What is the importance of interviews?
Inform and entertain
Inform or entertain
Exclusive comments- brand
Promote
Interesting angles- a physical device/ an idea
Segments- tasks, engaging the interviewee
Research- questions
On rare occasions, it can be a conversion (experience)
What are the different types?
In-person, (studio)
Phone/ zoom
Live/ Broadcast
Written
Interviews are a structured conversation between two or more people discussing a chosen topic. The main importance of interviews is to inform or entertain, maybe both. Interviews may be promoting things, maybe include different segments, and have interesting angles. However, what is most sought after in an interview is an exclusive. There are 4 types of interviews: in-person, phone/Zoom, live, and written.
In-person interviews are commonly done in a studio but may also be conducted at any other location that the interviewer and interviewee have agreed on. Most commonly, these interviews are recorded using cameras and sound devices, and then shown on TV or posted on social media sites. However, some in-person interviews may be primarily audio, such as on podcasts, a rising form of in-person interviews. Many in-person interviews will be transcripted and then posted in written form as an article.
An example of a good in-person interview is ‘Are Team Orders A Good Idea? Formula E Drivers Interview Each Other!’ as it has clear questions that the drivers ask each other and has an interesting angle as it is the drivers themselves acting as interviewers. This interview is engaging, fun, and lighthearted, and provides exclusive information about the hidden talents of the drivers, their opinion on team orders, and which celebrity they think they look like. This interview is good as it provides new insight into the private lives of the drivers through their hobbies, interests, TV, and opinions, but it doesn’t cross the line and offend the interviewees or make them uncomfortable.
An example of a bad in-person interview is ‘Robert Downey Jr full interview: star walks out when asked about past’. This is a bad interview as the interviewer makes the interviewee uncomfortable, by asking a personal question about his troubling past with drugs which has no relevance to what the interview is about, Iron Man. The interviewer does this in order to get an exclusive, but this shouldn’t be asked as it has no relevance and harms the interviewee. This interview doesn’t have any distinct interesting angle other than asking about Robert Downey Jr about his past with drugs and his interview with the New York Times about his time in prison, which is against the will of the interviewee.
An alternative to in-person interviews, live or broadcast interviews are less structured than in-person interviews and can be more impulsive and random, for example, a witness of a plane crash may be interviewed at the site. When there is breaking news, journalists may not have time to research and produce questions, so instead ask the interviewee on the spot questions to get their opinion on the event. There can be live studio interviews and location interviews included in broadcasting. A vox pop interview is an example of a live interview, as the interviewer asks questions to random people on the streets to hear their opinion on a subject, but questions may be pre-prepared, it is a short, quick form of a live interview.
An example of a live interview is How Bad Is Bullying In Korea? (feat. The Glory) | Street Interview. This is a street interview, also known as a vox pop, where random people on the street are asked about their opinions on a certain subject, in this case, how bad is the issue of bullying in Korea. This is a good live interview as the interview asks a mixed group of people about their experience with bullying, and is very respectful. Normally vox pops are about subjects that are big in the news after recent events, asking the public about their opinion and getting exclusive information about what different people think. In the case of this street interview, a new Korean drama, The Glory, was released and focused on the issue of school bullying in Korea, depicting the main character getting revenge on her high school bullies. The release of this hit Netflix K-drama re-sparked discussions about the gravity of the problem of bullying in Korean schools.
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