How can journalists make the most of the interviews that they do? And how can interviewees protect themselves from being misquoted? I’ve been thinking about both of these questions for some time and was delighted when an excellent opportunity presented itself for testing a potential answer. A few weeks ago, Zoe Corbyn asked to interview me about science journalism and blogging for a feature she was writing for the Times Higher Education Supplement. I agreed and suggested that we try a little experiment: I would record the interview myself, transcribe it and post it here to coincide with her piece. As a journalist, I’ve done this on past features, as has Mark Henderson. Others have supported the practice for many reasons:
It allows you to get more value out of work that’s already been done. Interviews can be lengthy affairs that condense into a few brief quotes in a final feature. Indeed, Zoe's piece has just one or two sentences from me (right at the very end) and as you can see here, we talked for about 20 minutes.
Everyone’s readers get a little something extra, a chance to delve into a topic beyond the realms of the feature just like the extras on a DVD give you the chance to look at the making of a film.
It gives readers a chance to see how much work goes into crafting a feature.
It improves transparency, an argument that people like Julian Assange have used.
