ABSTRACT
In an interview on a conservative blog, Sarah Palin described many of the questions as cheap shots and said she was surprised at how journalism ethics had changed since her college days. The successful interview, John Sawatsky’s determined, depends more on the question-asker than on the answer-giver. Unprepared journalists improvise their interviews and find themselves at the mercy of their subjects. Studs Terkel’s conversational interview skills were, of course, honed over decades of talking and listening to people about the things important to them. Sometimes reporters will be faced with a difficult interview, someone who is at the top of her game and dead-set on keeping reporters from finding out what reporters want to know. According to Sawatsky a good interview is built on the answers that the subject gives, not just on the prepared questions. Always remember reporter’s goals as a journalist, in the interviews reporters conduct and the stories reporters write and produce.
