Polls have repeatedly shown that public trust in the media is dropping. And with major news outlets’ immediate capitulation to President Donald Trump’s whims and tantrums, it’s only going to get worse. This is not to disparage the journalists on the ground trying to do great work, of course—I’ve been a journalist for the last decade and I’ve worked with some amazing people who really care about truth and how their stories affect people.
I’m predicting a rise in citizen journalism. If you’ve ever been interested in joining the ranks of this profitable profession, I’ll be doing occasional pieces to act as sort of a free, miniature J-school. To start with, I’ll be hitting one of the most important topics, the cornerstone of good journalism: the interview.
How to Get an Interview
I’m not going to lie—getting an interview is super daunting in the beginning. This is extra true if, like me and a lot of other writers, you’re an introvert. But I’m here to tell you it’s easier than you expect.
First, it depends on the kind of story you’re writing.
Events/Protests
If you’re writing about an event that you’re at, it’s super simple. Just bring a recording device, go up to attendees and ask things like “Hi, I’m a citizen journalist working on a story about [event]? Do you mind if I ask you a few questions?” If they say no, thank them and move on. Alternately, look for someone who might be a media coordinator for the event, depending on what kind of event it is.
IMPORTANT: If you’re covering a protest, BE SAFE. I would recommend NOT using your phone as a recording device if at all possible. Try to get a stand-alone recorder. If your story is going to be in text, fidelity isn’t super important. You’re not going to be releasing this as an album, so a mini-recorder is usually fine. It can help to invest in a small handheld microphone, and many recorders like this even come with one. You just need to be able to hear the recording well enough to transcribe. If you’re planning to do a podcast or video, however, you’ll want to look for a higher quality microphone, but you won’t need to break the bank on those either.
ALSO IMPORTANT: Regardless of the type of event, it’s important to BE POLITE. Even if a potential interview subject says no, even if they seem hostile, it’s important to thank them. It’s not just about having good manners; people talk. If you’re a jerk, the word will spread that some jackass is pretending to be a reporter to harass folks. Not only will this make your job harder, it makes it harder for other journalists covering the event. This becomes exponentially important if tensions are high.
If the event you’re attending is planned, it’s best to do research beforehand. If it’s a protest, look to see the group organizing it. See if they have a website, and look for a press representative’s email address. If it’s a more fun event, like a rock festival, they’ll almost certainly have publicity director. Go ahead and email them to ask about the possibility of an interview with them or some of the acts. You might also ask for a press pass, which can let you attend the event for free or at reduced price. But if you can’t get one, go ahead and go to the event anyway—you’ll just have to pay full price. Being denied is more common in the beginning, but as you gain readers, it can become easier.
Other Types of Stories
Of course, not every story you may want to write is about an event. Sometimes you’ll want to write about a societal trend or issue where you’ll want to speak to experts. Or maybe you just want to talk to your favorite band, author or other artist! (I’ve done that several times, and it’s almost always super fun.) Whether it’s a serious issue piece or just a spotlight on someone you admire, the process is pretty similar.
Issue-Based Stories
For experts, the best bet is to look for advocacy groups about your topic. For example, for this piece I wrote about protests, I spoke to a representative at the ACLU and one of the founders of the activist group The Transexual Menace. In this case, my editors helped me find contacts due to their connections from working on previous stories. But if you don’t have an editor, don’t worry. Most organizations will have a staff page with email contacts. In that case, look for titles like communications director, public relations, media coordinator—anything along those lines. If worse comes to worse, you can always use the website’s “contact us” form, but honestly, this has a lower success rate. (The rate is not zero, so it’s always worth trying if there’s no more promising options.)
If you need a different type of expert—someone to explain background on a complex issue, for example—a good bet is a professor in the field. If you know a school as a good program in your topic, check the department’s website, and see if there’s a professor handling your specific subject. Even if it’s not clear, the department chair may know which of their profs would be the best for you to talk to.
