiving payments” for revealing information about the Princess (Shields 21 May 2021). The title – “Diana Scoop of the Century is Finally Exposed – and All of Journalism Is Reminded that Ethics are Not for Sale” – sums up Warren’s story about the Dyson Investigation. Warren points out that ethical journalism should take precedence over “outcome” and refers to Australia’s code of ethics that recommends using “fair, responsible and honest means to obtain material” (Warren 2021; Media Entertainment and Arts Alliance [MEAA] 2018). Tim Davie, Director-General of the BBC has given a commitment to never broadcast the full Panorama interview with Princess Diana again in response to The Dyson Investigation and has encouraged other broadcasters to adopt the same action (Iorizzo and Field 2022). Davie added: It does of course remain part of the historical record and there may be occasions in the future when it will be justified for the BBC to use short extracts for journalistic purposes . . . . (Iorizzo and Field 2022)

Other chapters in this book have focused on techniques and guidelines for interviewing practice, while this chapter is an introduction to some of the underlying ethical, legal and safety issues you may face as a media practitioner. It should be treated as an introduction to some of the main issues you may face when you frst start interviewing. Further details about the expert sources used throughout this chapter can be found in the references.

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ETHICAL INTERVIEWING If you were to sum up the main ethical question to ask yourself regarding an interview, it could be: If this story was about someone from my family would I still publish or broadcast it? Ethical choices made in securing interviews can have major ramifcations as in the case of the royal family described above. Some may cross legal lines, such as intrusion and trespass to obtain interviews; for example celebrity interviews or deathknocks. Others may have safety concerns, such as natural disasters, protests and sieges; these also present ethical dilemmas for practitioners with choices that often have to be made on-the-spot under intense time pressures. SIEGES

Sieges are stressful and unpredictable events and can involve liaising with or being under the direction of police. On 15 December 2014, the Lindt Café in Martin Place, Sydney became the site of a siege by a lone gunman who took 18 hostages inside the café, killing two before police ended the siege. AAP reporter, Joel Carrett commented, ‘“There are ways for the media to cover stories such as the Sydney siege without committing gross ethical violations’” (Carrett quoted in Muller 2014). Not so with media magnate Rupert Murdoch’s Tweet: AUST gets wake-call with Sydney terror. Only Daily Telegraph caught the bloody outcome at 2.00am. Congrats. (@rupertmurdoch, 15 December 2014, quoted in Muller 2014)

Radio 2GB Sydney host Ray Hadley said of his involvement in reporting the siege, “Whether it’s fres which I have reported on over the years, or something like this, there is a sense of duty as it can be a comfort to people, a portable comfort” (Hadley quoted in Jones 2014). Hadley ensured he didn’t give any air time to the hostage taker so as not to exacerbate the situation and “Most importantly, he refused to

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allow his show to become a forum for anti-Muslim tirades telling one caller, ‘If you’ve got a problem with Muslims, mate, you won’t get any traction here’” (Hadley quoted in Saxon 2014). DIVERSITY

As the Media Entertainment & Arts Alliance (MEAA) Journalist Code of Ethics points out, “Media freedom is underpinned by ethical journalism. An ethical journalist is never transphobic, homophobic, queerphobic, and they should not convey harmful stereotypes of people who identify as such” (MEAA 29 November 2021). One of MEAA’s fve principles of ethical practice reads: “2. Always seek the perspective and responses of LGBTQIA+ people or organisations when reporting on issues which affect them. Improve accuracy by asking your subjects about their preferred pronouns and other terms” (MEAA 29 November 2021). The National LGBTQ Journalists Association (NLGJA) - Journalists Toolbox website (nlgja.org/resources/journalists-toolbox/) is a resource aimed at educating journalists who have less familiarity with writing about the LGBTQ community so that coverage can be “fair, balanced and accurate” (Dotinga quoted in NLGJA Journalists Toolbox). Journalists seeking expert (diverse and multicultural) sources can access a number of sites to verify information or obtain an interview, including: • United States: www.journaliststoolbox.org/2022/03/22/expert_ sources/ CHEQUEBOOK JOURNALISM

Paying someone for an interview or story – known as chequebook journalism – is an unattractive feature of the journalism profession, though a lot less common today. ABC TV’s Media Watch journalist, Paul Barry comments on an ‘exclusive’ 60 Minutes interview: And a new record in chequebook journalism, with the 60 Minutes interview about Cleo Smith’s 18-day abduction reportedly costing Nine an eye-watering $2 million. So, was it worth it?

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And what did we get? Spoiler: not a lot. (ABC TV Media Watch 7 February 2022). FREEBIES AND JUNKETS

Ethical dilemmas are presented when journalists are given certain ‘incentives’ often described as ‘junkets’ or ‘freebies’. For example, you may be interviewing a new chef in town and a free meal with wine is provided. As the saying goes; ‘there’s no such thing as a free lunch’, and there may be an expectation to write a glowing story as a result of the ‘freebie’. Journalist and author Barbara Alysen says “It’s when the ‘gift or beneft’ is worth more than a few dollars that the problems start to arise” (Alysen et al. 2011: 128). Some media organisations now pay a modest meal allowance or travel allowance to avoid this issue, while others may state clearly: ‘this journalist was the guest of ’ and leave it up to readers and viewers to decide if it is a fair report. PANDEMICS

If the signifcance of an interview has been underestimated then The New York Times series ‘Those We’ve Lost’ was a powerful way to recognise those who have died in the COVID-19 pandemic. Joshua Barone, New York Times senior staff editor was asked “to report on the deaths of several fgures in the music industry” who had died of COVID-19, describing this report as a “conversation with an objective . . . because they want to get the story of their loved one out there into the world” (Barone quoted in Geluso 2020). Barone has an empathetic approach to this ‘conversation’ as he believes most importantly it should be based on “compassion” (Geluso 2020). Barone advises being compassionate – above all else – when interviewing after the death of a “loved one”, and, as with any interview, to “shut up and listen” which gives the interviewee the opportunity to recall information as the interview progresses (Barone in Geluso 2020). DEATHKNOCKS

Deathknocks involve contacting or approaching grieving family members or friends about a person who has just died. There is no easy way to undertake deathknocks; such interviews require courage and sensitivity. Reporters face a range of reactions in asking to speak

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with families at times of grief. Some people are adamantly opposed to any intrusion whatsoever and are angry at the approach. Others welcome the reporter as someone to talk to, for the opportunity to publicise something they feel is wrong and to acknowledge a loved one. Some organisations today are advocating different approaches to deathknocks including using an intermediary to talk to the media (such as a counsellor or relative).

Top Tip: Be conversant with the “five stages of grief” when interacting with relatives or close friends of the person who died. They can be experiencing a number of stages in the one day such as anger and denial. Having an awareness of how to interpret an interviewee’s state of mind is useful to the “approach” you should take. (Psychologist Dr Yasmine Saad in Geluso 2020)

WARNING

Whatever you do, make sure you enquire if the person you want to interview has been notifed by the “appropriate authorities” rather than being the frst person to inform them of a death in their family (Brayne 2007: 4). On handling deathknocks, Mark Brayne, former Director of the Dart Center in Europe advises in the Dart guide, Trauma & Journalism: A Guide For Journalists, Editors & Managers: Victims, survivors, families and friends will often be struggling to regain control after their world has been turned upside down. An interview with such people is very different from an interview with a politician or an expert – so do what you can to give them a sense of control of the conversation. (Brayne 2007: 4)

INTRUSION

Australia, the UK and the US all have similar advice regarding deathknocks: to ensure private grief and personal privacy is respected

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and that you ask permission to conduct an interview. For example the guidance provided by the United Kingdom’s National Union of Journalist’s (NUJ) Code of Conduct, principle No. 6, is that “A journalist: Does nothing to intrude into anybody’s private life, grief or distress unless justifed by overriding consideration of the public interest” (NUJ 2011). In the United States the Society of Professional Journalists (SPJ) Code of Ethics states: “Journalists should: Balance the public’s need for information against potential harm or discomfort. Pursuit of the news is not a license for arrogance or undue intrusiveness” (SPJ 2014).

