Journalists Have Needs Too – Interview Prep
January 4, 2007 by Eric Eggertson
Filed under Marketing
Interview Prep Series – Part 1
Preparing for an interview is important, both for the journalist and the person being interviewed.
Don’t get so focused on what you want to get out of the interview that you don’t consider what the journalist wants (or needs). A good publicist or PR person will do the advance work to equip you.
Many reporters are willing to share in advance the general focus of the piece they’re working on, and what they hope to get from you. That doesn’t mean they’ll submit written questions in advance, but it means you can spend some time confirming facts, conferring with colleagues about a project’s status, and deciding the main point(s) you want to get across.
If you or your PR counsel aren’t familiar with this reporter or their publication/show, do some quick research to determine their style, the way they approach topics, and the kind of details they focus on. Knowing how they have handled other stories will help you determine the right response.
What is the reporter hoping for? If it’s in line with the messages and image you want to project, great. Develop simple, clear ways to give them the quotes, visuals or the interview experience that they’re looking for. They don’t have time for long, drawn out explanations that can’t be easily paraphrased.
The groundwork you do now may benefit you later, when the journalist is looking for a credible source for a story.
In my next instalment on The Interview Prep series, I’ll talk about adversarial interviews.
Wrestling action figure photo by Gregg O’Connell.
Tags: interviews, journalism, journalists, media, on message, pr, public relations, tips
