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| Unsplash - Albert Stoynov |
A friend who is teaching a college course in science communication--writing about science--asked if I could visit to talk about interviewing. I'm glad to do this, recently retiring after a long career in news with AP, print, broadcast and online, nine years as a journalism professor and more recent experience helping run comms for a foundation.
Instead of a lecture and slide deck, I had in mind a relaxed conversation with the class, modeling how a conversation can be effective in setting people at ease and obtaining interesting insights.
As a leave-behind for the students to use later, I offered these links and tips:
The Scientist magazine, profiles
The New York Times Profiles in Science page
Examples of interesting profiles:
The remarkable brain of a carpet cleaner who speaks 24 languages
(From the Indiana University student newspaper)
A Thousand Wishes Each dancer at Nightmoves has a different wish: money, confidence, family
https://www.idsnews.com/article/2022/12/bloomington-nightmoves-thousand-wishes-dancer
Longreads has terrific examples of profile writing in the year-by-year “best-of” lists:
Good interview Tips
Accuracy, honesty…
Most importantly, in anything you write, be truthful and honest. The Society of Professional Journalists, also known as SPJ, has a code of ethics online. I urge you to give it a look.
https://www.spj.org/ethicscode.asp
Some of the key points:
Seek Truth and Report It
Take responsibility for the accuracy of their work. Verify information before releasing it. Use original sources whenever possible. annotate arrow
Provide context. Take special care not to misrepresent or oversimplify
Identify sources clearly. The public is entitled to as much information as possible to judge the reliability and motivations of sources.
Provide access to source material when it is relevant and appropriate.
Label advocacy and commentary. annotate arrow
Never deliberately distort facts or context, including visual information. Clearly label illustrations and re-enactments. annotate arrow
Never plagiarize. Always attribute.
An excellent interviewing how-to from CubReporters.org
Some key points
1. BEFORE INTERVIEW
Before you interview or write the story, think about your goal -- the type of story you want to write, the space you'll have to tell it in, where it'll be published, and who'll be reading it.
Decide what your angle is: What is interesting or unusual about this person? What is this person's story?
All of these things will affect the direction you take with your story (as well as how freely your subject talks with you
Get background info: Do a LexisNexis search for old newspaper articles about your subject and/or do a Google search. Does the person have a personal website or a bio on his company’s website? Ask him to e-mail you his resume.
You may find something interesting in the resume. For example, if you’re interviewing a teacher, you may find that your subject went to private, exclusive, costly schools all her life but has chosen to teach at a very poor school. What inspired this choice? Why is this rewarding for her? Or you may see that she has won awards in soccer in college, and you didn't know she was a former jock. Do your research before you show up!
Talk to people who know them well (friends, coaches, coworkers, mentors, parents, siblings, even enemies). Get the correct spelling of names and their qualifications/titles.
2. SETTING UP INTERVIEW
Assemble Tools: notepad, tape/digital recorder, camera, pens
Test tape recorder
Meet them at place they are comfortable but not too distracted. Meet at time they aren’t too busy
Prepare questions to ask in advance. Group questions into categories.
3. AT INTERVIEW
The point of an interview is to find out what is interesting about the other person and help them get comfortable talking to you so they'll spill the beans and do it in an interesting, quotable, clear way.
The initial interview should focus on making the subject comfortable as well as getting general background information out of the way. The writer should try to make his subject as comfortable as possible. In some situations, the interviews should be held in neutral territory, but for some subjects the interview may go smoother is he is in a familiar atmosphere.
Regardless of where the interview takes place, it should always begin with small talk - develop a rapport with the subject. And once you begin the official interview, start with the easy questions first to get them talking about themselves. Ask them if it’s OK to tape record them for accuracy. Thank them for their time and tell them the purpose of your interview.
Come prepared with several questions, but be let a natural conversation develop. A reporter's biggest mistake is either to go into an interview with no questions or to go into an interview with a list of question and not deviate from the list.
A good reporter begins an interview with a set of questions, but knows when to add impromptu questions that will get a subject to continue on a train of thought if it sounds interesting.
Example: Reporter asks, "What was the goal of the fundraiser'?" Subject answers, "We wanted to make the club look good; no really the goal was to earn enough money to help build a new center for migrant worker education" Instead of skipping to the next question a good reporter follows up on the first part of that answer to find out if there was something behind it. "What did you mean that you wanted to make the club look good'?" the reporter asks next.
Be conversational but let the source do most of the talking. Never supply or suggest an answer. Be patient and wait for it.
Good reporting skills equal good observation and listening skills. If you don’t understand something, ask the person to explain. Underline or circle all names, ideas, etc you’re unsure of so you can double check them.
A good reporter also spends a lot of time looking at the subject as well as the subject’s surroundings. It is a good idea to interview a person in their office, classroom or home if possible because a reporter will always learn more about person by watching him in his environment not yours.
Notice details in the subject's environment, her personal habits, her appearance, etc.: Does she have knitting on a corner of her desk? Does she wear a locket every day; whose picture is inside? Does she have readily visible tattoos; if so, what's the story behind them? Does she roar up to work or school or wherever on a Harley every day, in a Mercedes, or in a hybrid electric/gas car? Does she flinch every time she sees someone toss a bit of trash on the ground?
Closely observing the things a person does and doesn't do, the way the person acts and reacts, what the person surrounds himself/herself with -- these are all clues to what makes the person tick. Pay attention. Ask questions.
Take notes even if you’re recording. Batteries die, tapes get misplaced or stolen, things happen. Your notes will provide a backup and save you time. Reviewing and transcribing your entire interview will take forever. Rather, keep notes, review them and figure out which quotes you want to use. Then go back and listen to the tape to make sure you quote them correctly.
How to Write a Profile Story
A profile story is a portrait of a person in words. Like the best painted portraits, the best profiles capture the character, spirit and style of their subjects. They delve beneath the surface to look at what motivates people, what excites them, what makes them interesting. Good profiles get into the heart of the person and find out what makes them tick.
The problem is that lives are hard to fit into newspaper articles, no matter how much space is allotted for them. Reporters who simply try to cram into a profile all the facts they can come up with inevitably end up with something more like a narrative version of a resume than a journalism story.
Like all other stories, profiles must have an angle, a primary theme. That theme should be introduced in the lead, it should be explored and often it will be returned to at the end of the story. Something of a person’s character, spirit and style will then be revealed through that theme.
Whatever the theme, it takes a thorough understanding of a person’s life to create a revealing sketch of that life. Reporters should spend time with their subjects while they’re doing whatever makes them newsworthy. For example, if you’re writing about a ballerina, try to observe her performing on stage or at least practicing in her dance studio.
Good profiles - and all good journalism stories - show, instead of telling. Use all five senses when you interview someone. What are they wearing? Do they fiddle nervously with their pencil? Is there a chocolate smudge on their shirt? Is their hair stylishly spiked?
Because a profile cannot be complete without quotes - there is no way to write a profile without extensive interviewing. Frequently, more than one interview is necessary unless the writer already knows his subject well Good profiles also contain quotes from people who know the subject of your story well. Spice your story with the words of family, friends, enemies and the subjects themselves.
Finally, good profiles strike the appropriate tone. Think about your profile - is it someone who is involved in a serious issue, like eating disorders? You probably want to be more serious in your tone. Is it someone playful - a comic book artist, perhaps? You can be more playful. But remember - your personal opinion is not appropriate. You are there to merely paint a picture of this person - to let the facts speak for themselves.
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