3. Most Applied Method
dominant source for information
Theoretical Unknown
hmmm…...
Top-Ranked Skill
out of a lot of journalism skills
4. JOURNALISTIC INTERVIEWING
COMPENTENCIES
Source speaks 70-80% of the time
Interpret the intended meanings
Draw out both emotion and
information
Sources resistant or eager to share
information
Articulate common ground and
create intimacy with a source in
minutes
7. LISTENING
Ask follow-up
questions
so this is what we teach
RESEARCH
Search for
news
clippings or
stories
Search web
PROFESSIONAL
DEMEANOR
Dress
professionally
Be polite
Arrive on time
15. “A good interviewer really listens to what the
subject is saying and asks follow-up
questions; good, pertinent, on-point follow-up
questions. I think too often, particularly younger
journalists, will go into an interview with a lot of
questions in mind and plow through their
questions. And maybe miss an opportunity to dig
deeper when the subject said something (#10).”
LISTENING
16. Question
Sequencing
“Give them a softball."
Rapport Building
“Where they can be
themselves.”
Conversational
Norm Violation
“People look to fill silence."
Remain Calm
“Always remain
professional.”
Interaction Management
17. Research
Search engines
Reading and watching news
stories and general content
Consuming social media content
Interviewing other news sources
18.
19. “I think we’re so caught up in being the
objective journalist and trying to seek the
almighty objectivity, which is fantastic. But
sometimes we let that hold us back
sometime…It’s OKAY TO RESPOND to a
shooting, and just say, ‘Hey, this is really sad.
This is really tough. God, I can’t believe this.’
Even this little HUMAN RESPONSE to show
that you’re not a robot (#20).”
21. “There are plenty of people who DON’T KNOW
HOW IT WORKS, really. And I just don’t like to
assume that they do or not care they don’t know. I
think if someone’s talking to a journalist, they need
to know exactly what they are getting into…You have
to READ THE PERSON you’re approaching. Do they
KNOW THE RULES OF THE GAME or do you need
to spend 30 seconds spelling things out? (#11).”
Articulation
22. “You want to BE APPROPRIATE. I
mean, I go see a big time lawyer, I’m going
to wear a necktie. If I’m going to cover a
film festival, regular, like a dress casual sort
of place. You go to a Harley Davidson
festival in Sturgis, you’re probably going to
wear jeans. YOU DON’T WANT TO
BE OVERDRESSED to the point
where people are going to make fun of you.
Who is the numb nuts in the tie? (#5).”
Self-Presentation
24. “DON’T FORGET QUESTION.
Pay attention to your own
question, and make sure it
GETS ANSWERED. Either
forcefully or gently depending
upon who you are talking to
(#2).”
Verification
25. Observant
Mirror body language
and vocal tone
Detect feelings
Observe non-verbal
inconsistences
26. “You can observe things about their
surroundings. If you interview someone in their
home, you can see the types of things that they
have in their home. If you interview them in
your office, you can see again what types of
things they surround themselves with
(#3).”
Observant
28. “I also believe you have to think on
your feet and react to the subject. So
if you find that the subject is
going down a certain path with
more enthusiasm, follow up with
that instead of sticking to your
script. So that there’s a flow to the
interview, and it’s not just, you finish
the question, you go on to the next
one (#8).”
News Judgment
29. Be open
Seek to understand
the source’s
viewpoints
Ask open-ended
question to capture
experiences
Non-judgmental
Ask non-biased
questions
React non-
judgmentally
30.
31. Thank you!
I am SERENA CARPENTER
with ANTHONY CEPAK and
ZHAO PENG
You can find me at:
@dr_serena
carp@msu.edu
Editor's Notes
Coauthors
Study in which we explored the competencies journalists need to possess to be effective interviewers
Behaviors associated with one’s ability to effectively interview human news sources in a way that is appropriate to circumstances in which the interview occurs.
Idea
Younger people won’t talk to people, interview people, and interact with people.
Educators assume that it is social anxiety or laziness.
The problem is...know little about interviewing during the news gathering phase. So I could not study social anxiety or assumption without first conceptually investigating what is interviewing. spend a lot of time on effects and content, but not as much on journalism and communication? I like to investigate questions related to what is journalism. And once we better address these broader questions and paradigms and concepts that represent those paradigms, I believe that we will better know how to move forward.
Most applied news gathering method by journalists… Interviewing knowledge is “the difference between mediocre reporting and good reporting.
Job skills studies often rank it below writing,
But first you have to believe that journalistic interviewing competencies is a unique concept. The interview is a conversational-like interaction between two people, but the relationship is imbalanced.
Journalists query and discuss a story to improve accuracy and quality of it because journalists do not often possess subject matter expertise.
Create a public narrative around source information
Employ techniques to relax an interviewee and create trust in a short amount of time even though they may never interact with that subject in the future.
In the mid-nineteenth century, interviewing enabled journalists to take a more active role
In the past, journalists behaved as stenographers and simply observed people at government and court proceedings and then disseminated that information to the public
The power to ask questions and the norm that news sources reply to such questions led journalists to enact a more interpretative role in journalism with greater hypothetical power to influence political and societal agendas.
