ABSTRACT
Asking questions is what journalists do, but too often their questions are poorly planned and executed. Sometimes the journalist may be unprepared for an interview, or talk more in the interview than the subject does. Chapter 5 provides young journalists with advice from master interviewers such as Terry Gross, the host of NPR’s Fresh Air, and award-winning author Studs Terkel, as well as insights from investigative journalist John Sawatsky about how to make every question count. It also draws distinctions between contentious interviews and interviews that are more casual and conversational. Both, however, require great preparation and a willingness to ask probing questions to produce stories that are new and enlightening.
