How to Interview Someone for a News Article

Sure, there's a lot of attention devoted to how to ace an interview when you're the interviewee. But what if you're on the other side of the equation? Here's how to conduct an interview for a news article.

Difficulty: Moderate

Instructions

Things You'll Need:

• notepad
• pen or pencil
• tape recorder (optional)

1. Determine why you are conducting the interview. Do you need information from an expert? Do you want an official's commentary on an issue? Use the answers to these questions to determine who you will interview.

2. Compile a list of questions you want to ask your interviewee. Not only will these keep the interview moving, but they can be used to guide your news article once you sit down to write it.

3. Make the approach. Call the person, introduce yourself and tell the person why you want to interview him or her. For a man-on-the street interview, make your introduction concise so people don't get confused or scared off. Don't get discouraged if some people refuse to talk to you; a journalist with a notepad can be intimidating.

4. Ask questions from your list, but don't be afraid to go off-script. Make sure you're listening to your interviewee's answers so you can ask follow-up questions about something he or she said. Ask for clarification if his or her answer did not make sense. If the person is evading the question, try asking it in a different way.

5. Record the interviewee's answers as accurately as possible. Use shorthand if you can. In your notes, be sure to distinguish between what you are paraphrasing and what you are quoting directly (quotation marks around a sentence work well). If you want to take something down as a direct quote but the person is talking too fast, ask him or her to repeat himself or herself more slowly. A voice recorder can ensure accuracy, but you'll have nothing if it malfunctions, so take notes as a backup.

6. Get the correct spelling of the interviewee's name, and get his or her correct title. When looking over your notes after an interview, call if there is anything you are unsure of or if there are questions you forgot to ask.

Tips & Warnings

• Start the interview off right by being on time and giving a firm handshake if the situation warrants.
• For a man-on-the-street interview, smile and be friendly so that people will open up to you.
• Save the toughest or most controversial questions for the end of the interview. This way, you've gotten most of your information and you won't go away empty-handed if the person clams up.
• Misquoting people or misconstruing their meaning is journalistic suicide. Do not use something as a quotation unless you are 100 percent sure the person said it word for word. Never bend a person's words to suit the needs of your article.
• Respect information given to you "off the record." The surest way to lose someone's trust is to splash something he or she told you in confidence all over the newspaper.