2. Purpose of Interviews
research; enhancement of audience understanding; informational, eg presenting
information; interpretive, eg expressing or explaining opinion, justification, accountability; emotional,
eg
allowing audience insight to a situation
The purpose of an interview is to help the interviewer develop a relationship with the interviewee in order for both
people to understand each other. Many people conduct interviews for different purpose such as:
For research – finding out information on the person you are willing to interview. In a way, it prepares the
interviewee so that they are able to ask suitable questions.
Enhancement of audience understanding
Informational – to present certain information to a particular target audience in order for them to use in order to
help them.
Research – This is used to find out certain information on a particular topic that will eventually be used to be
published on magazines or other media outlets.
Interpretive -
3. How to conduct a successful
interview?
As an interviewer, you have to use the following list in order to have a successful interview;
You will have to dress formally – it is very important that you take the interview very seriously, as the person being
interviewed will be given a good impression
Make constant eye contact – this shows that you are engaging with the interviewee as it reflects the interviewers
integrity and comfort when you are communicating with the interviewee. This is the reason why it is important to
have good eye contact while having a conversation, as this is an indication of an interview that is going really
well
To use appropriate tone and language – depending on what the subject matter of the interview, it is essential
that the interviewer speaks in a manner that is suitable
Ask open questions – questions that require you to expand on your answer
Don't conduct an interview, turn it into a conversation – It is very important to not think too much about the
questions, and to think that you are having a normal conversation with the interviewee.
You should never interrupt when the interviewee is speaking – This conveys that you have no interest whatsoever
in what the interviewee, and this shows that you are not listening carefully and it will put the interviewee off. Most
importantly, you may not get the information you want to here from the person being interviewed.
Making sure that your confident and enthusiastic as possible, to ease the pressure off the interviewee – This will
but the interviewee at ease when it comes to answering more complex questions and to overcome as
nervousness.
Good active listening – this will show the interviewee that you are willing to listen to what they have to say and
that you will not interrupt them, as you genuinely want to understand the viewpoint of the interviewee. Also, this
will allow you to take in input information into your brain so that you remember what has been said.
Good body language – depending on the approach of the interview, it is essential to have a good body posture
and one that invites the interviewee in. this will involve you maintaining an open position, facing the direction of
the interviewee and to maintain good eye contact.
4. Structure of an Interview It is important that you structure your interview so that the person you are interviewing is comfortable. An
interview is structured in the following way;
1. The introduction – this is an opportunity for the interviewee to make a good impression. Generally, the introduction
phase is a way for the interviewer and potentially the audience to understand the interviewee. As there are
different interview approaches, the introduction will be different for each. For example, in the David Dein
interview which was about Arsenal manager Arsène Wenger approaching his 1000th game as manager. This
interview starts off a brief summary of what both individuals were doing before they met and how they first
encountered each other. With this being a television interview, this provides the audience information they may
never have heard. Also, for all football fans it s interesting to understand the process it took for David Dein to
make Arsène Wenger as manager.
2. Developmental questions – this part of the interview is about how the questions being asked are so that the
interview is moving in the direction that you want it to be and how one question develops from one to another. It
may involve the interviewer stopping the interview for a moment to construct questions on the basis on what has
been said in the interview. For example, if this was a print based interview on a magazine, readers will only want
to read the actual interview and not something that is said in between.
3. Confidence building – Once the interviewer asks a series of questions simple question to build the confidence of
the interviewee, in order for them to be ready for some complex questions. The interviewer will ask a variety of
light heated questions so that the interviewee is at ease when answering them. Also, once the confidence
foundation has been built, the interviewee may start to add witty comments in their answers. Asking a series of
simple questions may help the interviewee to open up about certain topics that are personal, but the interviewer
has to build a solid foundation that leads to the interviewee trusting the interviewer. Asking a series of tough
questions will require the interviewer to conduct some research to help ensure the interview moves smoothly.
4. Sound bites – This is only commonly used in radio interviews by adding some background music or a catchy
phrase that is used in a particular situation. For example, in the programme The Fantasy Football Club, the
presenters Paul Merson and John Fendley get several ex football players on the their show to understand their
careers, their lives and the steps taken to become the people they are today. They have set up a fantasy football
league for all of the people working for Sky Sports. Once they mention the person who has achieved the most
amount of points, they say he/she is the special one. Suddenly, the sound bite ‘I’m the special one’ is said is a
very quirky and interesting way, to emphasize the point the presenters make.
