5 tips for giving a great print interview
Radio, TV, print, and online journalists are different species of reporter. Here’s some advice for working with print journalists.
It sounds as if everyone in TV, radio, print, and online press is a member of one fraternity that thinks and acts the same. There is a gulf between the daily life of a print journalist and the daily life of a radio show host. And there are many differences between radio hosts and TV producers.
They really shouldn’t be treated the same. That’s why I’ve written a booklet called 50 Tips to Make You A Great Radio Guest and a similar piece for TV. Now I am compiling interview tips for working with print and online journalists (which in many cases can be the same thing).
Here are the first five tips:
Be responsive and reliable. In TV and radio, interview times are prearranged. However, print and online journalists typically have weekly, daily, and even hourly deadlines. When they call you, they need you immediately. In many cases, journalists will reach out to several experts on a news item and then choose the one who is the better interview or whoever responded quickest (or a combination of the two). The more reliably you respond, the more likely they will call on you again.
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