Interviewing

Solid interviewing skills are a staple of every good journalist’s toolbox. The same skills that distinguish elite journalists from just-OK information deliverers also spawned an industry of entertainment during the 20th century, as news talk show hosts, late night talk show hosts, and morning and afternoon entertainment shows became eponymous because they delivered some of the most iconic interviews of the 20th and 21st centuries. In addition to informing and entertaining audiences, interviewers with an eye toward recording history have applied the interviewing skills to oral histories, capturing the voices and images of people who might otherwise have been lost in the historical milieu. As discussed in this entry, interviewing requires training, an understanding of how to approach different topics and interviewees, knowledge of the ...