This presentation takes journalism students through the interview process from deciding whom to interview to preparing for the interview, conducting the interview, asking the tough questions, concluding the interview with three questions, and following certain steps after the interview. Professor Linda Austin prepared it for her JNL-1102 introductory reporting students at the National Management College in Yangon, Burma, in August 2015. It goes with Chapter 6 in Reporting and Writing News: A Basic Handbook by Peter Eng and Jeff Hodson.

1. INTERVIEWS:
START TO
FINISH
• Decide whom to interview.
• Prepare for the interview.
• Conduct the interview.
• Handle no comment and avoiding an answer.
• Ask the tough question.
• Ask these three questions at the end of every
interview.
• Follow these steps after the interview.
ByDamianKettlewell
Chapter 6

2. WHY DO INTERVIEWS MATTER?
ways to report
ONLY

3. 1. OBSERVATION
By Flickr user Peter R.

4. By Meaghan O’Malley
2. DOCUMENTS, WEBSITES

5. 3. INTERVIEWS

6. INTERVIEWING: NOT JUST Qs
ByGarethSimpson
• Prepare
• Listen
• Think on
your feet
• Record
answers

7. WHOM TO INTERVIEW?

8. WHO WILL HAVE INFO YOU NEED?
From pages 5-6 of Myanmar Reporter’s Manual:
• Government sources
Head of public health protection, not the top minister
• Foreign sources
Embassies, DW Akademie, expats
• International organizations
UNICEF, UNESCO
• Non-governmental organizations (NGOs)
Malaria Consortium, Myanmar Red Cross
• Businesses, trade groups and unions
Myanmar Garment Manufacturers Association

9. WHO WILL HAVE INFO YOU NEED?
From pages 5-6 of Myanmar Reporter’s Manual:
• Academics/experts
Professors, medical specialists
• Social, political and religious groups
Yangon Heritage Trust, political parties, mosques,
temples, churches
• Eyewitnesses
Witnesses to accidents or victims of crimes
• Ordinary people
Those affected by events or changes

10. 1. Ni Ni Mar, is dying
of leukemia.
Members of the Chin
Baptist Church in
Yangon raised
US$7,000 to send her
and her entire family
of 9 to Tokyo
Disneyland next
week.
You are writing a
story before the trip.
WHOM TO INTERVIEW?
BySteFou!

11. 2. The local school board has announced that, due to
budgetary constraints, three high school teachers will be laid
off at the end of the school year: English teacher Thein Hote,
science teacher Thant Zin and computer science teacher
Kyaw Soe. You are writing a story about the layoffs.
WHOM TO INTERVIEW?
ByRexPe

12. 3. Soulful, sensitive
singer/songwriter Phyu Phyu
Kyaw Thein is returning to her
hometown of Yangon (where
you’re a reporter) for a
concert. It’s the first time
she’s been back since
graduating from high school
10 years ago. Since then, her
songs have been downloaded
millions of times, and she’s
toured the world. You are
writing a story in advance of
her concert.
WHOM TO INTERVIEW?
From Myanmar Times

13. 1. Ni Ni Mar, is dying of leukemia. Members of the Chin
Baptist Church in Yangon raised US$7,000 to send her
and her entire family of 9 to Tokyo Disneyland next
week. You are writing a story before the trip.
2. The local school board has announced that, due to
budgetary constraints, three high school teachers will
be laid off at the end of the school year: English teacher
Thein Hote, science teacher Thant Zin and computer
science teacher Kyaw Soe. You are writing a story about
the layoffs.
3. Soulful, sensitive singer/songwriter Phyu Phyu Kway
Thein is returning to her hometown of Yangon (where
you’re a reporter) for a concert. It’s the first time she’s
been back since graduating from high school 10 years
ago. Since then, her songs have been downloaded
millions of times, and she’s toured the world. You are
writing a story in advance of her concert.
WHOM TO INTERVIEW?

14. WHOM TO INTERVIEW?
1. Ni Ni Mar, 12, is dying
of leukemia. Members
of the Chin Baptist
Church in Yangon
raised US$7,000 to send
her and her entire family
of 9 to Tokyo
Disneyland next week.
• Ni Ni Mar
• Her family
• Church officials
• Her doctor
• A donor
• Disneyland official
on how often
BySteFou!

15. 2. The local school board has announced that, due to
budgetary constraints, three high school teachers will
be laid off at the end of the school year: English
teacher Thein Hote, science teacher Thant Zin and
computer science teacher Kyaw Soe. You are writing a
story about the layoffs.
• School board members
• School finance official
• The three teachers
• Teachers’ union
• Parents
• Students
WHOM TO INTERVIEW?
ByRexPe

16. WHOM TO INTERVIEW?
3. Soulful, sensitive singer/songwriter Phyu Phyu
Kyaw Thein is returning to her hometown of Yangon
(where you’re a reporter) for a concert.
• Phyu Phyu Kyaw Thein
• Concert promoter
• Music teacher
• Relatives
• Fans
• High school friends
• Expert: Music critic
or professor
From Myanmar Times

17. BEFORE THE
INTERVIEW
PREPARE
Scoutlander.com

18. WHICH IS BETTER 1st Q?
FromGonewiththeWindtrailer
To Academy Award winner Vivien Leigh:
What role did you play in Gone with the Wind?

