Week 3 - Interviewing and Power

TAKING TO THE STREETS: Opinion banners displayed as part of the Auckland Pride Parade. (Photo: Danielle Hutchinson).

This week focused on the importance of preparation for interviews, otherwise the ‘talent’ may take the opportunity to give a rehearsed speech. Hill advises journalists to ‘always remember you are steering the ship’ (cited in Sedorkin and Forbes, 2023).

As a student journalist, this power dynamic becomes more apparent, such as when I have interviewed business directors and politicians who perceive themselves to have greater social hierarchy.

For example, the Director of Falmouth Book Festival wanted to paint his new venture in a positive light, whereas I was interested in the nitty gritty of preparing for a young festival trying to make it onto the literary stage.

This left me with material extraneous to the story, yet it was a useful lesson in when to allow the talent to talk and when to direct them back to a question.

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References

Sedorkin, G. and Forbes, A. (2023). The Interview. Interviewing: A guide for journalists and professional writers (2nd edn.). (pp. 1-15). Routledge.