J333 Writing for Multimedia
The Art of Interviewing
Range
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Full array of responses
Specificity
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Highly precise reports
Dept
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Detailed descriptions
Personal Context
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First person narrative
Why Interview?
Interviewing is a dynamic interaction
Interviewing is a multifaceted practice that
calls on varied skills looking for results

You are the digger and the interview is a digging
tool
Successful interviewing encourages a sense
of empowerment in the participant
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It gives a participant a chance to express his (or
her) experiences and opinions.
When and Where to Interview
When and where to conduct interviews can
be consequential issues in a project.
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When:
 Varies across people and situations
 Find a “protected time” so no outside pressure,
responsibility or distraction interrupts the participant ‘s
focus
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Where:
 Seek space safe from interruptions or the presence of
others who might be listen in

This doesn’t mean behind close doors rather facilitation to
unwanted interactions and distractions
Recording Interviews
Note taking

Can be done anywhere and does not depend on
mechanical devices
 (some people can recall conversations in great detail
with no note taking, i.e. Truman Capote is reputed to
have written up all his interviews for “In Cold Blood”
verbatim from memory.)

Scratch notes versus Headnotes
 Scratch, also called observational notes, are written
within immediate field situation, or soon after leaving it.

Hastily written and include brief notations about actions,
statements, dialogue, objects, or impressions that will be
expanded later in fieldnotes.
 Headnotes are performed when scratch note taking is
not possible.

Focused memories of specific events as well as
impressions and evaluations of an unfolding project. They
are produced through acts of will. Going straight from
headnotes to Fieldnotes.
Recording Interviews
Scratch and Headnotes for Fieldnotes

Fieldnotes
 Shorthand reconstructions of events,
observations, and conversations that took place
in the field
 Describe the field experience

All experiences in the field
 (awkward negotiations with gatekeepers to
teary-eyed farewells)
 Written in chronological sequence
Recording Interviews
Video or audio recording

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Enables us to capture the interview more or less
exactly as it was spoken
No real worry with trying to remember a remark
or missing it all together
Can create self-consciousness from subtle to
pervasive in a participant
 Hyper awareness of the recording device

Can lead to self-censor of participant remarks
Recording Interviews

Can create self-consciousness from subtle to pervasive in a
participant
Can lead to self-censor of participant remarks

How deal with these potential problems?

 Check equipment (batteries and so forth) to make sure
the equipment doesn’t fail and cause a distraction
 Build a friendly rapport
 Listen (active listening)

Finding connections to what has already been said and
seeking for “leads” into a possible unscripted question
 Nondirective Questions

Grand tour question
 Used to understand how an activity or event usually
transpires from start to finish.
 Going on a tour through word-pictures painted by the
participant.
 The participant “educates” you
Questions
Grand tour question
 How an activity or event transpires from start to finish or
how social setting is organized
Mini-tour question
 Goes into more depth about the parts of the larger activity
Memorable-tour question
 Asks the participant to recount a first experience or a
turning-point experience
Example/Experience question
 Goes deeper by soliciting examples/experiences in hopes
that the participant will describe a highly personal, firstperson account.
Timeline question
 Participant discusses events on a line moving from some
point in the past to a point closer to present.
 Good for biography and or history of a social collective
What makes a good interviewer?
•Being pleasant and respectful
•Body language
•Different tone depending on context
•Don’t interrupt interviewee while they are talking
•Have the interviewee paraphrase the question you ask in their
answer
•Understand that different people have different answers to
same question
•It’s ok to be skeptical as in interviewer, so be willing to get
verification if something doesn’t sound right.
•Don’t ask Do or Does questions without a following Why or
Please Explain.
•Don’t just read questions, listen for cues.
•Shoot from the him and ask questions not scripted. This will
generate interesting and unexpected findings even for you.
•Use your questions as template not as checklist
Fieldwork: Going into the field

Idea:
 Grounded in reality

Preproduction:
 Build timeline (script)

Production:
 Interviewing
 Shooting a lot of material because you don’t really know what
you will get

Postproduction:
 Viewing your captured material and piecing together to see
what final story emerges.
Going into the field


Have a point (know your subject)
Think equipment and location
 3 point lighting
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Help people give vivid details when they tell the story
Create a rhythm and flow
Speak conversationally
Have fun!
3-point lighting for Interviews
In class exercise
Go to “The YouTube Reporters Center” and watch
one of the following videos:
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Katie Couric on how to conduct a good interview
Nicholas Kristof on Covering a Global Crisis
Arianna Huffington on Citizen Journalism
Lizzie O’Leary on How to Tell a Story with Numbers
Josh Tyrangiel on Storytelling Across Platforms
Michael Isikoff on How to Get Behind the Story
How to shoot two kinds of interviews
Pulitzer Center: Tips for Video Journalists
Tips from Bob Woodward on Investigative Journalism
NPR’s Scott Simon: How to Tell a Story
Take notes while watching. Once the video is over, use your notes to prepare a
class presentation on what you learned from this video. Provide a hand out with
bullet points describing the video content for everyone in the class (including the
instructor).