Interviewing the Artiste 101 – What Young Entertainment Journalists should know

Photo - Jamaican entertainers, Diana King and Lymie Murray

My Facebook colleague, Simone Harris’ recent post, Communication 101 for artiste, is a critical intervention worthy of industry attention. Indeed, the longstanding inability to locate themselves within a broader entertainment industry in which they operate; to communicate articulately about their career, themselves and, importantly, to interpret their art remains one of the biggest shortcomings of the Jamaican artiste, and a poignant challenge for the industry. However, the flip side is equally aggravating – watching/listening to so-called entertainment journalists interviewing the artiste.

I had the occasion of watching a young entertainment journalist early 2009 at the Shaggy and Friends Concert at Jamaica House conduct an appalling interview with Tony Rebel, an artiste for whom I administered publicity for the last 12 years. The young woman proceeded to ask the artiste a raft of ‘leading questions’ – all doubled and triple-barrelled- about the influence of negative lyrics on the society. Now, Tony Rebel is, by far, one of the most articulate and intelligent artistes in the industry and even he was thrown by the awkward nature of the questions. Nonetheless, he was clever enough to seek clarification and request that particular questions be rephrased (for the purpose of accurate interpretation).

As a journalist, I was disturbed and disappointed but worst was to come. While this interview was being done, I turned to a colleague and expressed the thought that the questions were too complicatedly phrased. Would you believe that the interviewer momentarily paused the interview, turned to me and angrily asked “what did you say about my question”? I kid you not. I was beyond shock – all I could utter was: ‘you are doing an interview, focus on that’.

This kind of unprofessionalism and blatant disrespect for the interview process, the interviewee not only speaks to the declining quality of journalism in Jamaica as a whole, but importantly, underscored the failure to recognise that the ‘celebrity interview’ (read as ‘artiste interview’ here) is a specialised type of interview genre which requires skill, charm and intelligence but also the ability to maintain your integrity and that of the celebrity.

Many young people entering Jamaican journalism want to interview famous people – entertainers, politicians, successful business people, athletes, film and TV stars etc. But this can be a tough test. The really big stars such as Tony Rebel who are accustomed to or like being interviewed will be absolutely charming, gracious, congenial and courteous. But many others, especially if confronted by the disastrous showing by this little known journalist in the above case, they would have been perfectly within their right to decline to continue with that dialogue.

What is an interview?
An interview is a ‘structured conversation’. It is not your usual conversation where I talk and then you talk. Rather, it is a series of questions and answers where only one party – the interviewer – is asking the questions. In this regard, an interview is only as good as the questions that are asked. It is not an arena to merely solicit responses but an avenue of challenging opinions and orthodoxies; which mean interviews can be entertaining and informative.

Before you start asking 5 critical questions often taught in journalism school – who, what, where, where and how, the most important question, from my experience is ‘why’ - why are you conducting the interview; why do you want to talk to this person; and why will this interview help the story.

When you know why you are conducting the interview, you can decide what questions to ask. It is important for journalists to ask themselves “What do I want to know” and conduct the interview accordingly
 Is it to learn the facts about a news event? = gain information
 Is it to challenge an authority figure? =investigative or adversarial
 Is it to elicit a personal response to an event = an emotional interview
 Is it because of who the person is? = celebrity interview

What is the idea of the celebrity interview?
First, if your journalistic beat is entertainment, your job is to develop friendly but professional relationships with the artistes’ public relations or management people, or, if possible, the artistes themselves. It is about being professional, not about meeting stars; it’s about the ability to see these individuals as people that you can get on-air, that they will something (interesting or controversial) that can add value to your press report or story and enliven your programme. In short, recognise that they will be a good interview.

Second, put your interviewee at ease. Break the ice, pay them a compliment (don’t suck up). This lightens the situation and makes the celebrity more open to listening to you as journalist and definitely more inclined to answer your questions. (Some media savvy celebrities are now keen to find out how much of the interview will be used etc, and use this to gauge whether to give soundbite responses or more expansive comments).

Third, if it is an especially controversial matter – an artiste is accused of rape; is involved in a court proceeding; is embroiled in a controversial situation where he/she needs to defend oneself – then assure them that they will be treated fairly, and that your intentions are sincere. This may mark the difference between you getting the interview or not, or how open the celebrity interviewee prefers to be. Can they trust you would be the question on their mind, but, in my view, the most important question is: can you as the journalist build this trust by the way you approach the interview.

Fourth, if you ask for 5 minutes of their time, do not take 15 minutes. You are there for the interview, not to make friends. Sometimes, if you are interviewing really busy celebrities such as business people, respecting their time is even more essential. Greet them, shake hands, do the interview and leave. In this sense, the celebrity ought to be treated like a press conference (staged media events designed to disseminate news) or a news item.

Fifth, Do your research. Prepare, Prepare, Prepare. This does not mean prepare a list of questions and rehearse them to death. It means do sufficient research on the celebrity. Distinguish fact from fiction. Ask real questions; challenge them; ask interesting questions. I watched Queen Ifrica on TV interview programme earlier this year, and this artiste can talk and tends to be very confident and free in expressing her thoughts. As a result, she assumed absolute control of the interview, to such an extent that I forgot that two interviewees were on set! The interviewees appeared unprepared. They did not seem to have a clear sense of what they wished to ask the artiste; seemed overawed by the artiste’s presence and expressiveness. Again, research is critical to a successful interview.

* Artistes and other celebrities are also citizens. They live in the society. Don’t be afraid to ask them about topic issues on the public’s agenda. You may be surprised that they hold an opinion about the society in which they live and from which they draw inspiration.

Finally, remain calm and unruffled. The best interviewers are those who are able to maintain their composure, act with decorum, and do not become overwhelmed by the presence of the celebrity or the augustness of the celebrity interview occasion. * Just because it is an entertainment programme is no reason to ‘wing it’; scream on top of your lungs, act overly excited, or, lest I forget, dress provocatively.