Interviewing for Journalists focuses on the central journalistic skill of how to ask the right questions in the right way. It is a practical and concise guide for all print and online journalists – professionals, students and trainees – who write news stories and features for newspapers, magazines and online publications. In the age of digital journalism, where computer-based research is easily available, this new edition seeks to emphasise the value of getting out there, engaging with people directly and building relationships to create original and meaningful media content.
Interviewing for Journalists highlights the many different approaches to interviewing, from vox pops and press conferences to news interviews and in-depth profiles. This third edition features brand new interviews with some of the most successful journalists in the industry, including Camilla Long of The Sunday Times, Heidi Blake of BuzzFeed UK, Brian Viner of the Daily Mail and award-winning freelance writers Cole Moreton and Stephanie Rafanelli. It covers every stage of interviewing, such as research, fixing interviews, structuring questions, body language, how to get vivid quotes and how to handle challenging interviews.
The third edition of Interviewing for Journalists includes:
- advice on how to carry out face-to-face, telephone and online interviews;
- tips on taking notes, shorthand and recording interviews;
- guidance on dealing with different interviewees, such as celebrities, politicians and vulnerable people;
- interviewing tasks to put your journalistic skills into practice;
- a discussion of ethical and legal issues by Professor Tim Crook of Goldsmiths, University of London.
Acknowledgements; Chapter 1: Introduction; Chapter 2: Communicating and interviewing: the basics (Section 1: How I interview: Camilla Long); Chapter 3: News interviewing (Section 2: How I interview: Justin Davenport); Chapter 4: Planning and preparation (Section 3: How I interview: Sheron Boyle); Chapter 5: The interview itself (Section 4: How I interview: Cole Moreton); Chapter 6: Interviewing techniques (Section 5: How I interview: Susan Grossman); Chapter 7: Vox pops and other interviewing opportunities (Section 6: How I interview: Wendy Holden); Chapter 8: The twenty-first century tools of interviewing (Section 7: How I interview: Brian Viner); Chapter 9: Interviewing by telephone, email, text and Skype (Section 8: How I interview: Heidi Blake); Chapter 10: Interviewing the famous – and infamous (Section 9: How I interview: Stephanie Rafanelli); Chapter 11: How to manage challenging, difficult or sensitive interviews (Section 10: How I interview: Dorothy Lepkowska); Chapter 12: After the interview (Section 11: How I interview: Emma Brockes); Chapter 13: Law and ethics; Recommended books and films; Index
Biography
Emma Lee-Potter is a freelance journalist and editor, as well as a visiting lecturer at the University of Winchester. She trained with Mirror Group Newspapers and later worked as a staff news reporter and feature writer for the Evening Standard, Sunday Express and Today. She has written for The Guardian, The Times, New Statesman, Daily Mail, Daily Express and The Week and was a contributor to the second edition of Interviewing for Journalists. She is the author of four novels.
Tim Crook is Professor of Media and Communication, Head of Media Law and Ethics and Radio at Goldsmiths, University of London. He is also Visiting Professor of Broadcast Journalism at Birmingham City University. He has worked professionally in radio, theatre, television and film as a journalist, producer, playwright, director and sound designer for more than 40 years. Throughout this period he has taught media law and ethics to professional journalists and students at all levels.
‘Chapters 1–5 are really, really useful. They cover just about every situation you can come across in interviewing. Students enjoy learning all the ways of interpreting expressions, positions, words, and so on, and I can use interviews from the internet to illustrate and get the class to video their own interviews and look out for these things… Interviewing for the internet is far too short and needs updating, and the chapter on note-taking and recording is way out of date… It’s actually the only journalism skills book I ask students to buy.’ Judith Clarke, Department of Journalism, Hong Kong Baptist University, China
‘The book is fairly basic, ideal for my first-year students. It sets out the idea of interviewing and goes through various scenarios, telling students not only how to take notes, check quotes etc., but also the personality traits required to do a good interview, such as determination and persistence… It would help to have more first-person scenarios to keep readers’ interest as they read the text, as well as exercises that the reader can do in their own time.’ Wendy Sloane, London Metropolitan, UK
