The Lost Art of Interviewing

Even the most professional journalist can experience gaffe in the art of interviewing. Take this situation, for instance, This woman journalist is considered one of the best in the field of Philippine broadcast journalism, but during the Oakwood mutiny, while interviewing the residents coming out of the occupied hotel, she asked a stupid question one would not expect to come from her.

“What do you feel, Sir/Ma’am?”

What does a person feel in a terrifying situation like that? The answer is pretty obvious, isn’t it?

Indeed in a tight and tense situation such as Oakwood, where every journalist jostled with one another to get the best quotes from those concerned, it cannot be denied that even a veteran journalist like this woman can sometimes slip in her manner of questioning.

I think a tense situation such as mentioned above provides a venue for journalists to prove our mettle in the art of interviewing.

Conducting interview can indeed be tough especially for a novice. It is easy to point out other’s mistakes, hoping I would learn from them and avoid the same pitfalls, but somehow I find myself sometimes committing the same error. But then, don’t we say practice makes perfect? I believe it is something a journalist masters overtime through constant exposure and hard work.

My first experience in interviewing left much to be desired. Although I obtained much of the information I needed, I think I have not been able to ask other questions that would have mattered most. Of course, I have all my questions written down. I did some background checking also. I was confident I was prepared. After the interview I sorted out my notes. I realized to my chagrin that I have missed many points. I failed to make follow-up questions or clarifications for answers that I did not expect would be said. I had no choice later but to call the person up again for clarification and confirmation.

Being too prepared and feeling overconfident can have more devastating effects than what I have experienced. Juan Mercado of Philippine Daily Inquirer has an interesting anecdote that happened to him in his early years as a journalist while interviewing the late President Marcos on national television one evening. He had earlier received photos of bodies of soldiers killed early that day in Mindanao. During the interview, Mercado says, “Marcos spoke at length on how peace had come to Mindanao. Then, I whipped out the photos, showed them to Marcos – and the nationwide audience. The silence that followed was so thick you could slice it. It was also the last invitation I got to a Palace interview.”

A tough one, indeed!

There are a lot of talk shows and public affairs programs in Philippine television today that make use of interview as a tool to get interesting quotes from news sources. Movie celebrities and politicians are the most sought after interviewees on Philippine television.

In celebrity talk shows questions that are fielded by the program host usually ranges from the most inane to interesting topics depending on who the invited guests are.

Interviews sometimes bring entertainment into news programs especially when it concerns the life of the movie celebrities. Remember the Kris and Joey brouhaha? TV Patrol suddenly became transformed from news to entertainment that evening when Korina Sanchez interviewed Kris on the program.

Most of the interviews done by the journalists nowadays, especially on television news are not really in-depth, considering that newscasts usually run only for thirty minutes and there is much news to report. The news report is accompanied with short interviews with people or officials who can shed light on the issues being reported. But these interviews are so minimal and oftentimes are a repetition only of what has already been reported. I think time also plays a big factor here. For example, in one of its episode, the Insider interviewed General Ermita (the Defense chief), on the allegation that the military was spying on the administration’s political opponents. That interview was done through a phone-patch.

There are two points that are worth noting in that interview. First, the interviewer asked a rather long question that could have been broken down into several simple queries. Long questions tend to confuse interviewees and make them stray away from answering the issues. Second, the interviewer cut the interview short without pursuing the topic in depth. This can only be blamed for lack of time, since there are other news that have to be reported.

Public affairs programs on television have a better opportunity to interview personalities or government officials who can shed light on important issues that are plaguing our nation today. These programs often discuss one or two issues that producers consider important and interesting to TV viewers. Tina Monson Palma is one of the best in this field. She asks her guests probing questions without intimidating them.

Interesting news stories are often results of painstaking interviews done by journalists. A French journalist by the name of Henri Tincq once remarked that empathy is an essential ingredient in interviewing people. News sources open up to journalists whom they perceive to be sincere and can empathize with their situation.

On the other hand, there are reporters who requests for interviews as if it is their right to do so, even with a touch of arrogance, to the point of alienating possible interviewees altogether.

In their eagerness to ferret the truth or to get a quote, reporters sometimes become so insensitive and trampled on people’s right to privacy. There are some situations, like tragedies for example, where I believe journalists should show some respect by not interviewing the suffering person right there on the spot. I am not comfortable with this situation. A person fished out of the ocean after a sea tragedy and here’s an over zealous reporter thrusting a microphone on his face asking for details. Give me a break!

I agree that getting first hand information from victims of tragedies make the story more emphatic. There is drama in it. Any journalist would scramble on the opportunity to be the first to get the interview. However, ethical considerations on this aspect should also be considered. Few years ago, during the rape trial of Congressman Jalosjos, Philippine Daily Inquirer got a lot of flak from readers for revealing the name of the rape victim whom the reporter interviewed for the story. It was an outright violation of the person’s right to privacy. The reporter also had broken the girl’s trust by revealing her true identity to the public.

I believe that earning the trust of the sources is very important. If the sources will see me as a journalist who is sincere enough in wanting to know the truth, and someone who respects them as persons, then they will talk. It’s up to me then to ask the right questions. The questions will depend, however, on what kind of story I am working on, the circumstances and background of the event and persons concerned. It wouldn’t hurt to have stock questions. They always proved useful in case of emergency.

Interviews remain an important aspect of newsgathering. These give credence and add drama to the story. But the interview should be done for what purpose it is – to give more impact to the story, to tell the truth of the matter and to be fair in reporting. It should not become a mere tool for entertainment so as to leave us inadequate and superficial in our understanding of issues.