19. WHICH IS BETTER 1st Q??
To Eddie Arcaro,
winningest U.S.
jockey ever:
“Why is your left
stirrup longer than
your right?”
Byextension.missouri.edu

20. WHY PREPARE?
• “A common ingredient of the superb interview is a
knowledge of the subject so thorough that it creates a kind
of intimacy between the journalist and the interviewee.”
• – journalist Tom Rosenstiel

21. HOW TO PREPARE
1. Research:
• The library or “morgue”
• The Internet
• Public records
• Experts
• Colleagues

22. 2. Create a list of
questions:
• Start with basics: name,
birthdate, address, title.
• Few closed-end (yes/no): to
confirm facts
• Many open-ended (Why?
How?): to get elaboration
• Predict and list follow-up
questions.
• Finish with toughest
question.
HOW TO PREPARE
ByCoryDoctorow

23. DURING
THE
INTERVIEW
• Identify DOs and DON’Ts for interviews.
• Handle sources’ “no comment” and not answering the
question.
• Get tips from a top interviewer.
• Ask a tough question.
By internets_dairy

24. STRUCTURED CONVERSATION
“Interviewing is a lot like talking, but you have to guide
the conversation. You have to know what you want and
go about getting it.”
-- Anthony deCurtis, former editor, Rolling Stone
Byinternets_dairy

25. DOs DURING AN INTERVIEW
• Arrive at least five minutes
early.
• Dress appropriately.
• Identify yourself and chit-
chat if there is time.
• Ask the source to write
his/her name in your
notebook and spell it back.
• Look your subject in the
eye.
• Sit forward in your chair.
• Ask one simple question at
a time.
Byamateurphotographybymichel

26. DOs DURING AN INTERVIEW
-- Respond to answers with a nod.
-- Listen carefully.
-- Ask follow-up questions: 1) How do you know that? 2) Can you
give me an example? 3) And . . . ?
Bywoodleywonderworks

27. DOs DURING AN INTERVIEW
-- If you don’t understand, ask the source to explain or slow down.
-- Smile.
-- Use silence to get people to talk more.
-- Look around and write down what you see.
• By Louisiana Sea Grant College Program Louisiana State University
By Lou

28. DON’Ts DURING AN INTERVIEW
• Don’t interrupt, although
it’s okay to gently get a
source back on the
subject: “That’s very
interesting. Thank you for
your insight. Getting back
to the main point…”
• Don’t agree or argue.
• Don’t talk too much.
• Don’t give up when a
source says, “No
comment.”
• Don’t ask your toughest
question until the end.
By NASA Goddard Space Flight Center

29. HANDLING “NO COMMENT”
• Remind source that it’s in
her best interest to give
his side of the story.
• Say that you will have to
include “no comment” in
your story; some people
may think you are hiding
something.
• Say that your story will be
less balanced and
accurate without her
comments.
By Dean Jarvey

30. SOURCE AVOIDS THE QUESTION
-- Repeat the question.
-- Rephrase the question.
-- Ask the source about rumors
or criticisms you have heard.
ByCraigHowell

31. ADVICE FROM KATIE COURIC,
TV HOST ON 3 U.S. NETWORKS
www.youtube.com/watch?v=4eOynrI2eTM
ByU.S.Navy

32. KATIE COURIC’S TIPS
• Be a gracious host.
• Use the right tone.
• Don’t ask yes/no questions.
• Prepare likely follow-up
questions.
• Listen. Shift from your
prepared questions if the
source says something
interesting.
• Remember your audience.
Ask what it wants to know.
• Allow your subject to
communicate.
Katie Couric and U.S. Defense
Secretary Robert M. GatesBy U.S. Air Force

33. ASKING THE TOUGH QUESTION
Reporter Scott Simon Comedian Bill Cosby
• Settled lawsuit alleging
sexual assault in 2006
• More women had come
forward by Nov. 2014.
http://www.npr.org/2014/11/15/364289549/cosbys-start-a-conversation-with-african-american-art (Questions about
allegations at 3:26 mark)
Bynpr.org

34. ASKING THE TOUGH QUESTION
• “This question gives me no pleasure,
Mr. Cosby, but there have been serious
allegations raised about you in recent
days. You're shaking your head no.
• “I'm in the news business. I have to
ask the question - do you have any
response to those charges? Shaking
your head no.
• “There are people who love you who
might like to hear from you about this.
I want to give you the chance.”

