Conducting media interviews
Informing media coverage of an issue is a powerful public communications technique.
The best way to influence coverage is to inform the reporting process through interviews. If you are contacted by a news reporter or producer, follow these steps as you prepare for the interview:
Ask questions before the interview:
- What outlet is the reporter calling from?
- What do you know about the outlet?
- What information does the reporter hope to get from interviewing you? Is this information you have?
- In the case of radio or television, will the interview be live or taped? How long will the interview be?
- How well does the reporter understand the subject matter? How much “educating” of the reporter will you need to do?
Never do the interview cold:
- Arrange a time to call the report back for the actual interview. That gives you time to collect any information you may need during the interview and to gather your thoughts.
- Call back as soon as possible. All reporters have deadlines.
- Think about what you want to accomplish during this interview. What do you want people to remember as the take-away message after reading or hearing the resulting news piece?
- Create an outline of talking points for use during your interview. Your outline should include the 2-4 major message points you want to be included in the reporting. Make sure they are brief: The average quote used in news reporting is eight to ten words!
Be brief and succinct:
- Media reports are short summaries of current events. To be an effective part of the news collection process, you also need to summarize.
Speak in language your neighbor would understand:
- Remember that when you're doing news media interviews, you are speaking to the general public--not your colleagues. Speak in plain English and avoid too much psychology jargon.
- Be accurate about the science, but do so in language that your neighbor would understand.