But even if you’re not sure what school is a good one to reach out to, you can google something like “college professor [topic]”. Even better, however, are collections of experts who put themselves out there to be interviewed by journalists. NYU’s journalism school has a good page of resources, and there are indexes like Qwoted, ExpertFile or Expertise Finder. While some expert indexes might require you to subscribe, there are also free options.
You may also want to email a few experts at a time, just in case—professors are busy (particularly if it’s midterms or finals week), and they might not be able to reply. The worst case scenario is you get multiple interviews from people who can provide different points of view making your story even better!
Entertainment Stories
The idea of talking to someone in your favorite band or your favorite author can be scary, but it’s honestly not as bad as you fear. You definitely won’t reach everyone you want to talk to, but you’ll likely do better than you expect. That said, it’s best to start small; for example, a local band or small author. In other words, “Hi, I have a blog with 4 readers, would Paul McCartney or Stephen King be willing to talk to me?” probably won’t work. (But that’s not to say you shouldn’t try, you never know! Just don’t bet the world on it.)
For a smaller artist, oftentimes you can reach out to them directly via their website or even on social media. I’ve had great success with that—most of the original Kittysneezes interviews were done that way. But if the artist is larger, they’ll likely have a publicist. Publicists are a little harder to find. Some bands, like They Might Be Giants list their publicity company on their “contact us” page. But many bands don’t do this—they might list their booking or management only. Do NOT try the booking email; that’s just for scheduling shows/tours, and an interview request is most likely going to go directly to the trash. Management is a last resort—definitely don’t start there, but they’re better than nothing. Managers have a lot of irons in the fire, and may miss your email.
The best next step is to google “[artist] publicist”, “[artist] publicity” or “[artist] PR representative”. While bands might not say “this firm does our publicity”, the publicity firms will usually tout their roster because they want more clients. Going off our example of TMBG, their publicity is done by Girlie Action Media. If you click through to their site, it gives you a big list of people they represent. If you click through to the band you want, the page will often give the name and email address of the particular person at the firm representing them.
If a publicity firm lists artists, but doesn’t provide a link to the specific publicist handling them, you can always send to the general “contact us” form, but again, this is less likely to work out—always worth a shot, but don’t hold your breath.
When reaching out to a publicist, they’ll often ask if you want to be put on their mailing list—always say yes. It helps to build relationships with publicists, not just because they can help you talk to your favorite band, but they might be able help you talk to OTHER favorite bands on their roster, or even turn you on to a new favorite band. If an up-and-coming band has just joined their roster, they might ask YOU if YOU want to interview THEM! And sometimes publicists move firms; if you’ve got a good relationship with them, they may start emailing you from their new job AND you’ll still be on the list for their old firm. Bonus!
There are for-media resources like IMDB Pro, which provides management and publicity details for most celebrities. The downside is that these resources are often really expensive. It’s better to expend the effort trying to find the info yourself, especially as you’re starting out. And not to be a downer, but if you can only find someone’s contacts via IMDB Pro or another paid service, they’re probably too big for you to try, especially when you’re starting out.
How to Request an Interview Via Email
It’s best to be short, direct and polite. These are busy people, and the quicker you get to the point, the better. If you don’t know where to start, I’ve written a couple of email templates to help get you started. Feel free to change these however you see fit.
Template for Reaching Out to an Expert
Hello [Name — try to use titles when possible, like Dr. Smith or Ms. Jones],
I’m a journalist working on a story about [Topic]. I was wondering if you would be willing to answer some questions for me?
Thank you for your time,
[Your Name]
If you just need some quick information rather than a full interview, you can put them in the email before the signoff, like:
Hello [Name],
I’m a journalist working on a story about [Topic]. I was wondering if you would be willing to answer some questions for me?
- How does X happen?
- What does X mean for society?
- Is there anything else I should know?
Thank you for your time,
[Your Name]
If you’d like to do a full interview, you can tweak the template a bit more:
Hello [Name],
I’m a journalist working on a story about [Topic]. I was wondering if you would be willing to answer some questions for me? Let me know when you’d be available and if you’d prefer Zoom, phone or email.