5. The summary – The summary is a way for the interviewee or television presenter to congratulate the guest for
coming onto their show. For example, on the Jonathan Ross Show, he congratulates Mo Farah for appearing on
his show and that he is excited about the launch of his autobiography and the news regarding the names for his
twin children. For each interview approach, the summary will be different, as on the Sunday Politics show,
5. Structure of an Interview
At the start of an interview, it is essential to start off with simple questions in order to warm of
the interviewee. These simple questions will require the interviewer to conduct some
research on the background of the interviewee. Generally, simple questions should be
related to something that has happened most recently. For example, on the Jonathan Ross
Show, he interviewed Mo Farah, a successful British Olympian, and Jonathan asked simple
questions that are related to something that has happened most recent, the Olympics. In
addition, the questions about the Olympics then turned into a conversation about
engraving the names of Mo Farah newborn twins onto his two gold medals. It is very
important to ask questions that are in chronological order, like in the interview Jonathan Ross
talks about the names of the children, whether Mo Farah does his fatherly duties. This is why
is it very important start off with simple questions that are related to the topic and then to
build on that.
Once the interviewee is warmed up, then it is the time to start asking more complex
questions. This is also known as the development stage, which may involve the interviewer
stopping the interview for a short while or to introduce a new topic. The purpose is about
making the interviewee feel confident and this is were more complex questions are
introduced. The reason for this is to go deep into the interviewee’s personal background or
on-going issues, to get the interviewee to talk about it to develop the understanding of the
interviewer and possibly the audience watching. Using the Jonathan Ross interview with Mo
Farah, he starts asking questions about what it was like for him to come to the UK at a very
young age and how Mo first adapted to the UK when he first came. With his calming
influence and relaxing presence, Mo looked confident in answering this particular question.
As soon as Jonathan has the information he wanted to hear, he then asks ‘What sort of
phrases did you learn from other school kids?’. Before Mo answered this question, he had a
little smirk on his face which suggested he had something funny that Jonathan will be
interested in.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=abBwnCW1KPs&safe=
active
6. Interview – Question Types
The sort of questions that are usually asked in all interviews are
Open questions - These particular questions are designed to inspire an interviewee to give a meaningful
answers and with this you will generally receive a long answer. All open questions have the following
features; it is used to make the interviewee think carefully and they require you to provide eloquent
answers. All all open questions start off with ‘Why’, ‘What’, ‘How’ and ‘Describe’. For example, in the David
Dein interview, which was on the subject of Arsenal manager Arsene Wenger
Closed questions – These particular questions are very much straightforward and it requires you to answer
‘yes’ or ‘no’. Closed questions are generally used when you are trying to get specific information and
they are generally used at the start of an interview. Some of the most common closed questions asked
are ‘How are you?’, ‘Did you have trouble getting here?’. For example, in the
Suggestive questions – These particular questions are used to emphasize negative points and to trick the
interviewee into answering in a specific way that may or may not be correct. People who use this
particular interview questions will rely on using the interviewee’s background to make them feel guilty
when answering the question. For example, in the Jeremy Paxman interview, he asks Gordon Brown ‘Prime
Minister, when Labour first came into power in 1997, you were promising to clean up politics, why did you
fail?’ This question put Gordon Brown, the former British Prime Minister, on the back foot as he himself
knows the mess he got into. This is a combative way to start an interview, and it makes the interviewee to
sort of stumble on their answers. The facial expression of Gordon Brown looked very remorseful as he is
aware of the financial crisis of the country, and it played into Jeremy's hand as he used this particular
statement to exploit Gordon Brown.
With this being a very sensitive question to ask someone suffering cancer, but he wants the interviewee to
talk about what’s currently going on. Generally, people tend to expect less direct questions from the
interviewer, but Jeremy Paxman is very clever in the way he gets information out of people
7. Interview Approaches
All interviews have different purposes and there are 5 ways in which interviewers approach an interview
Hard approach – this approach is used in any political interviews and the interviewee is confronted with very
critical and difficult questions. Like I mentioned in the previous slide, Jeremy Paxman starts off with an aggressive
opening question that puts Gordon Brown on the back foot. Another example is on the programme Sunday
Politics, Alex Jones, an American author and conspiracy theorist, is known for the controversy of making
statements about the gun control in the wake of the Sandy Hook Elementary School shooting. Later in the
interview, it becomes a huge debate with Andrew Neil and Alex Jones insulting each other.
Light approach – this approach is generally used on char shows such as the Graham Norton Show and the
Jonathan Ross Show. With all chat shows there to provide entertainment for the audience, it is a good way for
the interviewer to ease the nerves and pressure off the interviewee, so there answers come out sounding more
intriguing. Once the interviewee is at ease, they will be able to provide information that may be personal or
funny because they feel it is the right time to say them.
