Abstract
Nothing is more basic to the business of journalism than the creative form of conversation described as interviewing, but this “much-used, much-beloved, downright enshrined method of gathering information and stories” is severely flawed, “maybe fatally, flawed” (p. 282). So, the University of Oregon School of Journalism and Communication has offered Interviewing—The Oregon Method, a practical guide and analysis written by journalists and scholars associated with the school.
For example, Lauren Kessler, the narrative journalism instructor, calls for re-inventing this once useful exchange of ideas as it has become an exploitive experience for reporters eager to inflict “invasive and insensitive” questions to confirm pre-conceived agendas, while standing (or sitting) ill-prepared to listen and learn from the answers their interview subjects patiently give them (pp. 284-285).
Various remedies to interviewing’s malpractice appear throughout the book’s 28 chapters, but the purpose of Laufer’s anthology goes beyond mere prescriptions and is profound in much of its analysis. Pulitzer Prize winner Alex Tizon, for example, has interviewed victims of tragedy and feels reporters should be aware of their tendency to presume and protect in such circumstances: “We presume that our questions will add to their pain, and we try to protect them from that harm”; however, Tizon believes those in distress often need to tell their stories, and more importantly, journalists need to listen (p. 137). “Our role is to be fully present and to offer a compassionate ear” (p. 137).
Retired Seattle Times Executive Editor Mike Fancher underscores the motivations for interviewing through appreciative inquiry interviewing, which begins with the premise, what is possible now? This approach may not work for all journalists, but it does establish a new basis for the conversation.
Television interviewer Charles Jaco offers readers an entertaining account of his interview with Republican legislator Todd Akin. You may not recall the former Congressman from Missouri’s second district, but how could you forget his explanation for why abortions should be banned even for rape victims, “if it’s a legitimate rape, the female body has ways to shut that whole thing down” (p. 245). Akin’s words were lifted from a half-hour interview and resonated for weeks. Despite creating a viral sound bite for liberal feasting online, Jaco found himself severely criticized for not questioning the startling basis of Akin’s belief.
There is another purpose for this wide-ranging and rich volume of essays, which is to update the seminal principles set forth in the beloved University of Oregon Professor Ken Metzler’s class and text, Creative Interviewing. If the journalist’s assignment is to write a personality profile story, Professor Metzler’s metaphor is still instructive notes Oregon’s interview teacher Mike Thoele. Metzler described interviewing as “sifting tons of ore to get a handful of nuggets” (p. 86), and Thoele asks his student journalists to mine deeper for more details to create a complete profile.
Many of the chapters speak to the best practices in recognition of the multiple platforms for interviewing—in person, on the phone, online, or even in the virtual world of avatars. There are even chapters on the legal and ethical aspects of interviewing that should prompt lively conversations in journalism classes. If there is anything that falls short in this book, it would be the title, for there is not just one Oregon Method presented here, but many methods that are useful for basic reporting classes or an entire course in Interviewing.