MEDIA LAW AND ETHICS Media law and ethics are so closely interconnected that they are regularly included together in texts and in training. The choices you make each day as a media practitioner can have both legal and ethical ramifcations as noted by Pearson and Polden, below: Whether you are conducting an interview in someone’s home, processing a photograph for online publication, writing up a media release, editing news footage for a news bulletin or pressing the ‘kill’ button during a talkback radio program, you will be exercising a discretion that may need to be defended in court. (Pearson and Polden 2020: 15) PRIVACY, TRESPASS AND NUISANCE

As highlighted by Pearson, ethical issues are often intertwined with legal concerns (Pearson 2011: 8). For example, the unethical intrusion on privacy to obtain an interview may well present a situation where the journalist has also trespassed to gain access to the source. To trespass means, “Entering land or premises without actual or implied permission, staying there after being asked to leave, or placing a recording device on someone’s property” (Pearson and Polden 2020: 446). NUISANCE

Think back to the question posed at the start of this chapter; If it was someone from your own family involved, would you still go ahead

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with the story? It’s important to realise that invasion of privacy can be in person or on the phone. However, once the calls become repetitive and the recipient has asked for the calls to stop, and they don’t, they can be described as a ‘nuisance’ and legal action can be taken against the caller. Legal issues that may be encountered by media practitioners include privacy and trespass – above – and also defamation, copyright and contempt of court – as detailed below.

CONTEMPT OF COURT Making headlines in June 2022 was the Contempt of court case involving journalist Lisa Wilkinson and her Logie Award acceptance speech. Rick Sarre, Emeritus Professor of Law and Criminal Justice, University of South Australia explains: The judge in the trial of Bruce Lehrmann, the staffer alleged to have raped Brittany Higgins, ruled on Tuesday, “regrettably and with gritted teeth”, that his trial will need to be delayed. This was because of the media coverage and social media attention that followed Logie Award-winning journalist Lisa Wilkinson’s acceptance speech . . . Lehrmann’s lawyers successfully argued the speech was a potential “contempt of court”. (Sarre 2022). SUB JUDICE

Sarre explains that the judge’s decision to reschedule was based on the law to “ensure all criminal trials are fair” (23 June 2022); following the principles of sub judice which literally means (under a judge). ABC TV’s Media Watch host Paul Barry asked and answered the question about Wilkinson: “So, what was her sin? To forget the presumption of innocence” (ABC TV Media Watch 27 June 2022). Or, as the ACT’s Chief Justice Lucy McCallum, put it to the court: “‘Mightn’t good journalism be mindful of criminal proceedings and

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remembering to insert the magic word ‘alleged’?’” (Leonie Ryan for Seven News (Sydney), 21 June 2022 quoted in ABC TV Media Watch 27 June 2022). As Media Watch host Paul Barry points out: In other words, by effectively trumpeting the truth of Higgins’ allegation the presumption of innocence was “obliterated”, with the Chief Justice concluding: . . . the distinction between an untested allegation and the fact of guilt has been lost. (R v Lehrmann, ACT Supreme Court, 21 June, 2022 quoted in ABC TV Media Watch 27 June 2022)

Sub judice contempt (contempt by publication) is committed by publishing materials that may jeopardise the outcome of a fair trial as seen in the Wilkinson example – above. Sarre explains that in this case Contempt of court occurred because the acceptance speech by Lisa Wilkinson was “deemed to interfere with the administration of justice” (2022). [The retrial was dropped in December 2022 after Brittany Higgins was admitted to hospital with health concerns.] Contempt of court can also include Contempt in the face of the court (inappropriate behaviour while in court) and Disobedience Contempt (not following a court order). “Contempt in the face of the court seems fairly obvious–you need to behave yourself in court” (Alysen et al. 2011: 116), which includes dressing appropriately, not arriving late, turning off your mobile phone and not talking while the court is in session. Journalists can also face the ethical decision of protecting their sources knowing full well they may be charged with Contempt of court – in this case, Disobedience Contempt – explained below. DISOBEDIENCE, CONTEMPT AND PROTECTING SOURCES

The MEAA Journalist Code of Ethics, Clause 3 points out that “Where a source seeks anonymity, do not agree without frst considering the source’s motives and any alternative attributable source. Where confdences are accepted, respect them in all circumstances” (2018).

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The ethical rationale is simple: where the only way to obtain the information is to guarantee confidentiality, the source has relied upon the journalist’s promise, and to betray that promise may expose the source to disadvantage, danger or legal action. (Pearson and Polden 2020: 318)

Legislation differs throughout the world, however Australian journalists can be charged with contempt, fned and even jailed for withholding the name of the source. Investigative journalists are willing to risk these penalties, as breaking this trust would damage their reputation, potentially resulting in future sources going ‘quiet’. Australian journalist, Ben Fordham gives the example of when he: received a phone call from the Department of Home Affairs following a story revealing confidential departmental information. Fordham was asked to assist in the investigation, but declared that “under no circumstances will I be revealing my sources on this story or any story”. (Fordham quoted in Kretowicz 2021: 4)

Investigative journalists throughout the world work to uncover corruption, fraud, criminal or political transgressions whether it is at the level of government, corporate organisations, public service or the public themselves. An investigation can take weeks, months or years to reveal the whole story and to establish the facts, as in the example below.

A palm oil plantation worker in Malaysia, ‘Jum’, needed to tell his story to someone who had the power and the voice to reveal the brutal existence he endured as a plantation worker. PENSINSULA MALAYSIA (AP) — Jum’s words tumble out over the phone, his voice growing ever more frantic. Between sobs, he says he’s trapped on a Malaysian plantation run by government-owned Felda, one of the world’s largest palm oil companies. His boss confiscated and then lost his Indonesian passport, he says, leaving him vulnerable to arrest. Night after night, he has been forced to hide from authorities,

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sleeping on the jungle floor, exposed to the wind and the rain. His biggest fear: the roaming tigers. . . . “‘I am not a free man anymore’.” (Jum quoted in Mason and McDowell 2020)

In protecting their sources, Associated Press (AP) reporters Mason and McDowell did not identify the majority of the workers or the plantations where they worked. More than 130 interviews were conducted and included workers previously employed by the palm oil companies. A large number of the interviews took place “secretly” due to the ever present threat of “retaliation” (Mason and McDowell 2020). DEFAMATION

Simply defned, defamation is “a false statement about a person to their discredit” (Clift 2021: 2). What is not so simple for a reporter to establish is a defence. Although reporters are not expected to be experts, ignorance of defamation does not confer protection. If liable, this can result in either a civil or criminal charge or compensation for harm caused to the complainant. Pearson and Polden also caution that: Defamation law everywhere requires proof that your publication has been made to at least one other person. . . . In other words, if you insult someone in a direct message (DM) to them alone on Twitter or Facebook, you have not defamed them. But if you repeat the slur to just one other Twitter follower or Facebook friend, your victim might then have an action in defamation. (Pearson and Polden 2020: 223)

The Australian Defamation Act 2005, (Commonwealth) requires the “journalist or publisher to prove, on the basis of evidence admissible in a court of law” (Pearson and Polden 2020: 259) that what was written was the truth. Defences that the media or defendant can utilise include: 1 2

Truth or justifcation Fair report

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3 4

Honest opinion or fair comment Qualifed privilege. (Pearson and Polden 2020: 260–61).

