ABSTRACT
Many journalists feel a sense of relief when the interview is over, especially if it has gone well and they've got an excellent story on their hands – perhaps even a scoop. The first thing most journalists do after interviews is check that they've got everything down in their notebooks and/or on their voice recorders. Emma Brockes is an award-winning journalist, always uses a voice recorder and a notebook for interviews. So far she hasn't had any recording disasters – but admits that most journalist friends she knows have. When she gets back to the office she immediately uploads her interview on to her computer and then transcribes it herself. Brockes starts her interviews with 'a really bland, boring question'. One of Brockes's most difficult interviews was with the Australian film star Toni Collette, who, she says, was 'totally monosyllabic and did not honour the transactional nature of these encounters'.
