Phone interviews are one of the best perks of being an Entertainment Journalist. I find it curiously troubling though that, in a 15-minute interview, I’ll typically use only 10% of the material I get from chatting with someone in the Film & Television industry. A lot of great stuff is left on the proverbial cutting room floor.
While not as ideal as a face-to-face interview, where I could gauge how a subject really feels about his or her answer by the expression on their face, a phone interview offers an opportunity to dig deeper than the info in a glossy press release, all in an effort to get that one unique quote that will grab my reader’s attention.
I became an Entertainment Journalist totally by accident. While studying in Vancouver Film School’s Writing for Film & Television department, I was lucky enough to be instructed by a fellow Ottawa-expat and veteran journalist Alison Cunningham. She helped me gain my journalistic footing, and pushed me to pitch, pitch, pitch.
I made it no secret during my time at VFS that I was a Canadian Film & TV nerd – someone who actually watched CBC miniseries and pretty much everything Haddock Entertainment pumped out. I didn’t know any other young writer who cared as much about the subject.
That passion paid off when an Editor from The Georgia Straight called a colleague of mine, looking for someone to write a Canadian TV preview. I jumped at the chance, and have since been building up my tearsheets and industry contacts.
While some phone interviews flow better than others, all of them present an opportunity to refine my interviewing skills. Subjects constantly surprise me with their answers, and often alter the course of where I was hoping to go with my piece — in a good way!
Since 2007, I have been lucky enough to interview the following Film & Television personalities for my articles, many of which have been published in The Georgia Straight:
Brent Butt, Nancy Robertson, Matthew Lillard, Michael Madsen, Chris Haddock, Ian Tracey, Klea Scott, Heather Hawthorn-Doyle, Michelle Nolden, Gary Harvey, Rudy Buttignol, Blair Peters, JB Sugar, Michelle Harrison, Heather Conkie, and Bill Vince (My first interview. He has since passed away. I’m grateful I had a chance to meet him).
There are many more I owe thanks to — too numerous to list here.
Click here to check out the articles I’ve written for The Georgia Straight.