Australian defamation law reforms in July 2021 now includes “the new public interest defence, which aims to rebalance defamation law in favour of public interest reporting but retains elements of the old reasonable publication defence” (Clift 15 March 2021: 4). WARNING

A common mistake journalists make in relation to defamation is thinking they are not themselves liable if they are simply quoting another person defaming a third party. However the law states the source, the journalist and the publisher/broadcaster are all liable for prosecution for defamation. The United States and Australia differ in their approach to contesting defamation in court. The US asks that the plaintiff establish the published material was incorrect, whereas Australian law takes the position that the plaintiff ’s claim of misrepresentation is accepted as true and it is the publisher or journalist – the defendant – who is obliged to prove the published material is the truth. Should the plaintiff be a “public fgure” then the US additionally asks they show the published material was “malicious” in other words the journalist had acted with ‘“actual malice”’. The reason for these two differences in the US is that the civil rights of “free expression and a free press” are protected by the First Amendment of the US Constitution (Pearson and Polden 2020: 224). INTELLECTUAL PROPERTY (IP) AND COPYRIGHT

How does copyright impact on journalists? Journalist and author Bruce Grundy advises that it could affect journalists in two ways: First of all, as a journalist you may wish to reproduce the work of others, and secondly, as a writer you may wish to control the reproduction

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of your work by others, or you may wish to control the circumstances in which any reproduction of your work might occur. (Grundy 2007: 229)

Legislated in Australia under the Copyright Act 1968, (Commonwealth) Copyright is a “form of intellectual property” which essentially “protects” how an idea has been initially “expressed” (words in print, for example) not the actual idea (Australian Copyright Council December 2019: 1; Copyright Agency 2022). Interviews, press articles, reports and scripts are examples of “literary works” which are produced by media practitioners and protected by Copyright (Australian Copyright Council October 2019: 1). QUOTES AND ATTRIBUTION

Digital technology has provided a seamless way of ‘“borrowing”’ another person’s material, whether it is “an extract of text, a photograph or a sound grab”, which can be easily merged into your material (Pearson and Polden 2020: 402). Journalists often have a fairly ‘loose’ attribution style, sometimes resorting to expressions as vague as ‘sources said’ or ‘media outlets reported’. . . . Yet it is a huge leap from poor attribution to no attribution at all—parading the intellectual property of others as your own work. (Pearson and Polden 2020: 408)

A Who magazine article caught the eye of Paul Barry, host of ABC’s media watchdog Media Watch, who exposed a cover story on Scarlett Johansson was in fact “cobbled together” from “at least six different sources” (not by Who magazine) and was “not the real deal” (ABC TV Media Watch 26 July 2021). Scarlett Johansson’s interview about her involvement in Black Widow the movie, published in the Australian weekly magazine Who, 19 July 2021 had no byline. An explanation provided to Media Watch was that the author was an “‘unnamed freelance journalist who attended: . . . a roundtable interview in LA for Black Widow in 2019 . . . due to the Covid-19 outbreak, the interview was held for the flm’s new release

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date (2021)”’ (Email, Who magazine, 20 July 2021 quoted in ABC TV Media Watch 26 July 2021). The response from Paul Barry: “who is kidding who, it’s hard to be sure” (26 July 2021).

A common trap for journalists is to take quotes from previously published or broadcast material and add them to current stories. Extra caution is needed if your feature story on a controversial doctor, for example, contains six paragraphs of quotes, two taken from an interview given five years ago, two quotes taken from yesterday’s recorded interview and two quotes from last week’s telephone interview, put together as a seamless flow as if the source was speaking yesterday. This type of quote collage can lead to distortion and infringing copyright laws. (Adapted from Sedorkin 2011: 169)

SAFE INTERVIEWING The location of your interviews require careful planning and can pose safety threats; whether interviewing during a natural disaster such as a bushfre or tornado, a terrorist attack or protest, siege, pandemic or tragedy. Locations of interviews can provide logistic as well as safety issues; your chief concern should always be the safety of your interviewee/s and yourself. NATURAL DISASTERS

Natural disasters such as fres, foods, cyclones and tornadoes present safety as well as ethical issues for journalists. Reporter for The Guardian, Australian edition Helen Davidson describes her encounter – below - when bushfres devastated Australia from November 2019 until February 2020: There is often more information in the newsroom than on the ground, and we relied a lot on firefighters, the fire and traffic apps and radio broadcasts. . . . We would find crews, conduct interviews, take photos and get advice about where we could see firefighting efforts without getting in the way or getting too reckless. Then we’d park the car for half an hour,

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file to Guardian Australia’s live blog or the news desk, and do it all again somewhere else. (Davidson in Ticher et al. 2020)

The MEAA report at that time advised “journalists considering coverage of the fres to contact the relevant local rural fre service [and to] . . . Put your own safety and the safety of others ahead of any other considerations” (7 January 2020). TORNADOES

In any coverage of natural disasters it’s important to consider your own safety as well as those you are interviewing. It’s also essential you don’t add to the burden of emergency personnel or victims in your quest for on-the-spot interviews. Published 13 December 2021, the Dart Center’s Resources for Covering Tornadoes was produced in response to the devastation caused by tornadoes that hit the United States early December 2021. The range of safety topics includes ‘Working with Victims and Survivors’ and ‘Self-Care Amid Disaster’ (Dart Center 2021). A decade earlier the Dart Center produced In a Tornado’s Path: Reporting the Spring Storm Season. This list of tips for reporting and interviewing, presented by a number of Dart’s experts, was produced from their experiences reporting on natural disasters including earthquakes, foods, fres, hurricanes and tornadoes (2 May 2011). The following tip emphasises the rights of interviewees who are victims of a natural disaster: People caught up in a disaster have a right to decline being interviewed, photographed or filmed. News professionals in the field and in the newsroom need to respect that right. Exercise the principle of doing no further harm. (Dart Center 2 May 2011)

TRAUMATIC EVENTS As well as practical and safety considerations, it’s important to consider the victims of traumatic events and treat them with sensitivity and empathy, and not add to their trauma. Author of the article, ‘How journalists can become better interviewers’, Chip Scanlan

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recommends: “If you can show sources that you have empathy — some understanding of their plight — they’re more likely to open up to you” (2013). The Dart Center guide Tragedies & Journalists provides practical and ethical tips to help journalists navigate interviews with victims and survivors. Five key tips for interviewing victims focus on treating the victims with consideration and sensitivity. Two of those tips are: 1 2

It is acceptable to say you are sorry for their “loss” of a loved one, but don’t say “I understand” or “I know how you feel” and Ensure you start an interview with simple questions so you don’t “overwhelm” the victim (extracted and adapted from Hight and Smyth 2009).

