5. Interviewing

The interview is the backbone of talk radio, and, for anyone with a streak of curiousity, the most satisfying aspect of being a producer. The interview is a privileged window onto the world around us that allows us to make connections, to learn and give others a voice.

It looks easy: two microphones and a list of questions. But a good interview is an art that takes years of practice to perfect (if there is even such a thing as the perfect interview). This section will barely scratch the surface of what there is to know, but hopefully it will pique your curiousity enough to start learning.

Here our five community radio journalists speak to the NCRA's Conrad Fox on what they've learnt over the years.

On interviewing

Jules Bugiel, Ian Gregg, Mia Johnson, Dan Jones, Christena Lawrie

What an interview is and isn't

A common misconception about interviews is that they exist primarily to gather information. This may be true of informational or background interviews where you talk to someone during your research phase. But once the recorder is running, you should already know most of what an interviewee will tell you. Your questions are prompts to get them to say it. In fact, an interview, especially a radio interview, is as much about how people say something as what they say. In this sense, interviews:

• allow people to recount an event "in their own words"
• provide context and nuance to an issue
• create a human dimension to an otherwise abstract topic
• hold public figures accountable
• give public figures, and others, a chance to defend their position
• foster a sense of connection with people in the news and the community
• generate excitement, interest, curiosity, appreciation for a subject

Good radio interviews should feel like a conversation and the listener should feel like they are on a journey of discovery alongside the interviewer. The interview doesn't have to be friendly (and should never be gushing) but it should sound natural, human and dynamic, with a give, a take, a flow and a sense of progression.

Which brings us to a second misconception about interviews. Although they sound like a conversation, they cannot be conducted like one. Unlike your conversations of every day, which are almost always spontaneous, informal and unplanned, a good interview requires meticulous preparation and research beforehand. During the interview, the interviewer works hard to keep the interviewee on track, to generate energy and interest, maintain rapport, and guide the journey of discovery. If the planning falls apart -- and it often does -- the interviewer must think on their feet to plot a new journey. A good interview may sound effortless, but it can be exhausting work.

Your questions

The book Interviewing for Radio by Jim Beaman is an excellent primer to the types of questions you will ask of your interviewees. The book is a little dated (it still refers to splicing tape) the journalism fundamentals still apply today. Read the "Asking the questions" section from the bottom of page 79 to 83. 

Interviewing for Radio

Jim Beaman

A gentle introduction to working in radio, full of anecdotes and colourful interviews with seasoned professionals recalling their first days on the job, career highlights and tips they picked up a long the way. It is focused on the UK, so check your local libel laws, and a little dated technologically (bulk tape eraser anyone?), but the fundamentals have not changed.

Fishing for answers

It can be very hard to keep an interviewee on track. This is especially so with people not used to being interviewed, people who are keen to talk about a project they are personally invested in, and people who have an agenda to push. It also happens when the interviewer doesn't really know what the interviewee has to tell them.

To make sure the interview is focused, some interviewers will often "pre-interview" an interviewee to assess what information they have to share, and how they are likely to respond to certain questions. A pre-interview can be less structured and looser than the recorded interview, with lots of interruptions and digressions as you scope out your subject. With the information gained, you can then develop a tighter list of questions knowing in advance what the answers will be.

Be warned, however. Pre-interviews can also kill the natural sound that is so key to effective radio.  

[T]he radio interview should sound spontaneous. By all means have a warm-up chat, but do not make it too long, or your interviewee will not sparkle during the interview – the adrenaline will be gone and the excitement lost, and the result will be a stale, lacklustre interview. The interviewee may even come out with an expression like ‘As I was saying before … ’ and refer to something that was said before the interview started. They may omit to relate a brilliant anecdote because they think they have already told it during the interview, when in fact they told it to you during the warm-up chat. (Beaman, p. 80)

An interview is not a fishing expedition. You should know what you're going to get before you stick your microphone in the water!

Stay neutral

Beginning interviewers tend to fawn over their interviewees. This is natural. We're genuinely grateful they agreed to speak to us, an as-yet unknown journalist. It also feels the right way to establish rapport. But to your listener (and sometimes even your interviewee) it can sound suspect at best, icky at worst. Try to avoid anything that sounds like you are taking the side of your interviewee:

• Don't praise their accomplishments overly. Let the accomplishments speak for themselves through the interview.
• Don't thank them gratuitously for the interview. A simple "thank you very much for your time" is enough.
• Don't agree with them at the end of a statement. (eg. "Totally." "For sure." "That makes sense.")
• Don't ask leading questions that take the side of the interviewee. (eg. "What the council did was wrong, wasn't it?")
• Don't avoid difficult questions. If your interviewee makes a statement you know to be wrong, or is controversial, challenge them on it. 
• Don't use the interview to make statements of your own (and in general don't make the interview about you.)

Neutrality, of course, is an important topic in journalism. Journalists are expected to report on all sides of an issue equally and never take a side themselves. Some journalists, especially those in community radio, don't always hold firmly to this idea because they feel a sense of commitment to certain groups who they say don't get a fair hearing in the media. Even if this is your view, staying neutral works to your advantage. If you allow your interviewee to speak for themselves, on their own terms, without prompting from you, their case will come across more strongly. In fact, asking tough or adversarial questions gives them a chance to strengthen their case further. 

And if that doesn't convince you to stay neutral, keep in mind that an interview where two people spend the entire time agreeing with each other is simply boring to listen to.

Don't fawn on your interviewee.

Who, what, when, etc...

You will often hear that journalism boils down to the 5Ws (and one H). All you need to do is answer the following questions about your topic and your piece is done.

• Who?
• What?
• When?
• Where?
• Why?
• How?

That's easier said than done. If there is a house fire on Main Street, you can't possibly know the how and until the fire marshall completes their investigation. As to the why... well why does anything happen in this crazy world?

On the other hand it is easy to get distracted by a particularly fascinating aspect of a topic and forget to inform your listeners of the basic facts. If you are interviewing an arson victim, people will want to know if the fire happened last week or last year, around the block or across town.

The strength of the following interview lies in the character of the interviewee, their personal story and their commitment to their community. Nevertheless, the journalist is careful to include all the basic facts. Listen to it and see if you can answer all 5Ws (and one H). Can you answer "how many?" and "how much?"

5Ws Interview

Dan Jones

As important as it is to cover the basic facts, you should not use the 5Ws as an interview guide... unless you want to sound like this reporter covering a 50th wedding anniversary in BBC's mockumentary People Like Us.  

The Journalist

People like Us (BBC)