Refresher: Interviewing for journalists

Graphic for a one-day refresher course on Media Helping MediaThis intensive day-long course offers a refresher on how journalists should carry out an interview in order to gather maximum information and clarity.

This refresher is based on the six-week module on interviewing which you are free to download, adapt, and use.

Participants will be trained in a wide spectrum of interview techniques, ranging from quick-fire news gathering to sensitive and adversarial long-form interviews. The day combines practical role-playing with essential ethical training to ensure participants become competent, confident, and sensitive interviewers.

We recommend that trainers circulate the recommended reading resources listed below and encourage participants to read them before attending this refresher.

Learning objectives

By the end of this intensive programme, participants will be able to:

  • Understand the basic principles and purposes of different interview types in news and current affairs.
  • Master effective preparation and technical considerations (body language, setting, tone) for conducting any interview.
  • Apply specialist interview formats, including adversarial styles and interviewing without questions.
  • Identify and mitigate ethical risks, personal bias, and conflicts of interest when handling sources.
  • Analyse interviewee motivations and safely manage interviews with vulnerable or powerful figures.

Programme schedule

The day is structured into four core sessions, with designated times for breaks.

1: Foundations, preparation, and techniques

Break: 10:30–10:45

2: Interview formats and styles

Lunch:12:30–13:30

3: Ethics, bias, and power dynamics

Break: 15:30–15:45

4: Investigative mindset and final practice

  • Time: 15:45–17:00
  • Focus: Applying advanced interviewing skills within an investigative mindset (extracting truth from complexity, follow-up, cross-checking), safety, and persistence.
  • Group activity: Conduct a final round-robin interview, applying investigative follow-up questions to uncover hidden details.
  • Core reading:

Concluding summary and discussion (17:00 – 17:30)

Successful interviewing is a careful balancing act between thorough preparation and empathetic responsiveness. This programme reinforces that the craft of interviewing relies on a combination of technical skill, curiosity, ethical rigour, and respect for all sources, enabling journalists to extract truth with professionalism and integrity.

Encourage participants to share what they have learnt from the session.


Related material

Module: Interviewing for journalists

Lesson: Interviewing for journalists

Preparing for an interview

Introduction to interviews