PROTESTS

While journalists are dedicated to information dissemination they also need to be vigilant about personal safety when reporting unpredictable events such as protests. Following heated and sometimes violent COVID-19 protests in Melbourne in 2021, the MEAA union and Victoria Police Media Unit produced guidelines to follow when unwittingly caught up in events that can threaten your safety. The ‘Tip sheet for journalists’ (published by MEAA 1 June 2021) provides helpful information about the “Role of police at protests” and “Media identifcation”. One of the main pieces of advice given is to ensure journalists, photographers and camera operators wear identifcation that can be quickly recognised by police and to follow police directions at all times. Other simple rules of personal safety in a protest to observe include knowing your exit route and ensuring you don’t position yourself between police and protestors. TERROR ATTACKS

Aidan White, journalist and founder of the Ethical Journalism Network (EJN) emphasises professional standards and responsible ethical reporting of terrorism. On the terrorist attacks in Christchurch, White states that “Media covering the incident had to make sure they did their jobs

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as journalists and told the story of what was happening, but did not amplify the message of hate or assist the circulation of propaganda” (17 April 2019). These terror attacks took place in two mosques in Christchurch, New Zealand on 15 March, 2019. White’s story ‘Ethical Lessons for Media in Coverage of the Terror Attacks in Christchurch’ (17 April 2019) identifes the confict for journalists presented by terrorists seeking global exposure and the ethical dilemma of reporting such attacks. While there is an obligation to attract an audience there is also the moral responsibility inherent in cultural and survival issues. The internet as a vehicle to publish globally and instantaneously through platforms such as Facebook, YouTube, Twitter and Reddit is also an added issue; all of which were used by the perpetrator of the Christchurch terror attacks (Bogle 2019). The attacks were livestreamed on Facebook and a 74-page document representing the perpetrator’s extremist views was also disseminated online. The various social media companies acted promptly to remove the video and the document (White 2019). It might be newsworthy if someone uses speech that could get them into trouble with the police, but journalists have to be wary – they, too, could fnd themselves facing prosecution for quoting it (Ethical Journalism Network 2014). ON-SITE SAFETY

All media practitioners must keep their safety in mind when gathering information and conducting interviews on-site. For example, an organisation or client may be building a new hotel/resort/casino/ retail complex which may involve site visits for PR staff – to conduct interviews to produce media releases and press kits – and also for journalists to get ‘actuality’, photographs and conduct their own interviews on-site. Safety requirements while you ‘walk and talk’ may include wearing a hard hat or a safety helmet, non-slip shoes, ear and eye protection, or a high-visibility vest, as recommended by the project manager who may be part of the site visit. It’s important journalists know these requirements prior to the visit. Of course, COVID-19 has required journalists to rethink how they go about interviewing and recording interviews – while still staying safe.

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PRACTICAL EXERCISES EXERCISE 1

Choose one topic from this chapter to research. Research three primary sources you could interview on the topic, and three secondary sources to provide background information. Write the purpose/angle of the interview for your topic – in less than 30 words. Write at least fve questions you could ask in an interview on the topic. EXERCISE 2

Conduct three vox pops. Using the purpose/angle and questions above, write one question you could use for three vox pops ‘interviews’. You may use your purpose/angle as an introduction or icebreaker before posing the question. Conduct and record the three vox pops. Don’t forget to note down their answers. Discuss the results. (Hint: see Chapter 9 for information about vox pops).

REFERENCES (Hint: Copy & paste URLs where required) ABC TV 27 June 2022, Lisa’s Logie Lashing, Media Watch, Television program, www.abc.net.au/mediawatch/episodes/lisa/13948078 ABC TV 7 February 2022, Nine’s Cleo Chequebook, Media Watch, Television program, www.abc.net.au/mediawatch/episodes/cleo/13744316 ABC TV 26 July 2021, Who’s Interview? Media Watch, Television program, www.abc.net.au/mediawatch/episodes/who/13470714 Alysen, B., Oakham, M., Patching, R. and Sedorkin, G. 2011, Reporting in a Multimedia World, 2nd edn, Allen & Unwin, Crows Nest, NSW Australian Copyright Council (ACC) December 2019, An Introduction to Copyright in Australia, Information Sheet G010v20, Australian Copyright Council, Sydney, NSW, www.copyright.org.au/ Australian Copyright Council (ACC) October 2019, Journalists & Copyright, Information Sheet G081v08, Australian Copyright Council, Sydney, NSW, www.copyright.org.au/ Bogle, A. 19 March 2019, ‘Social Media Deserves Blame for Spreading the Christchurch Video, but so Do We’, ABC News, Analysis, www.abc.net.

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au/news/science/2019-03-19/facebook-to-blame-for-christchurch-livevideo-but-so-are-we/10911238 Brayne, M. (comp.) (ed.) 2007, Trauma & Journalism: A Guide For Journalists, Editors & Managers, Dart Center for Journalism and Trauma, https:// dartcenter.org/sites/default/f iles/DCE _ JournoTraumaHandbook. pdf Clift, B. 15 March 2021, ‘Why Defamation Suits in Australia Are so Ubiquitous – and Diffcult to Defend for Media Organisations’, The Conversation, https://theconversation.com/why-defamation-suits-inaustralia-are-so-ubiquitous-and-diffcult-to-defend-for-media-organ isations-157143 Copyright Agency, Australia 2022, About Copyright, Copyright Agency, Sydney, NSW, www.copyright.com.au/about-copyright/ Dart Center 13 December 2021, Resources for Covering Tornadoes, https:// dartcenter.org/resources/resources-covering-tornadoes Dart Center 2 May 2011, In a Tornado’s Path: Reporting the Spring Storm Season, https://dartcenter.org/content/in-tornados-path-reporting-tragedy Dyson, J.A. (Lord) 14 May 2021, Report of The Dyson Investigation, https:// downloads.bbc.co.uk/aboutthebbc/reports/reports/dyson-report-20may-21.pdf Ethical Journalism Network 2014, Muslims in the Media: A 5 Point Test for Hate Speech in Media - Point 4: The Content and form of Speech, https:// ethicaljournalismnetwork.org/5-point-test-hate-speech-media Geluso, A. 8 September 2020, ‘Grief and COVID-19: Interviewing Loved Ones Left Behind’, International Journalists’ Network, https://ijnet.org/en/ story/grief-and-covid-19-interviewing-loved-ones-left-behind Grundy, B. 2007, So you want to be a journalist?, Cambridge University Press, Port Melbourne, VIC Hight, J. and Smyth, F. 17 February 2009, ‘Tips for Interviewing Victims’, Tragedies & Journalists, Dart Center for Journalism & Trauma, Columbia Journalism School, New York, NY, https://dartcenter.org/content/ tragedies-journalists-6?section=2 Iorizzo, E. and Field, B. 25 July 2022, ‘BBC Vows ‘Never’ to Broadcast Diana’s Panorama Interview Again’, Cambridge News, www.cambridgenews.co.uk/news/uk-world-news/bbc-vows-never-broadcast-dianas24555139 Jones, S. 16 December 2014, ‘2GB host Ray Hadley Knew He Had Personal Connection to Hostage during Marathon Nine-Hour Siege Shift’, Mumbrella, https://mumbrella.com.au/2gb-radio-host-ray-hadley-driven-personalagenda-marathon-nine-hour-siege-shift-268168 Kretowicz, A. 2021, ‘Reforming Australian Shield Laws’, Reform Briefng 2/2021: Press Freedom Policy Papers, University of Queensland, Brisbane QLD, https://law.uq.edu.au/fles/68845/shield-laws.pdf

