To effectively interview sources for a story, a journalist should: 1) Conduct interviews with at least three types of sources: experts, people directly involved in the story, and outside observers. 2) Prepare a list of questions in advance and be willing to follow unexpected leads from the source. 3) Listen attentively and avoid yes/no questions to obtain useful quotations from the source.

1. Interviewing
To report, you gotta talk to people

2.  “The better I treat people, the better the
information I get. My M.O. is to remember
that just because I have a press card in my
pocket, it gives me no special claim. People
have no obligation to let me into their life
and ask probing questions.”
 -- Ray Suarez, NPR host
 “Sometimes the dumbest questions get the
best answers.”
 --Steve Kroft, 60 Minutes

3. Finding the right human
If you’re writing a news, science, lifestyle or sports
story for publication, you will want to talk to a
minimum of three sources.
Experts – the people who run things, administrators,
researchers who study stuff, etc.
Players – the people who are living the story, like students
or professors, workers or the unemployed
Observers – the people who watch things carefully and
always have something to say. (Use sparingly.)

4. Arranging an interview
 Face-to-face interviews are best for building confidence,
observing a person in his or her environment, being taken
seriously. But Covid-19.
 Zoom, FB Messenger, Instagram video – all of these will do
in the time of the pandemic.
 Phone interviews are fast and efficient, a solid second
choice if in-person interview isn’t possible (source lives far
away).
 Email interviews are generally pretty terrible, impersonal,
canned, time-consuming for sources. But Covid-19. Do
whatever works. Email is awesome because you have
nothing to transcribe. The quotes are right there for you to
use.

5. Know before you go
 Research your topic. Know what’s been written on the
topic. Ask yourself what your audience wants to know.
At a minimum, use Google, Wikipedia and news
archives to glean background.
 Locate sources. It’s OK to glean sources from your
research (above)and from other stories that have been
done.
 Set up the interview. Do this well before your story
deadline. Don’t procrastinate.

6. Your list of questions
 Prepare a preliminary list of topics and questions for your
source.
 Put this in front or back of notebook or on your computer.
You want to be able to refer to the list easily as the interview
progresses.
 Be willing to take a conversation off-list, following up on
source’s answers that require more details or that just seem
interesting. “Tell me more,” is an excellent follow-up
question.
 Get back to your question list after the “tell-me-more” detour.
Get the needed info.

7. During the interview
 Relax. Let the source warm up to you by asking simple
grounding questions. Why is the source interested in
the topic? Keep it easy at first.
 Get the basics before the interview whenever possible.
Don’t waste a busy college president’s time asking him
to spell his name for you. If it’s easy to find online, do
that.
 Listen without interrupting. But keep an eye on the
clock. When your time’s up, say so. If the interview
seems like it could go longer, ask your source’s
permission before continuing.

8. Interviewing tips
 Body language: Leaning forward suggests that you’re listening seriously.
 Avoid yes or no questions. You need to get quotable material.
No to this:
“Did you feel happy when you won the lottery?”
“Yes.”
Yes to this:
“How did you feel when you found out you won $5.6 million in the lottery?
“I couldn’t believe I’d won. I thought I was tripping out.”
“Tell me more.”
 Taking notes and gathering exact quotes is rough. If you record the interview,
back up with notes on paper.
 Transcribing recorded interviews takes about three or four times as long as
the interview. Remember this if you’re on a short deadline.
 If you’re recording anything – a live conversation, phone call or zoom meeting,
you have to let the source know you’re recording. That’s the law.

9. Details
 Write down some of the things you observe during the
interview. Is the source carrying a briefcase, a pile of towels,
a book? What’s its title?
 What’s he or she wearing? Hair? Jewelry?
 Is music playing? What kind?
 Smells? (OK, you can’t smell via Zoom. Which is good.)
 You may gather details that don’t make sense to include in
your story. But you won’t find relevant details unless you
observe them and write them down.

10. Holding your ground
 Make sure your questions get answered.
 Keep your opinion to yourself.
 It’s OK to allow awkward silence. The source will likely
cave in and fill the silence gap with more words and
potentially great quotes.
 Save your toughest questions for last.

11. Wrapping up the interview
 The clock time’s about up. Say something like, “I see I
have about five minutes left. Do you mind if I check to
make sure I have everything?”
 Then check your notes and question list. Any gaps?
Use your last couple of minutes to fill them in.
 Ask source if there’s anything you missed, anything
she’d like to add.
 Ask source for names of others who might be
interviewed on the topic.
 Ask permission to call back later, if you need
clarification on an info tidbit or quote.

12. Write asap
 As you leave the interview, think about what
memorable moments or quotes or anecdotes you’ve
just heard. This will help you start the story.
 As soon as you get time in front of a computer or
notepad, jot down your observations, key ideas or
themes, direct quotes – anything memorable.
 The most memorable bits from above might provide
you with an engaging lead or story “kicker” (end).