Preparing for print and on-camera interviews

Print interviews

• Involve many steps and people to final article (journalist, editor, section editor, copy editor, etc.)
• Process can seem like broken telephone, so there is always a chance of misunderstanding and misinterpretation
• Best strategy for this interview is Pause, Answer, Stop (PAS), trying to keep answers to under 10 words.  This allows the journalist to ask more questions in a shorter period of time and zero in on info they deem to be important.
• Can use Pause, Answer, Waive in one message, Stop (PAWS), but should be used very judiciously (ie. 95% PAS, 5% PAWS).
• There is less of a chance of being quoted out of context if the journalist controls the interview and clearly understands what you’re speaking about at all times

Taped on-camera interviews

Involves you speaking directly to the media’s audience, so there’s less filter and broken telephone

Need to be more aware of the interview’s technical needs:

• Restate the question so that the segment is easy to edit.
• Unless otherwise directed look at the reporter, not into the camera
• Choose a backdrop that appropriately reflects your topic and is visually interesting (Toronto Met backdrop, if possible)
• Dress in solid colours, avoiding white and black if possible. Be aware of the microphone and avoid chunky and/or loud jewellery. Bold patterns will skew on camera.
• Provide sound bites when possible:
• Pause, repeat question, answer, weave in a message, stop.
• Answers and messages should be 10 to 20 seconds

Live interviews

A live interview is a Q and A between you and a journalist with little or no editing

• Usually these don’t involve very tough questions, it’s more conversational
• If you receive questions in advance, don’t write out your answers or else you could come off sounding stiff or scripted
• In general, answers can be longer if during a live interview, as it’s a conversation between you and the journalist
• A double ender or a live remote is a live interview where the journalist is speaking to you from a remote location via a wearable earpiece. Those interviews usually involve you looking directly into the camera when answering questions. Be aware of a time delay between your responses and the journalist’s questions. Make sure to test the earpiece to ensure you can hear properly before the interview begins.