Interview. Types of interviews

The word interview has two meanings: method and genre. Meanwhile, obtaining information through interviews may not be aimed at creating a work of a particular genre. Any conversation involves the exchange of views, the position of the interlocutors in this case is equivalent. An interview is not an exchange of opinions, but the receipt of information from one person - the respondent. In contrast to the conversation, the roles of the participants in the interview are completely different: the respondent acts as an object of study, the other as a subject. Consequently, - the journalist is focused on getting information, so the exchange of opinions in an interview is often unacceptable. Interviews are sometimes declared unreliable because of the double subjectivity of the information received: the subjectivity of their source and the subjectivity of the interviewer who perceives them.

Types of interviews

Although we consider the laws common to all interviews, we must bear in mind that there are different types of interviews that influence the development of strategic plans, determine the nature of preliminary preparation, determine the peculiarities of behavior of the journalist and the interviewee, as well as the specific technology of the interview.

For example, you can talk about two different ways of communication - direct, direct contact with the interlocutor and mediated. Almost in all classic interviews this happens synchronously, i.e. at the same time and with direct contact of the journalist and the interlocutor - spatial, visual, verbal.

There is the possibility of mediated communication, and the forms and combinations of mediation can be different. For example, a telephone interview in which the conversation may be synchronous, but there is no visual contact. True, modern technologies make it possible to interview using satellite communications, when interlocutors may be located in different cities, even parts of the world, while having visual contact. Another variant of a mediated interview - a written form with the possibility of a delayed response - is practiced infrequently and, as a rule, with very important people. But for the interview with the help of various Internet services (e-mail, chat rooms, newsgroups), I think, there is a great future. Such communication, mediated by computer and telephone wires, takes place in writing. The response can be carried out both in the deferred response mode and online, and good communication channels can potentially establish both voice and video contact with the respondent.

Depending on the goals, the following types of interview can be distinguished as a method of obtaining information.