Preparing for an interview is sort of like stalking.
You spend hours in front of the computer searching out newspaper and magazine articles on your subject. You search for little nuggets of trivia, like if he graduated from college and if so what was his degree?
Soon you find yourself thinking from your subject's perspective. You ask "What would so-and-so think about this?" and then decide if the potential answer is worthy of the question.
Then you search for video. For a recent freelance writing assignment I interviewed comedian Lewis Black. There is a LOT of video on Lewis Black out there. I watched as much as I could before joining my wife in bed.
"Is he married, does he have kids? What are their names?"
You find out your subject lives in a certain neighborhood and Google map it to gain some geographical perspective. You search for older articles to appreciate how your subject has grown.
The publicist says to call him at the appropriate time. "Look, his phone number! I won't share it with anyone else, it's all mine."
Nervously you dial, hoping you'll be able to hold up a conversation. If it goes well, he'll say "Come say Hi after the show," but he won't exactly explain how you should go about doing that.
I've done a thousand interviews for radio and print. If I didn't have a meager paycheck to show for my effort, I'd be the creepiest celebrity stalker this side of TMZ.
You spend hours in front of the computer searching out newspaper and magazine articles on your subject. You search for little nuggets of trivia, like if he graduated from college and if so what was his degree?
Soon you find yourself thinking from your subject's perspective. You ask "What would so-and-so think about this?" and then decide if the potential answer is worthy of the question.
Then you search for video. For a recent freelance writing assignment I interviewed comedian Lewis Black. There is a LOT of video on Lewis Black out there. I watched as much as I could before joining my wife in bed.
"Is he married, does he have kids? What are their names?"
You find out your subject lives in a certain neighborhood and Google map it to gain some geographical perspective. You search for older articles to appreciate how your subject has grown.
The publicist says to call him at the appropriate time. "Look, his phone number! I won't share it with anyone else, it's all mine."
Nervously you dial, hoping you'll be able to hold up a conversation. If it goes well, he'll say "Come say Hi after the show," but he won't exactly explain how you should go about doing that.
I've done a thousand interviews for radio and print. If I didn't have a meager paycheck to show for my effort, I'd be the creepiest celebrity stalker this side of TMZ.
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