Interviews and reviews

An interview blends the reporter's impressions with the interviewee's ideas; it may be arranged or informal, by phone or face to face (more rewarding, because of body language and eye contact). Types: informational, opinion (handle emotional responses sensitively), personality/profile and group; a press conference runs in reverse — announcements first, questions after.

Example: Madhavankutty Pillai's Reader's Digest interview with Dr R. K. Pachauri on global warming — carbon dioxide up from 280 ppm before industrialisation to over 380 ppm; remedies include sensible energy use, better public transport and public pressure on leaders.

Preparation: research the person and subject, fix time and venue, prepare open-ended, focused questions (avoid yes/no questions, two questions at once and hyperbole), ask follow-ups, collect anecdotes, separate fact from opinion. 'Off the record' means not for publication; 'on background' means publish without naming the source.

Writing up: either an introduction followed by the full question-and-answer, or a feature-style narrative with body language and setting; factual and group interviews can use the inverted pyramid. Reread it, and let the interviewee check the draft before it is published.

Reviews keep readers up to date and help them choose; the reviewer needs real knowledge of the field, an open mind and no bias, and writes for readers, not for the artist. Film reviews (Sudhish Kamath on 'Iqbal') give cast, genre, story, performances and a verdict, with examples; book reviews (Joanna Van Gruisen on 'Birds of India') start with title, author, publisher, place, pages and price, then weigh aims, strengths and weaknesses.