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Mason, M. & McDowell, R. 25 September 2020, Palm Oil Labor Abuses Linked to World’s Top Brands, Banks, https://apnews.com/article/virusoutbreak-only-on-ap-indonesia-fnancial-markets-malaysia-7b63459627 0cc6aa7578a062a30423bb Media, Entertainment and Arts Alliance (MEAA) 29 November 2021, MEAA Factsheet: Reporting on LGBTQIA+ Issues and People, Last updated 30 November 2021, Redfern NSW, www.meaa.org/download/mediaentertainment-arts-alliance-factsheet-reporting-on-lgbtqia-issues-andpeople/ Media, Entertainment and Arts Alliance (MEAA) 1 June 2021, Covering Protests in Victoria – Tip Sheet for Journalists, Last updated 1 September 2021, www.meaa. org/mediaroom/covering-protests-in-victoria-tip-sheet-for-journalists/ Media, Entertainment and Arts Alliance (MEAA) 7 January 2020, ‘Reporting on the Australian bushfres’, MEAA Media Room Reports, www.meaa. org/mediaroom/reporting-on-the-australian-bushfres/ Media, Entertainment and Arts Alliance (MEAA) 2018, MEAA Journalist Code of Ethics, Last updated 14 November 2018, Revised 1999, Redfern, Sydney, NSW, www.meaa.org/download/meaa-code-of-ethics/ Muller, D. 19 December 2014, ‘News Corp’s Siege Coverage Built on a ‘Takeno-Prisoners’ Culture’, The Conversation, https://theconversation.com/ news-corps-siege-coverage-built-on-a-take-no-prisoners-culture-35656 National LGBTQ Journalists Association (NLGJA) n.d., Journalists Toolbox – NLGJA, www.nlgja.org/resources/journalists-toolbox/ National Union of Journalists (NUJ) 2011, National Union of Journalists: Code of Conduct, www.nuj.org.uk Pearson, M. and Polden, M. 2020, The Journalist’s Guide to Media Law: A Handbook for Communicator’s in a Digital World, 6th edn, Routledge, Oxon, UK, New York, US Pearson, M. 2011, The Journalist’s Guide to Media Law, 4th edn, Allen & Unwin, Crows Nest, NSW Sarre, R. 23 June 2022, ‘Why Was the Brittany Higgins Trial Delayed, and What Is ‘Contempt of Court’? A legal expert’s view on the Lisa Wilkinson saga’, The Conversation, https://theconversation.com/why-was-the-brittanyhiggins-trial-delayed-and-what-is-contempt-of-court-a-legal-expertsview-on-the-lisa-wilkinson-saga-185585 Saxon, P. 18 December 2014, Ray Hadley’s Siege Mentality, RadioInfo Australia, https://radioinfo.com.au/news/ray-hadleys-siege-mentality/ Scanlan, C. 4 March 2013, ‘How Journalists Can Become Better Interviewers’, Poynter, www.poynter.org/reporting-editing/2013/how-journalists-canbecome-better-interviewers/ Sedorkin, G. 2011, Interviewing: A guide for journalists and writers, 2nd edn, Allen & Unwin, Crows Nest, NSW

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Shields, B. 21 May 2021, ‘Princess Diana, the Dodgy Reporter, a Mystery Burglary and a BBC Cover-up’, The Sydney Morning Herald, www.smh. com.au/world/europe/princess-diana-the-dodgy-reporter-a-mysteryburglary-and-a-bbc-cover-up-20210520-p57ttc.html Society of Professional Journalists (SPJ) 2022, Expert Sources: Find Diverse Experts, Journalist’s Toolbox, www.journaliststoolbox.org/2022/07/25/ expert_sources/ Society of Professional Journalists (SPJ) 2014, Society of Professional Journalists: Code of Ethics, Revised 6 September 2014, www.spj.org/ethics.asp Sweney, M. and Davies, C. 21 May 2021, ‘Prince William Condemns BBC ‘Deceit’ over Diana Interview’, The Guardian, UK edition, BBC, www.theguardian.com/media/2021/may/20/bbc-martin-bashir-useddeceitful-behaviour-to-secure-diana-interview-report-fnds Ticher, M., Davidson, H., Readfearn, G. and Wahlquist, C. 19 January 2020, Reporting on the Australian Fires: ‘It Has Been Heartbreaking’, The Guardian, Australian edition, www.theguardian.com/membership/2020/ jan/18/australia-bushfres-reporting-crisis Warren, C. 21 May 2021, ‘Diana Scoop of the Century is Finally Exposed – and All of Journalism is Reminded that Ethics are Not for Sale’, www. crikey.com.au/2021/05/21/diana-scoop-journalism-ethics-not-for-sale/ White, A. 17 April 2019, ‘Ethical Lessons for Media in Coverage of the Terror Attacks in Christchurch’, Ethical Journalism Network, https:// ethicaljournalismnetwork.org/ethical-lessons-media-coverage-terrorattacks-christchurch

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APPENDIX CONTRIBUTOR BIOGRAPHIES

BARBARA ALYSEN Barbara Alysen is the author of The Electronic Reporter: Broadcast Journalism in Australia (3rd edn, 2012) and co-author of Reporting in a MultiMedia World (2nd edn, 2012). She was previously a reporter and producer in commercial and public sector radio and television and has taught broadcast journalism at Deakin University and Western Sydney University.

RALPH BEGLEITER Between 1972 and 1999, Ralph Begleiter worked as a broadcast journalist based in Washington, DC, frst in all-news radio, local television and later all-news television. For two decades as CNN’s World Affairs Correspondent, Begleiter was the network’s most widely travelled reporter, covering fve US secretaries of state and three presidents. During the 1980s and 1990s, when CNN was the world’s only global, all-news television channel, he covered mostly international politics, and interviewed countless world leaders in virtually every feld of endeavour, from politics and business to law, religion and culture. He conducted many interviews through interpreters in languages not his own. Having travelled in 100 countries and on all seven continents, he

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worked in political environments conducive to challenging his interlocutors, as well as some where such challenges were considered inappropriate (at best) or even illegal (at worst). At the University of Delaware, between 1999 and 2017, he taught journalism, communication and political science, and was the founding director of the University’s Center for Political Communication. Among his courses were “National Agenda” and “Global Agenda”, which introduced prominent guest speakers to students, who interviewed them in class. He holds an honours BA in political science from Brown University, and an MS in journalism from Columbia University. He is a member of the national honour society Phi Beta Kappa.

JAIME A. FLORCRUZ Jaime A. FlorCruz is a Filipino journalist and veteran China-watcher and foreign correspondent in China. He is considered the dean of the foreign press corps in Beijing, being the longest-serving foreign correspondent in China to date. He was CNN’s Beijing Bureau Chief and correspondent, responsible for strategic planning of the network’s news coverage of China (2001–2014). He served as TIME Magazine’s Beijing Bureau Chief and correspondent (1982–2000) and Newsweek’s Beijing reporter (1981). FlorCruz’s long association with China began in 1971 when as a young and vocal anti-Marcos student activist on a three-week tour of China, he found himself stranded when thenPhilippine President Ferdinand Marcos suspended the writ of habeas corpus, and a year later, declared martial law in the Philippines. Finding himself in forced exile, it took another 12 years before he could return to the Philippines. He is the co-author of Massacre at Beijing, a book about the crackdown in Tiananmen Square (Warner Books, 1989) and Not On Our Watch, a book about campus journalists during the martial law years in the Philippines (2012).

