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5: Interviewing Basics

  • Page ID
    281227
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    So you have your story, you know as much background as you can, and you are ready to do the interview. For many journalists, that first interview is hard to forget. The butterflies some of us felt, the excitement of being able to say, "I'm a reporter for the [fill in the blank]," the mistakes and the triumphs we experienced. Interviewing is the lifeblood of sourced journalism and becoming good at it is a ticket to success. We have already read about interviewing a little bit, and we are going to read about it again -- that is just how important this skill is. For this chapter, here are some more basics for masterting your interview skills, again courtesy of the American Journalism Handbook.

    • 5.1: Conducting Interviews
      This page highlights the essential components of effective journalistic interviews, focusing on preparation, a suitable environment, and source comfort. It emphasizes the importance of equipment readiness, various levels of attribution, and maintaining engagement without sharing personal opinions. Journalists should utilize silence to encourage elaboration, verify their questions beforehand, and seek additional sources for comprehensive understanding.
    • 5.2: Generating Good Interview Questions
      This page offers guidance for journalists on conducting effective interviews by emphasizing the importance of clear, specific, and open-ended questions to elicit informative responses. It highlights the significance of prior research on sources, the use of follow-up questions for deeper insights, and maintaining a logical flow in conversations.
    • 5.3: Verifying Information
      This page highlights the essential nature of verification in journalism, focusing on truth establishment through investigation and corroboration. It underscores the importance of accuracy and credibility for gaining trust from sources and the public. Strategies discussed include fact interrogation, online tool usage, reliable source bookmarking, and maintaining an accuracy checklist, all aimed at enhancing information verification and supporting journalistic integrity in the pursuit of truth.


    5: Interviewing Basics is shared under a CC BY 4.0 license and was authored, remixed, and/or curated by Michael Humphrey, Johnson County Community College.