In live television interview settings, an audience is co-present and listening to the interaction between a journalist and at least one other source leading to a unique interpersonal dynamic that likely influences the behavior of a journalist
Aggressive questioning tactics are most often a “staged performance” in which a journalist repeats a question nudging the official to respond to that question or to visually show the news audience that he or she evaded answering a question
Research, however, supports that fewer journalists prefer to engage in this style of journalism
We emphasize interviewing practices representing a non-live, interpersonal setting due to the dominance of this type of practice in journalism
Concept explication involves two major activities: meaning analysis and then empirical analysis. And thus, I first went to journalism literature for guidance. Surprising, there was very little
Educational textbooks primarily emphasize the dimensions of research, listening, and politeness as ideal interviewing behaviors
Consequently, we also relied on a bit more formalized explications of related concepts primarily from scholarly fields of health, public relations, communication, law, and qualitative research methodology
Based on this review of literature, we found 7 possible additional dimensions: accuracy, empathy, listening, articulation, interaction management, non-verbal behaviors, and flexibility.
Geographically diverse in the US, average of newspapers 180-thousand
A random sample of newspapers were selected based on geography, and then circulation size groupings. 20 managing editor or news editor was selected, 1 from each group. 1 person responded, 19 more selected newspapers were selected… leading to 4 journalists/39.
Due to response rate, journalists who interviewed were asked for referrals… resulting 9
The American Press Institute study ranked 22 journalism schools based on their history and national reputation
We contacted the director, chairperson, or a known faculty member at each school requesting the name of the individual(s) primarily responsible for teaching interviewing
19 faculty members invited, seven responded
4 more at BEA
Supported all dimensions put forth in the literature review (i.e., listening, interaction management, research, empathy, articulation
Non-verbal behaviors fell under listening and flexibility fell under news judgment and interaction management
The interpretational expansion of two dimensions. Accuracy become verification and professional demeanor was changed self-presentation
Led to the identification of three additional dimensions (i.e., news judgment, observation, and open-mindedness) dimensions not previously mentioned
Listening equates to attentiveness
By asking follow-up questions (i.e., repeating what the interviewee said; asking for clarification ad elaboration, encouraging people to continue answers, revisiting previously mentioned issues)
Questions requests for elaboration (e.g., What was that like?; Tell me about that.) or clarification (e.g., What do you mean?). Veering back to a word
Cues providing them the right information. 70-80%. Taking notes to convey interest, matching eye contact, nodding their head, raising an eyebrow, saying uh-huh.
Young reporters stick to questions lists and explore statements by the source further.
Rapport was critical to encourage self-disclosure
Sequencing of questions with less sensitive questions toward the end
Grice did research conversational norms and expectations such turn-taking and amount of time people should talk. Violate norms through the application of silence while maintaining eye contact allows the news source to reflect, reveal, talk more, and elaborate on previous points
hostility situations. Journalists should remain calm, poised, and professional during such events.
Find everything you can about a person and subject if time allows by mostly reading stuff written by journalist, online content, or interviewing other sources on the topic
Journalists, often strangers to the source, ask people to describe lifechanging and intimate moments, private details, and personal relationships.
Express sympathy and compassion for news sources dealing with tragic events was an appropriate and effective human response, and it was not appropriate in other contexts
Grey line existed “between compassion and deference, and instead focus on asking questions about their experience.
simple and direct questions
Culture and vulnerability. They should also use words familiar to the source in their questioning. A journalist must be able to adapt questions to the source’s personality, education level, and background. Questions phrased in a manner unfamiliar to a source can cause distress leading to less frank and free answer
obligation to communicate the rights of the interviewee and objectives of a news interview at the start of an interview especially for people unacquainted with participating in news interviews
Establish the roles and rights
mirror the attire of potential sources; dress appropriately depending upon context; and wear credible clothing and accessories.
Accountability, breadth, and accuracy. Driven to be accuracy for fear of getting it wrong
Name, location, experience
Ask clarifying questions and confirm their understanding of the subject
That also means admitting when they do not know or understand
Holding news sources accountable: highlight conflicting information that counters statements made by a news source,
Full story, the complete picture
Paying attention to the question, restating and reframing questions, and letting the source know that their question was not answered
An interesting theme that emerged was observation. Observe 1) nonverbal behaviors and 2) the environment where the interview takes place
Non-verbal behaviors can help journalists detect comfort levels and whether one is being forthcoming.
Match their own movement with the news source’s movement to demonstrate commonality: breaks down the barriers between source & reporter
The most common comments was to observe office and home space and use their observations in their writing, aid in conversation, and
Ability of journalists to evaluate what is newsworthy, interesting, and important to include in a story
Often, news sources will ask focus of the interview and you need to explain the focus
Reels a source back toward to focus of if they veer off to discuss topics not relevant to the story
Primary purpose of non-live television interviews was to extract interesting and useable quotes and sound bites
Frame question to result in an interesting sound bite
Gather news information to serve their hypothesized narrative, but they also should be flexible in changing the narrative based on news source input
Enact a different line of question
Non-judgmental behaviors, rather than objectivity, when the interviewee says something that counters a reporter’s understanding or beliefs.
Judgmental feedback would likely impede expressions and and alter his or her responses to cater the perceived opinion of a journalist
Consider new information on their own merits, tolerate different values, and are less inclined to distort the meaning of messages
