Serena Carpenter, Anthony Cepak & Zhao Peng, all of Michigan State University, investigated the rarely studied topic of interviewing. Researchers interviewed nine experienced journalists and eleven journalism educators in the United States.
The results show the potential complexity of interactions that occur during interviews. The study presents 10 possible journalistic interviewing competencies:
- listening
- interaction management
- research
- empathy
- articulation
- self-presentation
- verification
- news judgment
- observation
- and open-mindedness.
Listening and interaction management were mentioned by all of the respondents as qualities for a good interviewer. The results suggest a need for greater empirical and educational focus on the art of interviewing.
The article “An Exploration of the Complexity of Journalistic Interviewing Competencies” was published in Journalism Studies and is available online (free abstract).
Picture: interview by glasseyeview, license CC BY-SA 2.0, Untitled by StartupStockPhotos, license CC0 1.0 & Microphone by Fotocitizen, license CC0 1.0