This document provides guidance on preparing questions for an audio interview in multimedia journalism. It discusses the key stages of production: pre-production, production, and post-production. For pre-production, it is important to choose a topic, find sources, research, and prepare focused questions. Good questions are open-ended, avoid yes/no answers, and are not leading or biased. Sample questions are provided on various topics as examples. The last question should invite the subject to add anything else they want to discuss. Students are assigned to submit at least 10 prepared questions for their audio interview project, following these guidelines.

1. PREPRODUCTION:
INTERVIEW QUESTIONS REVIEW
multimedia journalism

2. PREPRODUCTION
Choose topic, find sources, research,
prep questions, all the logistics
PRODUCTION
Actual interview/shooting
POST-PRODUCTION
Writing, editing, polishing and
publishing
STAGES OF PRODUCTION

3.  WHO is your interview subject?
 WHAT is the specific story you are going to
interview this person about?
 WHAT are your questions?
 WHEN are you going to interview this person?
 WHERE are you going to interview this
person?
 WHY are you going to interview this person?
What makes this story interesting,
newsworthy, and worth reporting on?
AUDIO INTERVIEW PREPRODUCTION

4.  a.) Barack Obama
 b.) His journey to presidency
 c.) Where did you go to school?
 This is VERY general - you really need to be more
specific with both the story focus and the question
 A better way to phrase the question could be -
"What were your school days like?"
 Also, what kind of school? College? High School?
Elementary? Be specific!
FOCUS & QUESTION EXAMPLES

5.  “You made a prediction on your Twitter
account on February 7, 2010. That was 10 years
ago. You stated that one day you would
perform the national anthem at the Super
Bowl. What made you feel so strong about that
prediction?”
 Good specific research! I also like how it’s
putting the interviewee in a specific reflective
place.
QUESTION EXAMPLES

6.  “Are there any songs that didn't make the
album that we might be hearing on a
deluxe version or another album?” is a yes
or no question - a better way to ask it
could be:
 "What about the songs that didn't make
the album?"
QUESTION EXAMPLES

7.  “Did writing songs ever become hard for you or
did the words just flow in your head?” is a yes
or no question and also a bit leading - a better
way to ask it could be:
 "What's your writing process like?”
 OR
 "What do you do when writing a song is harder
for you than normal?"
QUESTION EXAMPLES

8.  “Did you face any judgement from friends or family when
you told them you wanted to pursue rap?” is a yes or no
question - a better way to ask it could be:
 "What did you friends and family say when you got serious
about rap?“
 A possible potential follow-up could be, “When did you feel
the most support from your family and friends?
OR
 “When did you feel the least amount of support from family
and friends?”
QUESTION EXAMPLES

9.  “Is it hard to stay focused and keep that
same mindset, year in, year out?” is a yes
or no question and also a bit leading - a
better way to ask it could be:
 "What do you have to do to stay focused
and keep that same mindset year in and
year out?”
QUESTION EXAMPLES

10.  “How often do you study film during the off-season, and is it
still as important as it was as a new player in the NFL?”
 Don't plan to ask 2-part questions - simply ask two separate
questions or make the second one a possible follow-up.
 Also, "is it still as important as it was as a new player in the
NFL? " is a closed/yes-or-no question.
 How about this instead?
 “How often do you study film during the off-season?”
 "How does that compare with when you were a new player
in the NFL?"
QUESTION EXAMPLES

11.  “What is one criticism of 'JoJo' that you actually
agree with?”
 “What is one criticism of 'JoJo' that you don't
consider valid?”
 I like how these really put the interviewee in a
reflective place
 Also, they’re not leading him toward one specific
criticism/comment about the film – they’re asking
him to decide
QUESTION EXAMPLES

12.  “Did you ever have a moment that made
you think "Hey, I'm pretty good at this
acting gig"?” is a yes or no question - a
better way to ask it could be:
 "What was happening when you first
realized you might have a real future in
acting?"
QUESTION EXAMPLES

13.  “Did you learn from anyone on how humble yourself or just
take it all in and embrace it?” is a yes or no question and a
bit leading - a better way to ask it could be:
 "What did you learn about humility during all this?"
 ***
 “Would you ever consider doing something like Bo Jackson
or Deon Sanders?” (Played both football and baseball) is a
yes or no question - a better way to ask it could be:
 "What are the chances you'd ever consider doing something
like Bo Jackson or Deon Sanders?” (Played both football and
baseball)
QUESTION EXAMPLES