Promotional approach – this approach is generally used at the end of a chat shows, when the interviewer asks
the interviewee when a particular product/music single is coming out. in chat shows, members of the audience
who follow and like the celebrity will be keen to know about this information. For example, in the Jonathan Ross
Show, he asks Eminem when his latest single and the next time he will tour in the UK because it is information the
live audience and people at home want to here.
Investigative approach – this approach is used to find as much information on a particular topic or a person, and
generally this approach is used in serious interviews. A lot of crime investigation programmes are about real
events that have taken place, and they interview people along the programme to get a better understanding
of the issue and how it escalates. For example in the programme Happy Never After, it is based on true stories
about couples getting married and them enjoying the best days of their lives. But the reality of ‘til death do you
part’ approaches very quickly and unexpected.
This quote is used when a married couple to be vowed, as people state that marriage should be that long
Emotional approach – this approach is used to engage an audience into a debate or a discussion on a sensitive
topic. With an interviewer asking questions to the interviewee, they may ask members of the audience to
comment or to get their views. For example, on the programme Free Speech, a live debate and discussion show,
were the presenter Rick Edwards talks about the current controversy affairs that are being talked about. Asifa
Lahore, the first who claims to be the first and only gay Muslim drag, was introduced onto the programme were
a large section of the audience completely disagreed with him. With this show introduced to be to make
peoples voices heard in the national conversation, this particular topic brought a lot of negativity. Another
example on this show is were the BNP leader, Nick Griffin, he received a lot of combative questions hurled at him.
There were reports on the news on whether bringing Nick Griffin to the show to not only ruin the reputation of the
programme, but a chance for people to tear him apart.
8. Journalistic Contexts & Purposes
There are a variety of ways in which interviews take place. The following journalistic contexts are commonly in
Television – interviews that are shown on television for a particular programme or about a particular topic.
Generally, interviews that are shown on television are extended and it will require having two cameras; Camera
A & B. Both cameras will be positioned next to each other, but the focus and the camera angles differ from
each other. (Examples have been mentioned in previous slides). As there are some interesting people out there,
television interviews are ways for the audience to find out about someone’s experiences and possibly
controversy. Generally, television interviews are opportunities for journalists to ask good questions, that will not
only present certain information, but depending on the whole mood and genre of the interview, television
interviews are there to entertain the audiences. For example, on the Graeme Norton Show, the audience are
interested on what he panel are wearing and their body language. Unlike the other journalistic approaches,
television needs the have visuals as the Graeme Norton show is entertaining.
Radio – interviews that are taken place in radio are used to inform a particular audience. There are many
objectives that people have to take into consideration when planning to interview someone on the radio.
Conducting a radio interview is an effective way of communicating to a particular target audience. Radio
interviews are completely different from all of the interviews forms, as people will only be able to listen rather
than watch. The interviewer will have to mention what the the interviewee is wearing to not only unease the
pressure off the interviewee, but to inform and to make the interview as interesting as possible for the audience.
In order for a radio interview to be successful, the producers and the interviewer have to make sure that all of
the soundbites are intact so that the sound qualities are good so that there will be no problems for the people
listening in. Radio channels that are there for entertainment purposes, help create a picture for the audience.
For example, on BBC radio 1, there are many musicians that are interviewed and the producer has to create
some sort of image to keep the audience listening entertained. A good example of a radio interview is Radio 4,
which is specifically targeted for people who want to listen to current political affairs were you will have
interviews of MPS’s or political leaders and debates. With a topic like this, the people listening in will not need the
visuals as watching two people debating on a topic can star to get boring. For example, on the radio show
regarding Moscow’s involvement in the Ukraine crisis, several people have been interviewed to in order to build
an understanding of what Vladimir Putin, the prime minister of Russia, of what he wants from Ukraine.
Sport – All sport interviews are there for people to find out certain information. The interviewer will ask a variety of
questions relating to a particular topic in order to get the interviewee to express their opinions. Sports interviews
are done under different circumstances, for example; an interviewer may want to speak to a football player
who just had a good performance in a match, a press conference about two boxers who will be going head-to-
head in a match or a documentary about a sports athlete who has had a good career in a particular field. All
sports interviews have different purposes. For example, in the David Dein interview regarding Arsenal manager
Arsène Wenger approaching his 1000th game as manager. The purpose of this interview was to more emotional,
as it gave many football fans a good insight as to what this man has achieved at his time at Arsenal Football
Club. Also, David Dein had to explain and justify some of his reasons why he chose Mr Wenger as manager at
the time. From a neutrals point of view, it is good to understand how they first met because it is good to
understand the history.