LYNDA KRAXBERGER Professor of Journalism at the University of Missouri, Lynda also serves as the associate dean for undergraduate studies and administration at the School of Journalism. She joined the faculty at Missouri as the executive producer of the NBC and CNN affliate KOMU-TV, the

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only university-owned commercial television station in the United States that uses its newsroom as a working lab for students. Lynda’s interest in visual storytelling can be traced back to her roots as a newscast producer at KCNC-TV in Denver and WJXT-TV in Jacksonville, Florida. Her pioneering work in teaching HTML coding and website development set the stage for the frst ‘converged’ journalism curriculum in the US that is now integrated into curriculum for all journalism and strategic communication students entering the school. Lynda has received numerous awards including the University of Missouri Faculty Alumni Award for Excellence, the MU William T. Kemper Fellowship for Teaching Excellence and the Missouri School of Journalism O. O. McIntyre Fellowship.

LAURA MCKEE Armed with her Bachelor of Multimedia Journalism degree from James Cook University, and a short internship experience covering the 2013 Audi Hamilton Island Race Week, Laura began her career at the Gladstone Observer newspaper as a cadet reporter before moving into breakfast radio news reading in Townsville. She then moved to Brisbane and tried her hand at politics and public relations. Laura worked for the Palaszczuk Government in education minister Grace Grace’s ministerial offce as a Media Advisor for almost four years before moving into the private world at Mater Health as a communications advisor.

PIP MILLER From her home base in Cairns, Far North Queensland, Pip operates a busy public relations consultancy, Pip Miller PR. Since 1994 the consultancy has serviced the media, communications and publicity needs of a diverse clientele from government organisations and construction to cultural and creative industries, including many events and festivals. Memorable moments include overseeing the media relations for President Clinton’s visit to Port Douglas in 1996, the same weekend another client, AC/DC, took to the stage of Cairns Showgrounds for a record-breaking concert attended by 20,000 fans. Pip started her career as a copy girl, then cadet journalist with Australian Consolidated Press. After learning the ropes on Mode, Belle and Gourmet magazines she made the leap to public relations, a move

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which served her well during a two-year working holiday in the UK and, later, life in Cairns. Pip is a former Director of JUTE Theatre Company and NorthSite Contemporary Arts Boards and a founding committee member of Women in Media Far North Queensland (WIM FNQ).

JODIE MUNRO O’BRIEN Jodie Munro O’Brien is senior digital journalist and editor for the Courier-Mail and Sunday Mail newspapers. Over the course of her career, the award-winning journalist has covered everything from breaking news, crime, court, the military, local government, education and religion. She has also worked as an investigative journalist and as a features/lifestyle reporter in Australia and overseas.

KIRSTY NANCARROW An award-winning journalist, Kirsty has spent around 30 years working in the media industry. She started her career in newspapers, then broadened her skills in community radio and commercial television news while working as an NSW Government media advisor. Kirsty joined the Australian Broadcasting Corporation (ABC) in 1999 as a radio news reporter in Alice Springs then reported for fagship current affairs programs AM, PM and The World Today before heading to the UK to work for the Nursing and Midwifery Council in communications. She returned to Australia and continued working for the ABC until 2017 as a multimedia and video journalist and chief of staff, then in a senior communications role with Queensland Health. Kirsty is the author of Himalayan Dreams: The Story of Som Tamang and now runs her own media training and video company, eMotion Video Training & Production.

MANDY OAKHAM Dr Mandy Oakham has worked as a journalist, journalism trainer and educator for more than 40 years! Her life in journalism began at the age of 9 . . . er . . . 19 when she scored a cadetship on that great afternoon tabloid The Newcastle Sun after consuming a cask of cheap red wine.

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Mandy has worked as a journalist, features writer, editor and columnist for newspapers and magazines in Australia and England. It was in England that she became involved in training journalists working with the National Council for the Training of Journalists and was a pioneer in developing a national standard qualifcation in journalism for the United Kingdom. She is the author of Don’t Bury the Lead and co-author of Reporting in a Multimedia World, and is the winner of many teaching and training awards, including a government citation for the use of technology in the training of journalists.

TRAVIS PARRY An accomplished international journalist, Travis has worked for Al Jazeera English in Qatar, BBC News and BBC World in London, and the Australian Broadcasting Corporation (ABC). Travis started as a journalist at a small regional TV station in South Australia, then in Tasmania, after completing a combined arts/law degree at Deakin University. He worked with the ABC in Alice Springs and in Canberra (where he covered local news and federal politics at the Parliament House bureau), before moving to London with a burning desire to work for one of the world’s biggest broadcasters. Within a month he was working for BBC News – initially for the domestic news channel before transferring to BBC World. He worked here for four years – covering the world’s biggest stories for a global audience of more than 100 million people. Part of his time at the BBC was spent leading the Asia Today program which focused on news from across the Asia Pacifc and South Asia regions. He also worked on special coverage for the network including a program on the kidnapping of BBC journalist Alan Johnston in Gaza and producing The World Business Report. After four years in London he accepted a position with Al Jazeera English in Qatar and moved to the Middle East where he’s been for the past 12 years. He has worked in various positions – most recently as executive producer. He has worked in the Middle East, Europe and Asia and led the channel’s newsgathering operation for its multimillion-dollar coverage of the 2020 US Presidential Election. The channel has won numerous awards during his time including the coveted RTS News Channel of the Year award.

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LISA SVANETTI With a background in the library feld, Lisa Svanetti has researched, referenced and proofread all three editions of Interviewing. She has also proofread numerous study guides, and academic doctorate theses pertaining to journalism.

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INDEX

Entries in italics refer to images. 5Ws and H 11, 14, 33, 76–7; in feature interviews 102; in news interviews 81, 85–7; and research 17 ABC News 20, 22–3 Aboriginal community values and protocols 55–6; and Indigenous opinions 7; listening and eye contact 74–5 actualities 134, 136–8, 163 adversarial 9, 126 Al Jazeera 22 Alampay, Roby 109 Alysen, Barbara 18, 22, 151 Anderson, Lauren 49 Andrew, Duke of York 138–9 anecdotes 4, 91–6, 98–9; eliciting 101–2 angle 19, 33–8; for feature interviews 98–9; fnding 22; in managed events 43–4; for news interviews 83

Annenberg, Walter 20 atmosphere 11–12, 49, 53, 117 attribution 129, 159 Australian Army 41 avoidance, by interviewees 111 on background 37, 129 background information: gathering 17, 21, 102; and icebreakers 49; interviews for 3; PR people and 42; and questions 64 background knowledge 21–2, 56 Barone, Joshua 151 Barrett, Kerry 120 Barry, Paul 150, 154–5, 159–60 Barth, Alan 2 Bartholomew, Edwina 48 Bashir, Martin 147 BBC News 22 becoming the story 140 Begleiter, Ralph xii, 3–6, 5, 10, 126–7, 129 Beresford, Alex 140

