Successful Interviewing for Journalists

1. Successful Interviewing for Journalists Professor Eric Freedman 3 October 2011 Klaipeda University freedma5@msu.edu

2. 10 Key Points to Strong Interviews • Understand the purpose of the interview & how you intend to use it • Choose an appropriate & realistic format • Be prepared but don’t lock yourself in • Control the interview • Ask open-ended questions • Look for stories & killer quotes for your stories • Be non-judgmental • Interview the setting • Respect interview subjects’ rights • Final questions

3. 10 Questions for the Dalai Lama • Do you ever feel angry or outraged? • How do you stay so optimistic and faithful when there is so much hate in the world? • How has the role set out for you changed since you first came to be the Dalai Lama? — • Do you see any possibility of reconciliation with the Chinese government in your lifetime? • How can we teach our children not to be angry? • Have you ever thought about being a normal person instead of being the Dalai Lama? • Do you miss Tibet? • What do you say to people who use religion as a pretext to violence or killing? • Have you ever tried on a pair of trousers? • Do you believe your time here on earth has been a success? http://www.time.com/time/video/player/0,32068,89819851001_1994021,00.html

4. Little Stories & Killer Quotes • Anecdotes: little stories that highlight a major point in your overall story • Examples • Hypotheticals: what if? • Killer quotes: direct quotes that audiences l remember because of their creativity, color, emotion, insight, humanity etc.

5. Anecdote with Quotes When he returned to his hometown of Adrian after university as an engineering trainee on a street project in front of City Hall he had an “oops” moment that shaped his future attitude as a manager. “I told an engineer to stake something wrong that was not on the plans. I learned so much from how he handled it,” Steudle recalls. “He told me that everybody’s going to make mistakes. Rule 1 is to own up to it.” The good news, Steudle continues, is that the goof could be fixed and didn’t cost any money. He keeps a brick from Main Street in Adrian in his office now as a reminder of how to handle an error. “I can’t stand the blame game,” he says. Instead, “fix the problem first” and go on from there.”

6. Interview the Setting

7. The Rights of Interview Subjects • Permission & Consent • Disclosure of Identity • Defamation • Filing a complaint Source: Media Awareness Network (Canada)

8. President Obama’s Lesson about Final Questions http://content.usatoday.com/communities/theoval/post/2011/04/obama-to-reporter-let-me-finish-my-answers-next-time-/1?csp=Dailybriefing