This research project produced results that reflect the progress of interviews with two respondents. The first participant was Ben Solomon, a well-known director of documentary films and commercials. The second interview focused on the success story of blogger Patricia Bright. Analysis of the interview allows us to assess which items of the participants’ history were given more time and which were not discussed.
It is necessary to distinguish between interviews as a method of collecting information and interview as a genre. Interview as a genre is a broader concept and involves detailed work with the data collected during the interview (Jeppesen 1636). The mission of this project is to analyze interviews to integrate some synthesis between recording a conversation and critically examining what has been said. The common denominator between the two results is the fact that both interviews are personal. As shown in the transcript of the work, the conversation touched upon a whole range of topics, including both the background to the success story and the description of the work process. This genre of an interview does not have the task of obtaining strictly defined information – the mission of the journalist is to form the image of the defendant in the eyes of the reader (Kita 123). It is easy to see that this was achieved more with Solomon: the journalist was able to cover the story more comprehensively from childhood years. Solomon writes that “when I was in high school, I was drawing a lot,” thus creating the ground for the study of the topic of childhood. Later, the respondent will turn several more times to the past when talking about education and childhood friend.
The results obtained during the interview with Bright are less impressive. Indeed, it initially seems that the dialogue with the girl is more productive and concise. However, it turns out that the communication between the journalist and the blogger was superficial and less personal. It is appropriate to point out that the journalist in the interview with the second participant began with an opening question in which he set the tone for the following dialogue: “thank you for answering… I understand you are very busy”. A kind of admission of guilt forced Bright to take a gentler and kinder position, and as a result, the reader got a rather lovely, but little informative work.
Critical analysis of the two obtained results allows us to highlight another extremely significant thought for the journalist. In large works, calculated not for a few minutes of reading, but an hour or even two, the reader’s attention is periodically lost (Jeppesen 1640). Thus, if the beginning of the interview was compelling, there is a risk that the reader will get bored by the middle. To avoid this, it is appropriate to use the most acute and essential questions in the middle of the dialogue. This is also noticeable when working with two participants. The journalist in communication with Solomon in the center asks the question about the professional experience of the director of work with BeyoncĂ©. This is a world-famous singer, so the reader takes a particular interest in this part. The middle interview with Bright is devoted to the blogger’s honesty in advertising. The girl says, “I always think it’s important for me to be honest with my subscribers.” As consumers of goods, readers are interested in the objectivity of the described quality, so this part has heightened interest.
These works were quite short, so it is obvious to expect that not all questions were raised. At the same time, journalists in both cases acted according to a pre-designed plan of issues, which is felt when analyzing the results. In some places, when a correspondent deviates from the topic of a question posed and created a new field for discussion, it would be logical to ask an impromptu question to create a more detailed image.
Questions for the Professor:
- Can the interview consisting of impromptu questions be successful?
- How big a difference can be found between an offline interview and a messenger interview?
Works Cited
Jeppesen, Jørgen. “From interview to transcript to story: Elucidating the construction of journalistic narrative as qualitative research.” The Qualitative Report, vol. 21, no. 9, 2016, pp. 1636-1650.
Kita, MaĹ‚gorzata. “The Interview at the Beginning of Its History. Changes in the Implementations of the Genre.” Folia Litteraria Polonica, vol. 54, no. 3, 2019, pp. 123-136.