INDEX

‘bigger, brighter, better’ question 63 bios 92 body language 109, 120; interviewee’s 85, 100; natural 76 Bradley, Phil 26 Brayne, Mark 152 broadcast interviews 124; basics of 125–6; getting the grab 137–41; key principles of 129–32; and pronunciation of names 11; research for 18; six tips for 141–3; see also video journalism business leaders 1, 4, 6, 38, 66 camera operators 33, 162 camera position 120 Campbell, David 143 Campion, Steve 135 Carrett, Joel 149 Castellucci, Mike 127 celebrities 4, 6, 98 challenge 2–3, 11, 63 chequebook journalism 150–1 children, interviewing 8 China 75, 127, 128 choices, questions about 64–5 Christchurch, 2019 terror attacks in 162–3 Clapp, Brian 31 clarifcation, requests for 65 clippings 18, 22–3, 27, 140 clips, audio and video 44, 111 closed questions 62–4, 77, 81 CNN 5, 22, 126 colour 4, 91–2, 94, 96, 102; see also feature interviews conduct, codes of 8, 153 confrontational approach 2–3, 36, 126 consent, for recording 121 contacts 7, 23–5 contempt of court 154–6 control, in interviews 1–2, 73, 130 copyright 154, 158–9 Copyright Act 1968 159 corruption 10, 156

courtesy 39 COVID-19 pandemic 33; actualities from 134; and ethical journalism 151; and journalist safety 163; and videoconferencing 118 credibility 17, 26, 51, 131 criminals 8, 156 crisis communication 42–3 Cruz-Valdes, Luchi 109 Cultural Atlas 57 cultural protocols 55–6 currency, of angle 35 Dart Center 74, 152, 161–2 Davidson, Helen 160 Davie, Tim 148 dead air 74, 124 deathknocks 149, 151–2 defamation 154, 157–8 Defamation Act 2005 (Australia) 157 DeGregory, Lane 115 description 4; in feature interviews 94–6, 99 devil’s advocate 68 Diana, Princess of Wales 147–8 Dingo, Ernie 93 disability 7 disinformation 19 Disobedience Contempt 155 diversity 7, 150 doorstepping see doorstops doorstops 9–10, 39, 45 Dorner, Jane 116 dress, appropriate 38, 57, 120 Dyson Investigation 147–8 easy questions 100–1 EJN (Ethical Journalism Network) 162 email interviews 109–11, 115–18, 120 empathy 8, 136, 142, 151, 161–2 ethical interviewing 149–53 ethics: codes of 8, 148, 150, 155; and media law 153–60

175

176

INDEX

Evans, Luke 16 experts, interviewing 8–9 eye contact 56–7, 75–6, 109 eyewitnesses 21, 134 Facebook: and fact-checking 20; interviews via 117; livestreaming on 133; newsfeed on 22; research on 50; sources on 25–6 FaceTime 118 face-to-face interviews: alternatives to 109–10, 115; for features 97; and non-verbal cues 12 fact-checking 20 facts and quotes 81, 92, 101 fake news 19–20 feature interviews 2–4, 91; arranging 97–9; building blocks of 92–6; clippings in 140; grabs in 138; by phone 113; questions in 99–102; sources and locations 96; ‘tell me about yourself ’ question 73 fling, electronic 23, 27 FlorCruz, Jaime xii, 127, 128 follow-up questions 124 Fordham, Ben 156 framing 35–6, 132 freebies 151 freezing 124, 140–1, 143 Furlong, Joanna 92 gender, and cultural practices 57 Google 23 Google Chat 117 Google Hangout 118 Google Scholar 27 government offcials 4 GRAB5 Method xii, 10–12, 60; 5 Ws and H 76; and feature interviews 96; listening 74; and news interviews 82; and research 17, 32 grabs 2, 54, 127, 137–41, 142 Grace, Graziella ‘Grace’ 103–4 Granato, Len 99

grief, fve stages of 152 ground rules 37, 129 group interview 9, 44 Grundy, Bruce 49, 158–9 The Guardian 22 guiding the interview 143 Hadley, Ray 149–50 handshaking 57 Harcup, Tony 10 hard news 3, 80–1, 92; see also news interviews HARO (Help a Reporter Out) 25 Harry, Duke of Sussex 140 headroom 120 Higgins, Brittany 154–5 Hight, Joe 74 Hill, Alison 1 homework 11, 16–17; and icebreakers 50; in prestige interviews 6; see also research ‘how does it feel’ question 69 human interest 3–4, 35, 81, 91–2; see also feature interviews hypothetical questions 67–8 icebreakers 12, 48–9; categories of 49–53; in feature interviews 99; getting stuck in 52; in news interviews 84; in telephone interviews 113; when and who 53–5 IES (International Education Services) 57 IFCN (International Fact-Checking Network) 20 IFLA (International Federation of Library Associations) 20 impoliteness 126 information, missing 21, 44 informational interviews 126 innocents 8, 142 Instagram 25, 103–4, 133 interest, genuine 53, 111, 142 Internet Archive 27 interpersonal skills 4

INDEX

interrupting 114, 120 interviewees: respect for 139–40; rights of 130–1 interviews: copyright in 159; getting 12–13; organising yourself for 38–9; sources for 4–9; styles of 2–4; timing of 39; transactional nature of 131; types of 9–10; use of term 2 intrusion 149, 152–3 investigative journalism 3, 25, 87, 156 investigative questions 63–4 IP (Intellectual Property) 158–9 IRE (Investigative Reporters and Editors) 25 Islam 57 Johansson, Scarlett 108, 159 John, Elton 48 Jopson, Debra 74 Journalist’s Toolbox 7, 25, 150 junkets 45, 151 Junnarkar, Sandeep 116 Kardashian, Kourtney 143 keywords 37–8, 83, 85, 98, 113 Kik 117 King, Larry 140 knowledge, shared 51 Koch, David 11 Kohler, Carson 49 Kraxberger, Lynda 36, 71 Kruger, Sonia 143 language, non-verbal 78 Latinos 56–7 the lead 125 leading questions 71 Lee-Potter, Emma 49, 101 Lehrmann, Bruce 154 LGBTQIA+ people 115, 150 libraries and librarians 20, 26–7 Lindt Café siege of 2014 149–50 Lingao, Ed 109 LinkedIn 23, 50 listening xi, 4, 11, 100; active 60, 74; in broadcast interviews 131, 142

livestreaming 110, 132–3, 163 living treasures 24–5 locations 96 long-term strategy 21–2 Lowe, Zane 50–1 Ma, Jack 12 McCallum, Lucy 154 McCartney, Paul 50–1 McDowell, Robin 87 McGann, Mary Ann 5 McKee, Laura 43, 54, 91, 100, 102–4 Maitlis, Emily 138–9 malinformation 19 managed events 9, 43–6 Mandela, Nelson 5 Māori people 38, 56 Markle, Meghan 140 Marx Layne & Company 121 Mason, Margie 87 MDA (Media Diversity Australia) 7–8, 55–6 MEAA (Media, Entertainment and Arts Alliance) 150, 161–2 media conferences 9, 33, 43–6; media scrum after 10, 40 media law 153–60 media libraries 26–7 media minders 40–2 media releases 43–4, 153 media scrum 10, 39, 40, 45 ‘me-me-me’ approach 95–6 microphone levels 120 Microsoft Teams 118, 121 Middle East 57, 75 Miller, Pip 23–4, 44 misinformation 19–20 mobile phones 111, 113, 155; see also smartphones Morgan, Piers 140 Munro O’Brien, Jodie 41 Murdoch, Rupert 149 Murphy, Bill Jr. 140 Nancarrow, Kirsty 13, 23–4, 33, 78 National LGBTQ Journalists Association (NLGJA) 150

