Interviewing

A practical guide for citizen journalists

Why interview?

Chapters

Developed by Angie Chuang and Lynne Perri, American University School of Communication

Watch what works

'Make sources
feel like friends'

In this video clip, Alyssa Katz of The Eminent Domain gives her favorite interviewing tip.

Note: This video is in Quicktime format, and will play on a PC or a Mac. You can download Quicktime here if you need it.

Interviewing tools

What to do before, during and after an interview

There is no formula for a perfect interview. Think of this chapter as a toolbox -- an array of ideas that might help you develop good interviewing shells. You don't have to use every idea, but it's good to know what you have at your disposal.

The interview process

Use these tips to walk through an interview, step by step.

Below you will find:

• Things to try before, during and after the interview.

• Tips for researching your story idea.

• Tips for handling direct quotes.

Interviews can be thought of as a three-step process. Before you start asking questions or attend a meeting with the hope of talking to someone, think about how to go about it and do your research.

During the interview -- whether it lasts a minute or half an hour -- think about how to make people comfortable.

After the interview, think about how to condense what you just learned. There are various ways to write and edit what you know -- and, yes, you can edit a conversation or paraphrase what you learn from someone else.

Draw on what you know already. Citizen journalists know their communities better than anyone, says Kristofer Ríos, who conducts training in English and Spanish for People's Production House in New York City.

More helpful tips
on doing interviews

"The thing we tell our students is that we're really the experts," Ríos says. "We come from these communities."

Draw upon your own knowledge to ask the questions that you, your neighbors and friends want answered about your community. Don't overthink it. Sometimes the simplest inquiry about the world around us -- What's happening at that construction site on the corner? -- unearths the most useful story.

"We're not doing rocket science," Ríos says. "This is stuff we know."