14.  “Being the first Black FLOTUS, how much pressure
did you feel to be a perfect role model and break
antiquated sterotypes of black women?“
 Good but a bit long and leading - how about this
instead?
 "What was it like dealing with the pressure of
being the first black FLOTUS?"
 It simply gives her more room to answer.
QUESTION EXAMPLES

15.  “When you were in law school and working as a
lawyer did you ever consider a career in politics?”
 How about this instead?
 "How much did you think about a career in
politics when you were in law school and then a
lawyer?"
 It might be a subtle difference but it really opens
the question up.
QUESTION EXAMPLES

16.  “In another post you referred to your friendship
with Bryant as a reason for his defense. Do you
believe that your personal connection to the ones
you defended creates a bias of opinion on the
matter?”
 How about this instead?
 "How difficult is it to be objective when public
accusations about personal friends are made?"
QUESTION EXAMPLES

17.  Be careful of "OR" questions - they are
almost always leading to some degree.
 “Do you enjoy keeping such a strict diet or is it for
the love of the game?” is a yes or no question and
also a bit leading - a better way to ask it could be:
 How about this instead?
 "What's it like living with such a strict diet?"
“OR” QUESTION EXAMPLES

18.  Be careful of "OR" questions - they are
almost always leading to some degree.
 “How hurtful was the birther movement,
spearheaded by our now President Donald Trump to
your family, or was it something you just ignored?”
 How about this instead?
 "What was the personal impact of the "birther
movement" on your family?"
“OR” QUESTION EXAMPLES

19.  Be careful of "OR" questions - they are
almost always leading to some degree.
 “Do referees communicate or shut you
down?”
 How about this instead?
 "What's been your experience when
communicating with refs during a game?”
“OR” QUESTION EXAMPLES

20.  What do you think about this question for Donald
Trump?:
 "Why do you feel the American people are
skeptical of your role as leader of this
country?”
 This is not accurate; after all he got elected and
clearly has lots of support. As a result, this question
shows personal bias.
 Any alternative ways to ask it?
BIASED/LEADING QUESTION EXAMPLES

21.  What do you think about this question for
Lebron James:
 "How does it feel to be called "The King"
despite losing 5 championships?”
 Any alternative ways to ask it?
BIASED/LEADING QUESTION EXAMPLES

22.  “Do you have anything else you would like to
add to what we have already said?”
 Good but make sure you're not limiting the subject to only
what you just talked about - make sure they know you're
asking about anything they'd like to bring up.
 ***
 You should always end an interview by
asking some version of “Is there anything
else you’d like to talk about?”
THE LAST QUESTION

23.  BLACKBOARD ASSIGNMENT: Using your
semester audio project as your guide, you
are to submit at least 10 questions for
your interview subject as per class
guidelines.
 You do NOT need to do/record the actual
interview yet - this is pre-production
work!
AUDIO INTERVIEW PREPRODUCTION

24.  Prepare at least 10 focused questions following
class guidelines:
• Ask open-ended questions – DON’T ask closed /
"yes" or "no" questions!
• Don’t ask “OR” questions that lead your subject!
• Do NOT ask biased questions!
• Don’t be afraid to ask “dumb” questions!
• Ask short questions - NO question should be over
10-15 words long!
AUDIO INTERVIEW PREPRODUCTION

25. • Don’t forget to prepare/plan for/anticipate follow up
questions!
• Do plenty of research on your subject ahead of time
and write more questions than you think you’ll need!
• Your last question should always be some version of,
“What else would you like to talk about before we
wrap up?” OR “What else is going on you’d like to
tell me about?” – ABOUT ANYTHING, NOT ONLY THE
SUBJECT(S) YOU JUST COVERED!
AUDIO INTERVIEW PREPRODUCTION

26. DO NOT RECORD THE
ACTUAL AUDIO
INTERVIEW YET!
(unless you have to due to
scheduling)
AUDIO INTERVIEW PREPRODUCTION

27. I will review your
questions with each
of you individually
next class!
AUDIO INTERVIEW PREPRODUCTION