Interviewing 101 for Student Journalists

Quotes are a foundational aspect of any newspaper article.

As veteran journalist Dean Nelson once said, "asking good questions keeps us from living in our own echo chambers."

Providing an opportunity for the right people to share their experience or expertise will help to make a story more relatable and more applicable to the audience. Asking them in the right way can make sure that a journalist does not project their perceptions on to their subjects and makes it more likely that they answer honestly.

However, it can often be difficult to find the right people to talk to.

Student journalists, first of all, need to realize they are at a disadvantage. Many of the stories they cover might also be taken up by local or national news, who can typically offer quicker turnaround for publication to a much wider audience.

Nevertheless, the student journalist has a major advantage - easy access to the perspective of their audience, which will largely consist of other students and faculty members. This makes it much easier to show why a story might matter to them.

Now, it took years for a veteran journalist like Nelson to master the art of interviewing. What, then, can a student journalist do to make the most out of their interviewee's time?

The set-up process comes first.

The student journalist should always have interview questions prepped in advance. Whether their interview is in-person, via Zoom, over the phone, or via email (please, no text interviews), it is absolutely vital that they are able to stay on track with their interviewee to get the information they need for their article. If they veer too off track, they might find themselves with enough content for three more articles and not enough time to write them.

However, they should also have enough background in the subject matter to ask compelling follow-up questions if the opportunity presents itself. Often these follow-up questions can reveal new information or leads that will provide direction for the rest of the article and make it more interesting. This is especially important in audio interviews.

In broadcast media, silence is a powerful tool as well - interviewees dread awkward pauses, so will often continue speaking to fill up any void.

Now, for the student journalist, it is important to get the consent of the interviewee to record them. Recordings are necessary to make sure they accurately quote the subject and have proof if a quote is later disputed.

Student journalists should also make sure to manage their time, so they are able to complete interviews before their deadlines. If a contact has not been previously established, it might take weeks for a faculty member or community member to respond to email requests for an interview.

Faculty members are often busy and must be followed up with multiple times to get a response.

Sometimes, student journalists will need to have other people lined up to interview in case one does not work out. They must be prepared to be flexible.

Just before the interview, student journalists should ask, "do you mind if I record our interview for my own reference later when writing the story," even if they do not plan on releasing the audio. This can be an awkward question, but certainly not any more awkward than taking a laptop into the interview and writing a live transcript of the entire conversation.

Recording is not usually an issue with most people, as they understand it is necessary to be quoted correctly.

Student journalists can record a Zoom call using the record button and can record an in-person interview with the voice memo app on their smartphone.

Good questions will make good quotes.

They should avoid yes or no questions. Instead, they should ask in-depth questions their interviewees will need to elaborate on. For example, instead of asking "who do you think will win the election?" one can ask, "what do you predict the outcome of the election will be and why?"

There are a few things the student journalist should consider when writing questions:

• What can this source add to my story?
• Is there any insight they can give that I cannot get from anyone else?
• What does the reader need to know from this source?

There is no need to quote people sharing easily accessible information. Instead, they can simply state the information and hyperlink a reliable online source.

One of the best ways to end a story is on what is referred to as a "kicker quote."

A student journalist may not always be able to end their story on a quote and sometimes they might not get good quotes at all from their sources.?Some interviewees may not give the best quotable content even when they are asked good questions, and that is okay.

Student journalists can talk to their editors, who will often be able to help them find new sources and/or rework their story with the information and quotes they have.

Jacob Stewart is a junior majoring in neuroscience at IUPUI, and the campus editor of The Campus Citizen.

Katie Wiseman is a senior majoring in journalism and minoring in Spanish at IUPUI, and the editor-in-chief of The Campus Citizen.