CHAPTER 15
RADIO AND TELEVISION INTERVIEWING
One of the most difficult tasks you will encounter
as a Navy journalist is serving as a radio and television
interviewer. In the space of a few minutes, an
interviewer must draw out answers and reveal the
attitudes of an interviewee that would normally take
hours or even days of ordinary conversation. He must
do it with various types of people, in front of cameras,
under hot lights and in front of microphones.
As a broadcaster serving at an NBS detachment or
aboard a SITE-equipped ship, you will conduct a wide
variety of radio and television interviews. Your
interview subjects maybe from within the command —
for example, PN1(AW) Ellaverc, the command Sailor
of the Year; Lt. Cmdr. Bilge, the newly reported chief
engineer and former Miami Dolphins special teams
player; or SA Maru, the mess cook who rescued a
drowning youngster from a public swimming pool.
Conversely, you may be asked to interview music and
motion picture stars, politicians, community leaders and
coaches of youth sports teams.
Regardless of the importance or prominence of the
subject, you must not forget to take the following three
actions to make every radio and television interview a
success:
. Extract the facts
. Emphasize the important details
l Keep the audience informed
TYPES OF INTERVIEWS
LEARNING OBJECTIVE: Identify the most
common types of radio and television
interviews.
With few exceptions, interviews for radio and
television are generally in one of the following three
categories which are covered in the succeeding text:
l Opinion
l Information
l Personality
OPINION INTERVIEWS
While personal opinions may surface in other forms
of interviewing, the thoughts or opinions (whether right
or wrong) of the interviewee are in the spotlight in this
type of interview.
The opinion interview is usually applied in
broadcasting to support expanded news formats. A
common form of this type of interview is the “man on
the street” interview. The broadcaster stations himself
in a busy public area and stops individuals to ask a
question on a specific issue. Your station manager might
send you out to ask for opinions or comments on a
radical new fashion or fad, the completion of a
commissary or base exchange, the outcome of a sporting
event or countless other situations.
Commercial stations usually ask a question dealing
with a highly controversial issue. However, policy
dictates that NBS detachments and other military
broadcast outlets refrain from posing questions that
would adversely affect the morale of U.S. personnel or
serve to undermine the commander’s authority. Check
with your supervisor or the PAO if you plan to do this
type of interview.
When you use the opinion interview, avoid the
“stacked deck” method of gathering data — that is, do
not seek comments from one particular group of people.
Gather your responses from young and old, male and
female and people of various ethnic backgrounds. This
will give your completed program credibility.
In addition, do not ask a “loaded” question during
an opinion interview. Note the following example:
Example: “Excuse me sir, don’t you think the new
commissary is being constructed in an inaccessible
location?”
Such a question leads the interviewee toward a
particular response. In the preceding example, chances
are very good the interviewee will respond with a yes
answer. (Formulating interview questions will be
covered later in this chapter.)
Before you conduct an opinion interview, prepare
your questions in advance and make sure you research
the topic thoroughly. The audience does not expect the
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