177

178

INDEX

natural disasters 10, 136, 142, 149, 160–1 Negus, George 70 Nelson, Dean 75, 80 neutral locations 98 news, impact of 2 news interviews 80–1; arranging 82–3; grabs in 138–9; questions in 84–7; setting up for 83–4 newspaper libraries 26 newspapers, journalists reading 22 newsworthiness 23, 61, 163 niche interview 4, 126 no comment 3, 42, 130 non-verbal cues 12, 32, 109, 118 Norton, Graham 18 note taking 13, 76, 85, 113 nuisance 153–4 NUJ (National Union of Journalists) 153 Oakham, Mandy 52, 96 observations, in feature interviews 94, 99 off the record 36–7 off-beat questions 101 on the record 36–7, 129 oncers 142 online chat services 110, 117 on-the-spot icebreakers 49–53, 94–5 open questions 62, 71, 139 opinion questions 3, 85 Pacifc Island communities 56 Pamintuan, Amy 109 pandemics 10, 108, 110, 119, 151, 160 Parkinson, Michael 11 Parry, Travis xii, 12–13, 23, 78, 133 pauses, in telephone interviews 114 podcasts 54, 133 police: as beat 39; PR people for 41; and protests 162; and sieges 149; as source of expert knowledge 24, 134 Poynter Institute 20, 115 PR see public relations

Practical Exercises 13–14; for broadcast interviewing 143–5; for ethics, law and safety 164; for feature interviews 104–6; for getting started 46–7; for icebreakers 58–9; for news interviews 88–9; for questions 77–8; for remote interviewing 121–2; for research 27–8 practice 32 premieres 35, 45 preparation 11; for feature interviews 98; for news interviews 83; techniques 31–2 press conferences see media conferences prestige interviews 4–6, 98 primary sources 20, 24, 98, 101, 109 privacy 152–4 private persona 97–8 projection 69–70 pronouns, preferred 150 pronunciation: of names 11; poor 141 protests 10, 149, 160, 162 psyching up 32 PTCs (pieces to camera) 128, 135 Public Affairs Offcers (PAOs) xii, 41–2 public relations (PR) 3, 40–2; and crisis communication 42; and interviews 111; and managed events 44, 46; and site visits 163; and video 33 punctuality 39, 84 question sheets 139 questions 60–1; to avoid 72–3; double- or triple-barrelled 72–3; ‘dumb’ or innocent 70–1; for feature interviews 92; frst 32, 54, 84, 99–100; last 73; for news interviews 83; prepared list of 37–8; prioritising 46; repeating or rephrasing 66–7, 130; short and precise 63; in telephone

INDEX

interviews 113; to try 66–72; to use 61–5; writing great 18; see also 5Ws and H questions and answers (Q&As), as recorded materials 134–5 quotes: eliciting 32, 37–8; in feature interviews 92, 94, 99, 101; in news interviews 81; in remote interviews 110; use and attribution 159–60 radio, journalists listening to 22 Radio Canada International 22 radio interviews 125–6 Radio New Zealand 22 Randall, David 95–6, 98, 100–1 rankings, questions about 64 rapport, establishing 8, 33, 49, 54, 99, 142 recorded material, categories of 134–7 recording equipment 23, 32–3, 54, 83–4, 99, 129, 153 Reddit 163 relevance/consequence, of angle 35 religious practices 57 remote interviewing 108–21; see also email interviews; telephone interviews research: for broadcast interviews 127–8; and cultural protocols 56; for feature interviews 98; importance of 17–19; for news interviews 83; strategies 21–3; see also homework research icebreakers 49–50 Review Questions 88–9, 107 Rich, Carole 113 RMIT ABC Fact Check 20 Rock, Chris 34 roundtables 43, 46 rudeness 126 Ruston, Anne 66–7, 71 safety: in broadcast interviews 136; in interviewing 160–3; on-site 163; in spontaneous events 10 Sales, Leigh 66, 71, 124

Sarre, Rick 154–5 SBS (Special Broadcasting Service) 57 Scanlan, Chip 60, 161–2 scoop 45, 111, 148 scripts, for broadcasting 125, 136 secondary sources 20, 98 Sedorkin, Gail 93 short-term strategy 21 sieges 149–50, 160 silence, and listening 74 Simon, Phil 118 simple questions 162 Skype 12, 97, 118, 120–1, 132 smartphones 39; broadcasting live from 33; editing on 125; interviews via 110–12; as recording equipment 83; and videoconferencing 118 Smith, Cleo 150 Smith, Michael 12, 75 Smith, Will 34 Smyth, Frank 74 Snapchat 117 social media 3; defamation on 157; and fake news 19; interviews via 117, 121; livestreaming on 133; sources on 25–6; and terrorism 163 soft news 3, 10, 80, 92 sound, natural 127, 137–8 sound bites 2, 111, 128, 131 sources 4–9; asking for other 86, 102; developing 31; fnding 25–6; protecting 155–7; working 24 Speers, David 68 spelling, of names 11, 36, 84, 99–100, 114 Spencer, Charles 148 spin 38, 44 SPJ (Society of Professional Journalists) 7, 25, 153 spontaneous events 10 sports stars 6, 98, 111 stakeout see doorstops standups 135

179

180

INDEX

statement questions 64 studio locations, icebreakers in 52–3 sub judice 154–5 summaries 64 Suskind, Ron 114 Swan, Jonathan 77 talent, good 7, 116–17 technical libraries 27 telephone interviews 109–15, 160 television interviews 125–6 ‘tell me all about yourself ’ question 72–3, 93 Tenore, Mallary Jean 115 terror attacks 160, 162–3 Thatcher, Margaret 70 TikTok 20, 133 time, and research 23 time limit 129 tornadoes 10, 160–1 Torres Strait Islanders 7, 55–6 tough questions 68–9; and atmosphere 11; in news interviews 84–6; in prestige interviews 5–6 Tracy, Nancy 113 traumatic events 161–2 trespass 149, 153–4 trick questions 71–2 trigger questions 101 Trump, Donald 77 trust 40, 49, 57, 131–3, 156 Twitch Live 133 Twitter: interviews via 117; livestreaming via 133; sources on 25–6 Ukraine war 126 ‘umms’ and ‘ahhs’ 141

United States, defamation law in 158 university libraries 27 usual suspects 7, 36 van Schneider, Tobias 17–18 victims, interviewing 38, 152, 161–2 video conferencing 117–21; live broadcasting via 132–3; see also Skype; Zoom video journalism 33, 126–7 Vimeo Live 133 voice exercises 141 voicers 134–6 vox pops 9, 117, 134–5 Walters, Barbara 17 warmth 100 Warren, Christopher 147–8 Watanabe, Teresa 94 WeChat 117 Weibo 117 White, Aidan 162–3 Whitehall, Jack 16 ‘who cares’ question 61, 85–6 Wilkinson, Lisa 154–5 William, Prince of Wales 147 Winfrey, Oprah 140 Wong, Penny 68 wraps 136–7 ‘yes’ and ‘no’ questions 138, 142; see also closed questions Yik Yak 117 YouTube 13, 25–6, 133 Zoom 118; training for 119 Zoom fatigue 108 Zoom interviews 12–13, 97, 110, 118–21, 132–3