Thank you for your time,
[Your Name]
Template for Reaching Out to Artists
The template is very similar.
If you’re reaching out to the artist directly:
Hello [Name]!My name’s [NAME], and I’m a journalist. I was writing to see I could do an interview with you. I’m a great fan of your [art/book/music/etc]. I understand you’re very busy, so no worries if you can’t.
Thank you for your time,
[Your Name]
Feel free to add more information about your connection with their work, but keep it brief. They’re busy and they don’t need your life story.
If you’re going via a publicist:
Hello [Name],
I’m a journalist working on a story about [artist]. I was wondering if [artist/anyone from the band] would be willing to answer some questions for me?
Also, I’d love to be put on your mailing list!
Thank you for your time,
[Your Name]
If you’re not sure if you’d be emailing the artist or an assistant or representative, go ahead and use the publicist version. If it is a publicist and you address the artist directly, you can look like a rube; if it’s the artist themselves, it’s a little bit of an ego stroke.
No matter who you’re emailing however, it’s very important to make the subject line very clear. I’ll usually do something like “INTERVIEW REQUEST: [Topic].” Or if it’s a publicist, I’ll go with “[Artist]: Interview Request.” Publicists typically handle a lot of different folks, so it helps them see exactly who you’re asking about at a glance.
Formulating Questions
When you’re doing an interview, it’s important to craft your questions well. Here are a few tips:
- Try not to over explain the question. Sometimes there’s a temptation to give the full context of why you’re asking. Honestly, your subject probably either already knows or doesn’t care. If they ask for more details on what you mean, feel free to explain but don’t start out that way.
- Avoid yes or no questions. While many people will elaborate regardless (“Yes, I did that because…”) it’s not a sure thing. They might just say “Yes” and move on, which doesn’t exactly make for scintillating reading.
- Actively listen and don’t be afraid to deviate from your prepared questions if something needs a followup. This is easier to do in a face-to-face interview, but even in an email interview, you can always reply and ask “Could you tell me more about X?” or “What do you mean by Y?” Try to anticipate readers’ questions while writing your piece.
- Alternately, if an interviewee answers a question you’ve got listed later, don’t ask it again. Sometimes you’ll see interviewers say “oh, and we’ve already covered that” before asking the next question on the list. Try to avoid that too, but don’t sweat it if you do say that. Just don’t ask the question because that says to the interviewee “I didn’t care enough to listen to you the first time.”
- Follow the advice in this very educational song:
- When you’re finished with an interview always always always make your last question something along the lines of “Is there anything else I should know?” or “Is there anything else you’d like to make sure I know?” Sometimes the interviewee will say “no that’s everything,” but if they do have something to say, it’s almost always something that will be essential for your story.
When You’ve Finished Your Story
Make sure to send the link to the subject and their publicist. Especially if it’s an entertainment story, the publicist may share it on their own or the artist’s social media profile. It’s a great way to get more eyes on your piece! And the more eyes on the piece, the more likely some of those people are to stick around and see what else you’ve done! The same is true for issue advocacy organizations. When it comes to experts who might not have a big social media footprint, still share the piece with them when it’s done—it’s just polite!
Something Else You Should Know
Not every interview request is going to be successful, and that’s OK. Many times you won’t even get a response at all. But think of it like buying a lottery ticket. If you’re doing a story about a specific topic, often you can get a good story just from research alone. But if you do get that interview, it’s a great bonus and makes your story all the more valuable to the reader. Even if it’s someone you think is way out of your league, ask anyway. Yeah, nothing will probably happen, but WHAT IF??
There was a line in a Judy Bloom book I read as a kid—I think it was Tales of a Fourth Grade Nothing—where the main character got advice from his grandmother. Her response stuck in my head and became my own personal mantra when it comes to stuff like this. Paraphrasing:
“Go ahead and ask. The worst they can do is kill you.”
Featured Image via WSDOT/Flickr under Creative Commons Licence.