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Interviewing

A practical guide for citizen journalists

Types of Interviews: 5 - Experts

When an issue is particularly complex, it will build credibility for your site if you reach out and interview an expert or two to report it accurately or put it in perspective. Or maybe you have so many conflicting opinions in your notes, that a neutral, knowledgeable source can help a reader make some sense of the debate.

Experts can be anyone from a neighborhood activist to an academic to a representative of a community organization.

In this Global Action Project documentary about gentrification in the Bushwick neighborhood of Brooklyn, “Razing NY,” Rick Echevarria, the founder of the Bushwick Housing Independence Project, serves as an expert voice in a piece that focuses on “regular” community members.

Sample script:

“Mr. Robinson, I got your name from one of the members of City Council. I’m having difficulty understanding all the issues around building windmills atop Mount Treetop. Can you spare a couple minutes to map out the key concerns?”

Read our guides to other types of interviews

Newsgathering

Confirmation

Reaction

Person-on-the-street

Adding Balance

Q & A

Advance

In-depth

Gotcha


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