ABSTRACT
It is worth remembering that anyone can refuse to participate in an interview and may instead issue a statement if they think you will not give them a fair hearing, fear they may be humiliated by you or do not want to risk performing badly. Suggesting that the interview is founded on a ‘triangle of trust’ between the interviewer, interviewee and listener, McLeish (2003: 64) asserts that if just one side of the triangle is damaged, then ‘we have lost something of genuine value’. This opinion is supported by industry guidelines advising fair dealing during interviews, and anticipates the controversy over the transparency of news storytelling techniques.
