IV - Interviewing Module Overview

Interviewing Module Overview

Introduction

Questions ImageInterviewing is the one of the most basic tasks in journalism. An interview is a conversation between two or more people during which the interviewer has the opportunity to expand upon the basic "who, what, where, how, when, and why." An interview also allows the journalist to obtain information as well as clarify facts from different perspectives.

Unfortunately, many journalists believe interviewing is simply a matter of asking questions and taking down the responses. We often don't pay attention to just how important a skill it is.

For example, an interview requires you to:  

  1. Prepare carefully and familiarize yourself with as much background as possible.
  2. Establish a relationship with the source you are obtaining information about.
  3. Ask questions that are relevant to the source, and induce them to talk.
  4. Listen and watch.

Essential Questions

  1. What is the difference between a primary and secondary source?
  2. How do you create interview questions?
  3. What is the importance of detail when developing interview questions?
  4. What is the value of creating the correct type of question?
  5. How do you correctly punctuate a quote?

Key Terms

  1. Indirect quote - Is faithful to the meaning of what a person said, though the wording is not exactly the same. You don't use quotation marks.
  2. Direct quote - The exact words used by a person, written within quotation marks and usually attributed to them.
  3. Open-Ended question - A question which cannot be answered with a simple 'Yes' or 'No,' but requires the interviewee to give more information. 'What happened?' is an open question. Compare with closed question.
  4. Close-Ended question - A question which can be answered with a simple 'Yes' or 'No'. Contrast with open questions, which require longer, more involved answers. 'Can you tell me?' is a closed question. 'What can you tell me?' is an open question.
  5. Primary source - Firsthand information obtained directly from a source.
  6. Secondary source - Interpreted primary source that is at least one step away from the original source. Often, the secondary source is hearsay or summation of events. The source describes the information such as a person, place, event or thing, but doesn't offer a firsthand account.
  7. Off the record - Information not for publication, or at least not attributed to the source if used as background.
  8. Dialogue - Involves two or more speakers and is often seen in features stories and magazines. 
  9. Double-Barreled Question (Double-Direct Question) - A question that touches upon more than one issue but allows for only one answer. This is a type of logical fallacy. For example, ''Do you think that schools should require uniforms and longer lunches?''
  10. Follow-up Question - Questions completed after an interview to provide new or more detailed information.
  11. Leading Question - It is a question which subtly prompts the respondent to answer in a particular way. Leading questions are generally undesirable as they result in false or slanted information.
  12. Loaded Question - It asks the respondent to rely on their emotions more than the facts.
  13. Paraphrase - Paraphrasing means using the ideas of an author, but not using his or her exact words.  No quotation marks are used.
  14. Partial Quote - A quote that is a combination of direct and paraphrased quotations.  It will have some words in quotation marks.

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