PREPARED QUESTION INTERVIEW. - When direct person-to-person questioning cannot be arranged with an important news source, journalists occasionally resort to giving that source a set of prepared questions to which a reply is requested. More often than not, however, the questions go unheeded. When the journalist does get a reply, a major news story generally results.

In every interview assignment, the journalist's objective is always the same - to ferret out as much news, details, significance and color about a personality or event as possible. The success of the story depends on the quantity and quality of the information gleaned from the interview and the journalist's sense of news values and writing ability.

Interview Tips

The manner in which you prepare for conducting interviews can often determine the successor future of those projects. What follows are 10 tips on handling interview assignments that should prove useful to you.

1. Know what you want. Whether you are interviewing someone for a hard news story or you are on an assignment for a feature, remember you are the one who will have to write the story. This means that you must bear in mind the essence of the story you are after or the angle you want to develop. If you are covering afire, what are the things you should find out? They will include whether anyone was hurt, the extent of the damage, the cause of the fire, how it was discovered, which fire stations responded, how long it took to put out the blaze and many other facts.

The same kind of analysis must be applied to all stories. This will guide you in your questioning, and most important, in your search for details. Learn how to dig for facts. Be alert, interested and curious. Details are more vivid than generalities. For example, if your subject casually mentions he was the editor of a college newspaper, find out the name of the college and when the position was held. These are simple, natural questions that will come to the minds of some of your readers; do not leave them unsatisfied. Every story is unique. It will differ from others in many details. Unless you know what to look for and how to get it through proper questioning, your story will be incomplete.

2. Prepare for the interview. Whenever possible, particularly on a feature assignment, lookup your subject's background. From news clippings or from reference works like Who's Who, try to determine beforehand any views the individual may have on the topic of your interview. Ignorance of an important person's biography and work may seem insulting to the individual concerned, and you may lose the person's cooperation. However, you should never try to impress the interviewee with your knowledge of the individual's own subject.

3. Plan your questions. This does not mean you should read them formally or present them in an artificial manner. Conduct your conversation in a natural, informal fashion. Always keep your questions in mind and try to guide the conversation along lines that will give you a story with substance. Planned questions, jotted down on a pad in front of you, are particularly valuable when you interview someone by using the telephone. At the same time, be receptive to a new angle that may arise and may be better than the one you had originally planned.

4. Be careful about taking notes. Some interviewers write everything; others write hardly a word. Some subjects become uncomfortable in the presence of a reporter transcribing every word they say and at the prospect of having their names appear in the paper. Other interviewees prefer to have their words written down to avoid being misquoted. In general, you will probably remember most of the conversation if you write the story while it is still fresh in your mind. Details, such as names, dates, statistics, key words and distinctive phrases, should, of course, be jotted down on the spot.

If you have access to a small, portable tape recorder, by all means use it. Some subjects may be uncomfortable in the presence of a tape recorder, but most will not. Try to use a tape recorder with a built-in microphone. This will avoid the sometimes awkward practice of holding a hand microphone to the interviewee's face.

5. Know your subject. Some people need to be flattered; others cajoled. Some are naturally shy; others will talk a blue streak. Evaluate your interviewee and guide yourself accordingly. The majority of people will react favorably to a straightforward, factual approach and will not be impressed by arrogance or excessive humility. Only courtesy, intelligent curiosity, a sincere desire to be natural and a knowledge of what you are after will help you come away from an interview with a newsworthy story.

These are major principles that can be applied in nearly all interviews. However, as previously mentioned, alert and resourceful journalists must be ready to vary their techniques depending on the temperament and views of the interviewee, the nature of the story and the dictates of circumstances.

6. Be specific. A question like "Anything new?" will, in most cases, bring forth very little information because the average layman knows little about what is of news value. Ask direct and leading questions.

7. Be accurate. The smallest error can cause embarrassment and even a libel suit. Do not be afraid to ask questions and to check facts. When you interview someone by using the telephone, one letter can easily be mistaken for another. Therefore, spell out names by using phonetic aids. Spell it: "S-M-I-T-H. S as in SIERRA, M as in MIKE. . .." (Of course, make sure it is "Smith" and not "Smythe.") People dislike having their names misspelled. Also, obtain the complete and correct addresses of people in a story.

8. Look for color. In personality features, particularly, an apt word or phrase describing your subject's appearance or mannerisms will help your readers "see" the person. Here is a helpful suggestion: As you conduct the interview, try to think of words that would best describe your subject in a nutshell. In some stories, a reference to a person's movements, gestures, way of talking and his or her surroundings may give a better picture of that individual. Often, you will be able to make some comparison in terms of a figure or object familiar to your readers, but be careful not to offend the interviewee.

9. Do not talk too much. You are interviewing someone to get information, not to demonstrate how smart you are. At the start, you may need to lead the conversation along general lines to put the interviewee at ease and to get around to your subject. But after that, be self-effacing. On occasion, you may have to play dumb; then assume nothing and ask everything. Be conscious of time; do not waste. yours or the interviewees. Occasionally, a time limit is imposed on an interview. When time is limited, you will have to arrange your questions in order of importance. Although the relationship between you and your subject should be informal, remember that the nature of your call is business, not social.

10. Remember your sense of humor. This may break the initial ice or even save your interview if the interviewee has a negative attitude.

One final thought - the best kind of interview is one that proceeds in a friendly, natural, informal way. There was a time when some news people thought little of using deception or impersonation to get the information they wanted. Respectable newspapers and other media frown on these practices today.

Additional information on interviews maybe found in Chapter 15 (Radio and Television Interviewing).