35. ANOTHER WAY: TOUGH QUESTION
• “This is a real ‘journalist’ question, but I have to
ask it and let’s just see what happens. . . . ”
• “Please tell me why you thought it was a good
idea to rebuild your home in the floodplain?”
-- Joe Verrengia, The Associated Press
ByConnerMcCall

36. AFTER THE INTERVIEW
• Before you leave, review your notes with the source.
• Ask these three questions at the end of each interview.
• Say, “Thank you.”
• Review your notes again privately.
• Check back with sources after the story runs.
ByU.S.Army

37. REVIEW YOUR NOTES
Before you leave, recap what you’ve
discussed to fill in gaps, correct errors or
clarify confusion.
ByU.S.Army

38. 3 QUESTIONS TO ASK AT THE END
1. Is there anything I
haven’t asked that you’d
like to talk about?
2. Whom else should I talk
to for this story?
3. May I please have your
mobile number and email
in case I have more
questions? Please contact
me if you think of anything
else that might help me
with my story. By Robert Couse-Baker

39. SAY:
“THANK
YOU!”
If you know, tell the source when and where the story will run.

40. AFTER THE INTERVIEW
• Review your
notes again,
privately:
• -- Add further
observations.
• -- Clean up
illegible
scribbles.
• -- Mark the best
quotes.
• -- ASK: Do I
have the lead
for my story yet?
By joce01_y

41. THREE WAYS TO USE COMMENTS
DIRECT QUOTE PARTIAL
QUOTE
PARAPHRASE
Direct quotes state
exactly, word for word,
what someone said. The
quote begins and ends
with quotation marks. A
phrase identifying
the speaker — called
attribution —
usually follows the
quote:
“Without a doubt, we’ve
got the biggest, fastest,
best darn team in the
league this year,” Yangon
Lions Coach Miodrag Ješić
said.
If a direct quote is too
long or awkwardly
phrased, you may decide
to insert just a part of it
into your own sentence:
Coach Miodrag Ješić
called this year’s Yangon
Lions the “best darn team
in the league.”
When you summarize
what a source told you
without using the exact
words or adding
quotation marks, it’s
called a paraphrase:
Yangon Lions Coach
Miodrag Ješić said that this
year’s football team will be
the biggest and best in the
league.
Adapted from Inside Reporting, by Tim Harrower

42. EXERCISE: 3 WAYS TO USE COMMENTS
Rewrite the following statement:
1) as a direct quote;
2) as a paraphrase; and
3) using a partial quote.
“All too often, a story free of any taint of
personal opinion is a story with all the juice
sucked out. Keeping opinion out of the story too
often means being a fancy stenographer.”
— Professor Geneva Overholser
From Inside Reporting, by Tim Harrower

43. ANSWERS: 3 WAYS TO USE COMMENTS
1. Direct quote:
“All too often, a story free of any taint of personal opinion is
a story with all the juice sucked out.” Professor Geneva
Overholser said. “Keeping opinion out of the story too often
means being a fancy stenographer.”
2. Partial quote:
Stories without personal opinion have “all the juice sucked
out,” Professor Geneva Overholser said. Eliminating
opinion “too often means being a fancy stenographer.”
3. Paraphrase:
Professor Geneva Overholser lamented stories without
personal opinion as dry and said they relegated journalists
to being fancy stenographers.

44. WHEN NOT TO DIRECTLY QUOTE
• If the material is boring.
A cheerleader tells you: “I’m very excited about
our big victory.”
• If the information is factual.
A pianist says “the concert will be at 9 p.m.
Friday.”
• If it just repeats what is said above it.
Ivan Oder boasts that he never uses
deodorant.
“I never use deodorant,” he says.
From Inside Reporting, by Tim Harrower

45. AFTER THE INTERVIEW
• Check back with your sources after the story runs. They
may offer useful feedback or tips for new stories.

46. ASSIGNMENT
Man-on-the-street interview

47. MAN-ON-THE-STREET INTERVIEW
WHY I WILL VOTE NOV. 8
Name: U Kyaw Soe
Age: 65
Occupation: Vendor
Party: National League for
Democracy
Why? It holds the best hope for
the country to achieve true
democracy and freedom.
What issue is most
important? We need better
schools and more jobs for our
young people.
Why will you vote Nov. 8? To
bring about much needed
change.

48. MAN-ON-THE-STREET INTERVIEW
WHY I WILL VOTE NOV. 8
Name: Kyaw Soe
Age: 65
Occupation: Vendor
Party: National League for
Democracy
Why? It holds the best hope for
the country to achieve true
democracy and freedom.
What issue is most
important? We need better
schools and more jobs for our
young people.
Why will you vote Nov. 8? To
bring about much needed
change.
YOUR ASSIGNMENT
• Practice asking these
questions and taking a
photo of a classmate now.
• Find someone on the
street (not a student) who
is planning to vote Nov. 8.
• Ask them these
questions.
• Turn in their answers on
Aug. 31 and post a photo
of the person to the class
Facebook group.