CONTENTS
HIGHLIGHTS
November, 1995 |
Interviews with family planning program managers, service providers, and clients can make interesting and credible stories. Interviews are particularly important for radio and television, to provide sound and pictures, but print reporters also gather information primarily by talking with people. Reporters usually want to interview people who are directly involved with program activities. The more that you can cooperate with journalists, helping them to meet with program staff and encouraging program staff to make themselves available, the more likely that the resulting stories will be accurate (45). In most cases the public information office is the first place that journalists telephone for information. Many journalists will ask for something in writing (53). As public information officer, you should provide as much information as you can yourself, but do not stretch your own expertise (52). It is best to link journalists directly with experts in your organization—or in other organizations if appropriate—setting up the interviews, providing advance information to the journalist, and preparing the interviewee to answer questions, as necessary. Setting up an interview. Many interviewees, particularly if inexperienced, are fearful and nervous. This is natural because what they say may appear in public in ways that they do not control. Help them prepare. What is the journalist likely to ask? It is acceptable to ask journalists for this information in advance. Most important, interviewees should have two or three "key message points" ready to make—clear, concise summaries of what they want readers or listeners to remember (23). One approach is to follow the "PEW" formula—for "Point, Example, and What it means" (70). That is, in the response briefly summarize the issue raised by the reporter, state how a typical person might be affected, and conclude with an assessment of the impact, a recommendation, or other key message. Since reporters may not ask the questions that elicit precisely the points you want to make, it is a good idea to practice making your points as part of a response to any question. If an interviewee has a few points well prepared and rehearsed, there usually will be an opportunity to make them, whatever questions the reporter asks (23). Some interviewees prepare by holding mock interviews, in which a public information officer poses as the journalist and sometimes tapes and plays back the session for the interviewee. Are the answers complete? Are the points made clearly? Does the interviewee feel comfortable and ready? For on-the-air interviews, interviewees should know who the interviewer will be, what the program is, who is its audience, and whether it will be live or recorded. Will there be questions from a studio audience or over the telephone? For print interviews, the interviewee should be familiar with the publication and its readership and with the journalist's previous work (22). During the interview. Interviews with the news media are an excellent opportunity to establish credibility with reporters and become a trusted source who will be called upon again. At the same time, interviews can be stressful, particularly if the interviewer is trying to lead the discussion into unfamiliar territory or is probing to elicit controversial statements. In a news interview it is important to avoid being pressured or confused by rapid or tough questioning and to make the points that you want to make. Radio and television interviews pose particular challenges. In a radio or television interview, it is vital to keep your responses short and to the point (see Talk shows and interviews in Chapter 6.1). When an interview is taped, it also is important to stick to the points you want to make. Some interviewers keep repeating questions in different ways to elicit a certain response, or your comments may be spliced together later and the interviewer's questions added (23). The more you provide short, precise answers, the more certain that what you intended to say will be used. When being interviewed by a print reporter, you can provide longer answers than on radio or television, and you can go into supporting details and background information. It is wise to be careful about your answers, however, and avoid saying anything that you do not want to appear in the newspaper. Anything that you say could appear in the story, even if you tell the journalist that it is "off the record"—that is, not to be used (see sidebar, Going Off the Record). Here are some tips on how to give a constructive interview:
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