How to Produce Print Interviews
My favorite interviews to produce are in print
Interviewing on radio and on video is fairly simple: you ask questions, the person answers. The whole process takes anywhere from fifteen minutes to an hour. The producer guides you to every break until the show ends and that is the whole operation.
Here on Medium, I can produce interviews to be consumed in the format I prefer — written.
This means that I still have to interview via a phone call or other means but that is where the similarity ends with radio and video. I then have to go over the interview and transcribe it. That is the raw material for what gets printed.
Since none of it is going to be broadcast, I can be more casual and discuss different elements and even some small talk that I cannot do on radio.
Second, I put together the interview and edit it for clarity. If someone goes on a tangent, I can edit that out in my writing and just focus on the main answer to my question.
When I write a print interview, I afford my readers the luxury of having a written record of it in front of them and, as with other Medium articles, the reader can highlight and bookmark to his or her heart’s content.
So what steps do I do to produce a written interview?
Step one — Man Bites Dog Element: If I am not contacted by a publicist asking if I am interested, I have to find a subject. The rule to follow is always the most famous for journalism — dog bites man is not a story; man bites dog always is. So, what is the man bites dog element?
I interviewed Douglas Ernst because he is producing a series of Catholic comic books that is beyond “the life of St. Francis genre". He and his team produce a final product in the same style and artistry to any contemporary superhero comic book. I reject any form of saccharine writing which is endemic in Catholic media today in the United States. Douglas and his team including Timothy Lim and Brett R. Smith do not produce saccharine comic books. They stand out. This why I interviewed Douglas.
Soulfinder: Demon’s Match
Douglas Ernst and his team produced the first chapter of the fruit of his passion, an adventure comic book with his…medium.com
Step Two: Setting Up a Time:
After initial contact when the person agrees to an interview, we set up a time in which I will call him or her. I usually explain the whole conversation will be about twenty minutes. We can easily do an hour, but an hour interview transcribed is a lot for someone to read and, of course, for me to write.
Twenty minutes is a good goal to set and I can always lengthen or shorten the conversation as needed. That usually cannot be done as well on radio.
I once did a live interview with a Massachusetts State Senator when I was in public radio. We had an hour to fill and the man covered all he knew of the entire topic in five minutes. The interview from there was so tough I was ready to see if he wanted to do a sing-a-long after thirty minutes (I am not kidding). That is not going to happen in this print format.
Further, people can become stiff and nervous if they are concerned about how the interview is going over when it is live or live on tape. I once did a local broadcast for the same public radio FM. I had a guest talking about electrical safety who was an excellent interview off mike. Once we went live, he froze up and gave me one word answers which are horrible for radio. None of that happens with a print interview.
Step Three — The Mechanics of the Interview:
I do all my audio production work using NCH Software. For call recording, I use NCH’s Sound Tap streaming audio recorder. This gives me a good sound which I then produce with NCH’s WavePad software. I want to note, I am not paid by NCH to mention its product names. It is the company I have used for years. They have inexpensive but quality audio and video production software that I prefer. I actually use the company’s Mixpad to produce a daily show on local Boston radio.
I also have a separate SONY ICDUX560 digital audio recorder just in case something goes wrong with my computer. This is to ensure that I do not lose the interview. Remember, since this is not going to be broadcast but transcribed, sound quality is not as much as an issue as it would be for a live radio show or podcast. So the SONY as a back-up picking up from the laptop speakers will not produce a good enough sound for broadcast, but will for transcription. I needed it once, I actually forgot to hit record on SoundTap. Happily, I did not forget to turn on the SONY.
Even though this is a trustworthy method, I always recheck and retest my equipment prior to every interview. This includes using Skype’s call testing service, making sure all parts are working and recording as necessary.
I then call the subject using Skype at the agreed upon time, ensuring that SoundTap and my SONY ICDUX560 are operating and the interview begins. I call them, they do not call me. It is a courtesy that this conversation is on my dime, not theirs.
Then the interview ends. I usually take a break and go back to do the transcribing later.
Dr. Peter Kreeft, John’s Gospel and Writing
Boston College philosophy professor Dr. Peter Kreeft is a prolific writer. He uses his Socratic writing skills to teach…medium.com
Step 4 — Transcribing:
Using WavePad, I produce the audio and then slow it down so that when playing it back, it actually sounds like the two of us are on some kind of recreational substance speaking slowly. This makes it easier for me to write more words as I hear them.
I transcribe the entire interview including any small talk.
Once I complete the transcription, I can edit the interview down getting the main points of every question and answer and put it all up on Medium.
If I find that the question and answer format for the interview does not work for this final product, I can work with it in such a way that I present the information so that my readers can understand it well. That is what writers do; they write so that readers can learn best from what they have to share.
It can be a tedious process but as in all my writing, I am focused on the end product. How are people going to read this and benefit from this work? That is my main concern.
I learned sometime ago that most of my readers on Medium are off platform, so these interviews are not money makers for me. That is not my concern. I do not use Medium for income. Instead, I am happy with the fact I have readers even off platform because that is why I write. It is a service to them.
