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The broadcast interview: what makes it different
A broadcast interview has a specific editorial purpose: to produce a usable clip (actuality) that tells part of the story in the interviewee’s own voice, with emotion, authority, or eyewitness credibility that the journalist’s narration alone cannot provide. Unlike a print interview, where the journalist curates and paraphrases at will, the broadcast interview must yield audio or video that works as a standalone moment.
This means the interviewer must actively shape the conversation to generate those moments — which requires preparation, technique, and the willingness to redirect an interviewee who is not producing usable material.
The most important broadcast interview skills: (1) asking open questions; (2) using silence; (3) knowing which clip to use; (4) managing nervous or evasive interviewees; (5) recording clean audio with room tone.
Key broadcast interview techniques
Open questions only
Every interview question should begin with Who, What, When, Where, Why, or How. Never ask a question that can be answered yes or no. If you catch yourself asking a yes/no question, reframe it immediately: not “Was it frightening?” but “How did it feel?”
Silence as a technique
Wait two to three seconds after an answer before speaking. Interviewees will often fill the silence with something more revealing. It also gives you a clean edit point.
Two-part questions for live
In live interviews where the guest must fill time: combine two related questions in one. “What happened, and what happens next?” gives the interviewee two directions to travel in their answer.
Pre-interview prep
Agree the general territory of the interview before recording. For nervous contributors, a brief off-mic conversation can surface the best material. Never pre-agree specific questions for hard news — but do explain the topics you will cover.
Coaching nervous interviewees
Tell them the question will not appear in the final clip, so they need to begin their answer without assuming you said anything. Ask them to speak in full sentences. Let them know a stumbled start can be done again.
Always record room tone
Before leaving any location, record 30–60 seconds of ambient sound in silence. This is used in editing to fill gaps and smooth edit points. Do this every time, without exception.
Red flags in broadcast interviews
- Asking closed questions that produce yes/no answers unusable as standalone clips.
- Not wearing headphones — audio problems only discovered in the edit are often unrecoverable.
- Speaking immediately after the interviewee finishes, cutting off a potentially revealing sentence.
- Not noting clip in-words and out-words during the interview — makes logging in the edit much slower.
- Recording in a location with a constant intrusive background sound (traffic, machinery, music).
- Not recording room tone before leaving the location.
- Allowing the interviewee to answer a question you did not ask and failing to redirect to the point.
Broadcast interview checklist
- I have researched the interviewee and prepared specific open questions.
- I have agreed the general topics with the interviewee (not specific questions for news).
- Audio levels are checked and headphones are monitoring before the interview starts.
- I have asked the interviewee to speak in full sentences and to begin without assuming my question is audible.
- All questions begin with Who, What, When, Where, Why, or How.
- I have used deliberate pauses after each answer before asking the next question.
- I have noted in-words and out-words for potential clips during the interview.
- I have recorded 30–60 seconds of room tone before leaving the location.
- All recordings are backed up before leaving (to phone or cloud).
- I have taken the interviewee’s contact details for follow-up or fact-checking.
Prepare a right-of-reply request
If your interview includes a sensitive allegation, generate a right-of-reply request before recording to ensure Ofcom compliance.
Right of Reply GeneratorCommon mistakes
- Over-preparing questions so rigidly that you miss the natural direction of the conversation.
- Interrupting an interviewee mid-sentence — especially destructive if they were about to say something usable.
- Not recapping the best clip in a second take if the audio was poor in the first.
- Asking too many questions for a short package — two to three good clips are better than ten mediocre ones.
- Not confirming the interviewee’s name, title, and how they want to be credited before recording.
- Conducting a two-way on a mobile phone without a proper connection — always use a landline or a confirmed stable data connection for live interviews.