the 6 Basic Types of Media Interviews

the 6 Basic Types of Media Interviews

1. The first step in being a good interview subject is properly preparing for your interview. To do this, you need to know the six basic kinds of media interviews.

   • 1. Meet and greet interview: It is an indication that the reporter wishes to establish a lasting relationship with the source.
   • 3. Background interview: A standard background interview means that a reporter is interested in your knowledge based on his or her area of coverage.
   • 2. Off-the-record interview: Reporters are interested in off-the-record interviews when they are doing initial groundwork for a potential story but don’t yet have enough material to move on.
     • 4. On-the-record interview: On-the-record interviews are the most straightforward. They involve questions the reporter seeks answers to, typically for a specific story, and are pretty much a sure bet for being quoted and visible.
       • 6. Broadcast interview: Broadcast interviews are a different ball game altogether. For television, an interviewee has to think through not only his or her interview responses but also physical appearance, tone and body language.
     • 5. Email interview: Email interviews are actually quite ideal. They involve exchanging questions and answers solely through email communication, so there’s little margin for error and you can control your message completely.