THE INTERVIEW

Karl Stefanovic: Are you a monster?

Anne Hamilton-Byrne: I'm not conscious of what you're saying, I should be conscious of.

Karl Stefanovic: Are you a monster?

Anne Hamilton-Byrne: Certainly not.

Karl Stefanovic: Are you evil?

Anne Hamilton-Byrne: Well, what do you call evil?

Karl Stefanovic: The systematic abuse of children is evil.

Anne Hamilton-Byrne: No.

(Excerpt from 60 Minutes, Channel 9 2009)

If the purpose of this exchange was dramatic television then it could certainly be seen as a successful interview. If, however, the aim was, as for most journalistic interviews, to illicit 'information and insights' (Brady 2004: 1), very little was achieved in this clash. The interview was conducted by Karl Stefanovic for 60 Minutes, questioning alleged cult leader and child abuser Anne Hamilton-Byrne.

Today interviews, particularly those broadcast on television, can attract very large audiences. But what is an interview? Is it a conversation between two people or an exchange in which one person challenges the other, a way of tricking people into revealing facts or an argument in which two opponents are pitted against each other? Is it an opportunity for the interviewee to give a speech, or is a journalist merely a conduit for channelling information from the source to the public? It could easily be argued that interviewing is all of these, and more.

Journalism educator and publishing consultant Professor John Brady states that interviewing is 'a little bit like going on a blind date. It's basically a process of getting to know someone by asking questions and getting answers. In many ways, this is something we've been doing all our lives, and it is usually a very comfortable process.' (Brady 2004: 1).

Today an interview can be anything from a rapid exchange to get a small 'grab' or 'sound bite' (an answer or part of an answer that can be as short as one second for broadcast), to a lengthy feature interview in which the whole exchange — questions and answers — are published or broadcast.

Bashir: Did your relationship go beyond a close friendship?

Diana: Yes it did, yes.

Bashir: Were you unfaithful?

Diana: Yes, I adored him. Yes, I was in love with him. But I was very let down. (PBS 1995).

The two questions and dramatic answers — above — came from one of the most talked-about media interviews of our times. The one-hour interview with the late Diana, Princess of Wales, and BBC1's Martin Bashir broadcast in November 1995 was viewed by millions of people around the world. The Panorama interview was promoted as one in which Princess Diana 'talked openly about her life, her children, her failed marriage, her eating disorders and depression, her husband's relationship with Camilla Parker-Bowles and her own infidelity' (PBS 1995).

A popular definition of interviewing is that it is a conversation with a purpose — to inform, entertain and challenge audiences. The interview is the main way in which journalists collect information for news stories. The better the interview, the better the information and the stronger the story. Inter- viewing is an integral skill for the journalist and one that is difficult to master.

All interviews are different. They may involve trying to elicit opinion or emotion, or just gathering fact. Author of The Electronic Reporter Barbara Alysen makes a distinction whereby 'the tone of the interview will also vary, from hard, to soft, to emotional ... Reporters are also called upon to conduct emotional interviews such as those with the victims of crime or accidents, or their relatives' (Alysen 2000: 130; original emphasis).

Mainstream news media rely on fact and opinion interviewing, and magazine journalism uses human interest interviewing for soft news and feature pieces. On the other hand, newer media formats are rewriting traditional definitions to respond to technology and changes in public taste and consumer patterns.

Fact and opinion interviews relate more to hard news, while the human interest interview is used for soft news or feature pieces. The fact interview usually concentrates on the Who, What, When and Where questions, and is used for print news briefs and broadcast news stories where space and time are limited. The interview for opinion or comment emphasises the Why and How questions, and is more commonly used in longer stories. As Masterton and Patching note: 'A journalist wit is supposed to have said that while the broadcast news reporter chases fire engines, the current affairs reporter is down at the fire station talking to the fire chief about how to improve the service' (Masterton and Patching 1997: 239). The human interest interview also includes fact and opinion questions, but concentrates on the emotions and the soft news angle (as in the interview with Princess Diana).

The Compact Oxford English Dictionary of Current English defines the interview as 'an occasion on which a journalist or broadcaster puts a series of questions to a person of public interest', with its French form entrevue derived from s'entrevoir, 'see each other' (Soanes and Hawker 2008). However, not many interviews are conducted s'entrevoir — face-to-face — today. Tighter deadlines and generally smaller newsrooms have resulted in fewer of these 'meetings'.

Journalists, particularly electronic journalists, are increasingly reliant on telephone interviews, media conferences, doorstop interviews (where you catch someone as they are leaving another appointment), as well as email and satellite interviews. Skype is also rapidly becoming a very popular interview method, with the exchange frequently broadcast for immediate use. This immediacy was demonstrated in the Haiti earthquake reports on Wednesday 13 January 2010, delivered by Haitian radio and television presenter Carel Pedre, which is covered later in the book. One of the few sources of information for journalists, Pedre was linked with Skype interviews shortly after the disaster, while journalists on site faced difficulties broadcasting using satellite technology with no sources of power — except batteries of abandoned cars (according to news reports at the time).

TYPES OF INTERVIEWS

Vox pops

Vox pops (vox populi: voice of the people) are used regularly by print and broadcast journalists and have the benefit of immediacy and spontaneity. Essentially they are street surveys to canvass people's feelings about a person's actions or a topical issue. For instance, numerous vox pops have been conducted on smoking in public and on the popularity of political leaders. The question should be short, easily understood and 'open' (that is, the question should elicit more than a yes/no response). Everyone who is interviewed should be asked the same question to ensure the validity of the...