WRITING THE INTERVIEW

Two-thirds of all news stories in print are produce through interviews.

The reporter is not always present in the scene of an event-a fire, a plane crash, a
scientific experiment going on or in a policy-making assembly so that he has to get most of his
acts by asking questions from eyewitnesses or from participants.
Interview Defined
An interview is an art of asking questions to obtain information. But technically
speaking, it is asking questions to obtain opinions, ideas, or special information on topics of
interest to the general public from a prominent person or from a recognized authority.
Kinds of Interview
There are different kinds of interview. These are the:
Informative Interview- is conducted to obtain some information from a person
responsible for a new idea. He may have made news or participated in a news event like
witnessing an airplane crash or discovering a new cure for cholera.
Opinion Interview- is conducted to obtain opinion. What does the source think, for
example, of the proposed autonomous form of government, or of the Revolutionary form
of government?
Feature Interview- is the group interview of which there are two types: the inquiring
reporter type and the symposium type.
The inquiring reporter type- the reporter asks the same question from interviews
he selects at random.
The symposium type- the reporter asks one question or related question from
specialist in a given field.
The Easy Method
Interviewing is not just a matter of hoping for the best. The reporter should have some
advance preparations. It would be unethical and unprofessional for him to rush into an office
brandishing a notebook in the air without first making an appointment in advance. He should
arrange the time and the place convenient to the interviewee.
Before meeting with his subject, the reporter should understand exactly the assignment
given to him by his editor. He should select definite and limited subjects or topics of interest to
the readers.
To make the conversation lively, the reporter should know beforehand about his subject,
his position, accomplishments, personality, etc. As much as possible, he should ask thought
provoking questions.

During the interview proper, the reporter should be alert to new unexpected angles of the
topic that usually pp up. If this happens, he should be ready to forego prepared questions if he
can obtain a better story on another topic that presents itself unexpectedly.
General questions should be avoided. Questions should be definite and specific. Also for
better results, the interview should be kept o a conversational basis.
The story should be written right away after the interview. But before this, the reporter
should first determine what kind of interview he has to write: Informative? Opinion? Feature? Or
a combination of these?
Dos and Donts in Conducting an Interview
A. Dos
1. Know your subjecct thoroughly and jot down exactly what questions you want clarified.
2. Know your interviewee-his hobbies, strenghts, opinion on the topic, achivements, even
weaknesses.
3. Make an appoinmment and be there ahead of time. Be prepared to listen, and take brief
notes when available.
4. Introduce yourself again even if you have an appointment. Always be courteous in
requesting clarifications, and be friendly and greatful for concessions like the repetition
of an explanation you are getting down verbatim, and for being allowed to tape his
explanation, etc.
5. Offer show him your write-up before its publication.
6. Respect "off the record" comments.7
B. Donts
1. Never demand. Request and say Thank you.
2. Don't meet unfavorably to whatever he is saying. Even when asked, be neutral if you
cannot honestly agree with him. Remember, you will write down his answers, not your
ideas.
3. Don't hesitate to request repetition or clarification of anything not fully understood.
4. Don't take down everything, abbrebriate long words and use only key words for main
ideas.
5. Don't overstay.
6. Don't postpone writing your notes. Do so as soon as you get out of the interview room.
Guidelines to Observe During the Interview
1. Be interested in what your subject has to say. Show it. Give him importance. Donlt
interupt while he is taking.
2. Don't talk too much yourself.
3. Positive questions are preferred to negative or ranmbling questions.
4. Take notes unobstrusively.

5. Get your subjectls name correctly spelled, his middle initial, his address, age,
occupations, etc. - anything that is relevant to your story.
6. Show your quotes even the whole repport in proofs on a technical subject-but do not
promise to.
Guidelines to Observe in Writing the Interview
1. Correct all grammatical errors and awkward sentences made by the interviewee unless
they are necessary to reveal his personality. In doing this don't change the interviewee's
meaning.
2. Make the quote clear and compact.
3. Avoid any reference to yourself unless needed.
4. To avoid monotony, don't use "he said" many times. Use synonyms of "said" like
remarked, stated, concluded, stressed, etc.
5. Use noun substitute like "the speaker," "the principal," etc., to avoid overworking the
intrviewee's name.7