Comments on: Weekend Discussion: Where do You Find Interview Subjects?

By: Leigh

Leigh — Wed, 15 Aug 2007 15:21:08 +0000

I actually had a reporter from NPR’s Marketplace Money find me on Craigslist! She put up a post in the self-employment forum with her contact info and, because I met the profile of someone she wanted to speak with, I responded. She interviewed me at my office after work one evening.

I’ve never had to interview anyone, but I’d like to start doing it. I imagine I’d prefer e-mail interviews because then I would not have to worry about hearing something wrong and misquoting someone.

By: allison landa

allison landa — Thu, 28 Jun 2007 09:37:12 +0000

Email interviews are great because:

- They give the respondent a chance to give you his/her answers in their own time frame
- They give you an accurate record of what was and what was not said (can be very important!)
- They help to avoid phone tag.

I tend to ask interview subjects their preference, then go with that.

By: lauren

lauren — Thu, 28 Jun 2007 09:36:55 +0000

I’m happy to know that email interviews are so accepted…I’m not the greatest phone person and always have to give myself a little pep talk . If only subjects took their email answers as seriously as I do….

http://www.catalogs.com

By: susan

susan — Thu, 28 Jun 2007 09:36:40 +0000

Patrizia, I would find a back-up source for the original topic. I’m having to do the same thing for an article I’m writing. What a pain!

By: patrizia

patrizia — Thu, 28 Jun 2007 09:36:19 +0000

I hadn’t heard of ProfNet. Thanks for the tip. I had been doing what you suggested in any case. I search for websites under the topic I’m interested in and then contact people who appear to have the knowledge I seek. Since I live in Tokyo, email works best for me and the accuracy of quotations certainly is a plus. I’ve always thought of the convenience on their end as well. They can reply when they have time. It can be hard to catch some people on the phone.

Now what do you do when someone doesn’t email back? I’m in this situation now and am under a loose deadline for a monthly article submission. Do I follow up with another email or call? Should I go ahead and try to contact another expert on another topic to have an article ready in case?

Any thoughts anyone?

By: melissa barton

melissa barton — Thu, 28 Jun 2007 09:35:47 +0000

Recording is a whole different ballgame. I can’t currently record phone conversations, but I type fast and generally confirm the quotes I decide to use by email. I suppose I’m *really* old-school (despite being young!) in that I prefer to take notes. Listening to recordings takes a huge amount of time, and the way my ear “smooths out” the ums and ahs of speech when I take notes is handy.

I’m very careful about confirming quotes and I haven’t had anyone complain yet. *crosses fingers*

By: tara

tara — Thu, 28 Jun 2007 09:35:25 +0000

Fantastic topic! As a fellow shy writer, I too prefer email interviews, but have chosen a writing path where phone and face-to-face interviews are more appropriate. I interview musicians about upcoming albums and tours. With phone interviews, I use a fantastic, inexpensive software called Skype that places phone calls over the internet and can record them for easy reference and transcription. With face-to-face interviews, I use a recorder and mics to record the audio–unfortunately most of my interviews remain in an audio format which means more pressure to be prepared and ask the right the questions!

By: susan

susan — Thu, 28 Jun 2007 09:35:00 +0000

Since I also work full-time a copywriter, email interviews are the most convenient option for me (however, if I think it will require a phone interview I’ll try to find a source on the west coast so that I can interview them after work, while it’s 4pm for them).

However, if I’m writing a lengthy profile on someone local, I’ll try to meet them on a Saturday or Sunday afternoon so I get a sense of their personality and the nuances of how they move and dress. Amazon.com is a good source for experts. Find a book that’s coming out in 3-6 months and contact the author, who will be in book promotion mode and happy to get ink.

By: anonymous

anonymous — Thu, 28 Jun 2007 09:34:43 +0000

I have done in-person and email interviews. I do not care for phone interviews. With email you have an accurate record of the quotes written by the interviewee themselves so there can be no disputes at a later date that, “I didn’t say that!”

By: jengelha@aol.com

jengelha@aol.com — Thu, 28 Jun 2007 09:34:21 +0000

This is a great subject to talk about.
When it comes to finding subjects to interview, I do use Profnet, a lot, but since I write for local parenting publications, I often contact parenting groups to find sources, or I’ll e-mail my group of friends from my son’s preschool, or from my older son’s Scout Troop.
I do my interviews via e-mail or over the phone, but I have to use a tape recorder when I do that (and yes, I do ask their permission, first). I don’t trust my written notes when it comes to quotes, accuracy, etc.

By: karen

karen — Thu, 28 Jun 2007 09:34:02 +0000

Being deaf, I absolutely love email interviews as well as chat interviews. I’ve written many articles with that approach and it works well for me. Writers Weekly is also a great source for interview subjects.

By: melissa barton

melissa barton — Thu, 28 Jun 2007 09:33:41 +0000

My most regular writing gig is for my undergrad college’s alumni magazine, which means I’m usually given the interview subject(s) upfront. Otherwise, I poke around student forums for students and university/college and government websites for experts.

I absolutely prefer face-to-face or phone in most cases; it makes for a more conversational and spontaneous interview, and I can get relevant details of gesture, tone, and setting to use in longer articles. I’ve had difficulties in the past with email interviews and subjects who weren’t comfortable with writing (non-native speakers, inclined to be technical, terrible grammar, etc.), and trying to draw out a terse subject over email can take longer than over the phone. A 15-minute phone interview might take the subject 45 minutes to think out for email, and I’d have to ask follow-up questions separately instead of having an organic conversation, so it saves time for both of us in the end.

There are definitely times when I do use email, though–vast timezone differences (I just had an article published about a Peace Corps volunteer stationed in Albania), follow-up questions, very brief interviews for background, checking that I have a quote or an explanation of something technical/medical correct, etc.

I think all three methods have strengths and weaknesses, but for in-depth interviews where I want to get a strong idea of the subject’s personality, face-to-face is definitely my first choice.

P.S. I’m definitely shy, and my first few phone interviews terrified me, but now I don’t mind them. I do prefer setting up interview times by email, though!

By: anonymous

anonymous — Thu, 28 Jun 2007 09:33:24 +0000

I prefer e-mail interviews. 100% accuracy of quotes gives me a sense of security. And wasting time on playing telephone tag with people who say they’ll be in their office at a given time and then, mysteriously, they’re out of the office and never return the call is very frustrating. But about half of the people I contact refuse to answer questions via e-mail. Some are obviously not good at writing. Others prefer to have an out if they take a stand and later change their mind about something.

By: s.l.

s.l. — Thu, 28 Jun 2007 09:33:06 +0000

Same here. I do my interviews through email. I am very shy and don’t want to sound unprofessional. I think my writing allows me to be taken seriously. I too wonder if email interviews are unprofessional. Thanks for bringing that up. I can’t wait to read other’s replies.

By: deb

deb — Thu, 28 Jun 2007 09:32:49 +0000

I like Profnet too, but I also ask friends and neighbors to help. For instance, when writing an article about college savings plans, I interviewed a neighbor who works with Merrill Lynch.

Email interviews are fine,but I don’t mind doing phone interviews. You can learn a lot more when you hear a person and discuss the different aspects to each question.

By: anonymous

anonymous — Thu, 28 Jun 2007 09:32:23 +0000

As an old school type, I am not big on email interviews. I can get better info, follow up on questions and so on, by calling. I use a #2 pencil to take notes–graphite goes over the page quicker. I have my own sort of shorthand. One note on Profnet–they also have experts you can search, without putting out a query. I don’t know how we did without them before they were invented.