“Skillful interviewing is the basis for all good reporting and writing. As an objective journalist, one has to develop a story from the information that can be found and what other people have to say.”

Once the reporter has a basis for the interviews he will be conducting, he can sort through the kind of sources that can be interviewed. Always have as many sources as possible – the more sources, the greater the variety of views that will be represented in the story.

Who to interview?

• Those who are central to the story — the person the story is on, someone who is close to the situation being reported on, etc.
• Those who have credibility relative to the story’s topic — high-ranking officials, those who have accomplished something important, or know something important.
• Those who have observed something — especially important for spot news stories, when the observers can tell you what happened.

An interview should be set up at a time and place that is most convenient for the person being interviewed (interviewee). Keeping interviewees in situations and settings that they are comfortable and relaxed in will lead to a better interview. Always allow time to stay with an interview longer than originally planned. If the interviewee opens up and gives more information than the reporter might have expected, the reporter will want to talk to the interviewee for as long as it takes to get the story.

Interviews via e-mail should be avoided at almost all costs. Interviews by telephone should be avoided when possible. When interviewing is not done face-to-face, messages are missed that may not be transmitted by only words. Expressions, nuances, gestures, etc., help convey points the interviewee may be trying to make or that the reporter can use for the story. E-mail and phone interviews are good for fact checking.

Keys to a good interview

Relax. The interviewees should be comfortable with the interview being done and the setting it is being done in. A big turn-off for interviewees is an interviewer that is over anxious to get information or is too nervous to relate himself to the situation.

• Be empathetic. The reporter should be interested in everything the interviewee has to say. He should look the interviewee in the eyes and nod, smile and laugh when appropriate.
• Plan ahead. Write down suggested questions. Do research. Know the person’s name and title and be prepared and engaged.
• Be an observer. The reporter should take note of the way the interviewee says things, the faces he makes in reaction to questions or things said, etc. The reporter should take note of the surrounding area the interview is being done in, especially if it tells something about who is being interviewed, e.g., an office.
• Look for further angles. As the interview is being conducted, the reporter should always keep an ear out for more, or even better angles other than the one he had already formed going in to the interview. The interviewee may tell the reporter something that would be a better story than the reporter had originally formed.
• Don’t be afraid to be ignorant. In other words, get the entire story. Reporters who aren’t clear about answers to questions should ask the interviewee to clarify and to expand on an answer until it is clear. That way the reporter can make it clear for the reader.
• Ask for anecdotes or examples of something the sources said, especially in feature stories. Anecdotes lead to more interesting stories, and will give an article more of a human touch. “Tell me about that.”
• At the end of the interview, the reporter should ask the interviewee if anything has been overlooked pertaining to the topic and if there is something else that the interviewee would like to add.
• The reporter should make arrangements to contact the source after he has had time to write a draft of the story and identify potential holes. Give the source a call back to verify any confusing information, to get clarification or to review controversial information. Copy editors should fact check direct quotes and other information directly with the source.

Good questions

Open-ended questions (Why, how, etc.) are better than close ended questions (yes or no, when, etc.), unless you need clarification on facts. The clarification is especially important for spot news coverage. Open-ended questions allow interviewees to express their opinions, allow reporters to gather quotes they can use to flush out their stories and may give them more information than anticipated which can be used for further questioning.

Quotations

Quotes are a key element of any story. The job of the journalist is to report the stories of importance and interest to the readers through the use of authoritative and informed sources. Such sources add credibility to complex issues, give voice and life to the people represented and add color and drama to straight news. For that reason, it is important to integrate quotations throughout any news or feature story.

Too many quotes lose the reader, jumble the flow and confuse the general focus of the story. Too few quotes leave the story bland, monotonous and boring. Therefore, it’s best not to quote everything but to use quotes to provide emphasis, emotion and drama. Do not quote facts, but do attribute the source. Avoid quoting anything that can be made easier to understand by using an indirect quote and rephrasing the statement.

BAD: “As director of the new computer science department, I’ll be in charge of three undergraduate programs and a graduate program in cyberdefense,” Hawkins said.

BETTER: Hawkins said his new position will put him in charge of three undergraduate programs and a graduate program in cyberdefense. He’s ready to delve deeper into his passion.

“There are few things in life that excite me like a good batch of HTML,” Hawkins said. “My pulse quickens, I start to sweat – Man, I am a computer nerd.”

BAD: “It’s just so easy to sign up,” Mallette said. “You can go online, visit our booth or just stop by the office.”

BETTER: And Mallette says that it’s simple to get involved. Sign-up is available online, at the center’s booth at the orientation fair or in the office.

It’s also important to avoid repetition. Quotes should not repeat previous information or simply restate something you already said. Instead, they should provide a different insight or passionate opinion.

BAD: While campus crime is on the rise, Lt. Harris says that students have no reason to be concerned.

“Students shouldn’t be worried even though there are increases in the numbers,” he said.

BETTER: Despite the increases, Lt. Harris said that students have no reason to be concerned.

“Campus Police are out and out in full force, we will leave no brick unturned on this campus,” he said.

Attribution

Direct quotes: Exactly what a person said. They appear inside quotation marks. When questioned, a reporter should be able to produce written notes documenting exactly what the interviewee said. Never alter quotations, even to correct minor grammatical errors or word usage.

Indirect quotes: Retain the exact meaning of what a person said, but not the exact wording. They do not appear in quotation marks.

• Periods and commas always go inside the quotation marks: “Learning how to copyedit is fun,” Tyler Dukes said.

• Identify all students by grade and major.

• It is generally not necessary to quote facts.

• When taking words out of a direct quote, indicate the missing words with an ellipsis (option + colon). There are spaces on both sides of the ellipsis. Make sure the omission doesn’t distort the meaning of the direct quote.

• When adding words to a direct quote for clarification, put them in brackets: “[The building] fell down after the ox ran into it,” Police Chief Tom Younce said.

• Always attribute opinion to the source.

The use of ‘said’

Using “said” puts the emphasis on what the person said, not how they said. Only rarely, such as when something is attributed to an official statement, is it necessary to say “stated.”

Following up

No matter how detailed the questions or thorough the background research, the need may arise to ask additional questions after the initial interview. It is acceptable to call a source back later in the day to clarify or verify information. Make arrangements to do so during the initial interview. Most people do not mind giving a little extra time to ensure that the story is detailed and accurate.

When covering complex or confusing issues, it is a good idea to call sources back to reconfirm details or doublecheck facts and figures. A reporter writing a story on students fees, for instance, might want to call the Student Senate president to go over how fees are set and who has the final jurisdiction. For a story on budget cuts, a reporter might want to call a dean and read the figures used in the story or side bar to make sure they are correct. For highly technical articles, including articles giving any advice (especially medical advice), keep the language simple for readers but will need to verify the accuracy of the paraphrased statements with the expert sources.

Just because it’s important to verify and clarify information does not imply that a reporter should ever give a story to a source to read in advance of publication. This gives control of the content over to the source and is not acceptable. A reporter might, instead, offer to doublecheck information and read the quotes attributed to that source in the story. A reporter should explain to the source that he cannot change a quote to make it “sound better” but can correct any misinformation.

Reporters may find themselves contacting the same source numerous times while writing follow-up stories. For that reason, it’s important not only to be accurate but also to be polite and to establish a professional working relationship with all sources and potential sources.