A promotional interview is to advertise something new, either the interviewee themselves if they are up and coming or a new release. A celebrity isn't often on a show unless they have had a new release or new event. During chat shows often the topic of the album or event is arisen around the friendly banter, or an issue the interviewee has recently been seen in or apart of. In some form any interview involving a celebrity is promotional, as they are promoting themselves. A new up and coming act would also be interviewed to promote themselves by being featured on a popular chat show or on the news such as This Morning.
The questions would be open to get as much information for the promotional aspect as possible. Allowing the guest to run free and say what they want about it and also they may be use to what questions will be asked from previous interviews therefore giving the same information and answer they have already given. There would be questions about other issues however the guest will be there wanting to talk a little about their new release or event, such as in the Graham Norton show he has the album, DVD or poster ready to show.
The structure would work around the fact that it is a promotional show and the guest would be welcomed as a light hearted interview as they are not there to talk about something negative. If the interview was specifically for the promotion then it would be more serious and less entertaining if it were with a more serious interviewer.
The purpose is to inform the audience about the new promotion which the person is talking about, also to entertain if it is during the light hearted theme of an interview. Also if the promotion is of a new album then the singer may perform a live song from it, to show what kind of music the CD will hold. The interview wouldn’t be negative because there is no chance the interviewer would talk badly about the guest's new release or event as they chose to invite them on the show.
An investigative documentary
is when a reporter deeply investigate one topic that would interest the audience.
The topic would often be the same kind of issue that hard news would feature,
the information would be primary as it is a first hand investigation and the
audience are lead as new discoveries on the issue are made such as first hand
interviews, document analysis, look into public records and social and legal
issues. There would be no need to build a rapport as the presenter will have
very brief interviews to find information quickly.
The
questions would be serious with factual and informing answers, they can be
closed and open depending on if the interviewee is avoiding the question or
not, or if they want the answer to be explained in more detail. It can help to
ask suggestive questions if the topic is about a certain person, they may
buckle under the pressure of the fact that a “rumour” has been found and it
takes one slip to conclude that it is the truth.
The
structure of investigative documentaries would have an introduction including
what the programme is trying to find out or what information will be revealed.
The more information the audience are given the more developed the story
becomes as the facts are collected, also half way through the programme there
may be a short summary to what has been discovered so far. There will be one
key question about the issue which will be answered by the end of the
programme.
The
purpose is to inform and educate the audience and get answers which everyone
has been asking about the situation or to open the minds to different
possibilities about that issue as certain conspiracies may be uncovered.
An entertaining documentary can relate to the light-hearted documentary and
also combative. The entertainment to the audience can be a heavy debate seeing
an interviewee uncomfortable whilst being verbally probed by a skillful
interviewer. The public enjoy seeing people suffer however they also simply
enjoy real entertainment from fun and jokes between the host and his guest. If
it was specifically for entertaining the audience then it would be humorous and
funny. The interviewer may have met the guest several times before as they are
both in the media business, therefore a rapport has already been created
between the two making look even more comfortable and able to ask more
questions much sooner into the interview whilst having fun with it. The body
language of both the host and the interviewee would be very relaxed and as if
they are sitting in their own house, often they have a sofa which shows it is
not serious allowing there to be more than one guest at a time.
The questions would be open,
the interviewer would rarely give a closed question as there is very little
pressure in this style of interviewing. A closed question may create an
awkwardness between them which can also make it uncomfortable to watch, however
a confident and sociable host can easily roll off of the subject if they see
the issue arising. The host will have certain questions which he/she plans to
ask within the interview however it doesn’t matter which order or if they are
asked consistently as if there is a good relationship between them there will
be a lot of improv straying away from the subject.
The introduction for an
entertainment style interview would be very friendly and warm as the guest is
greeted by their host. The whole interview looks like a regular, casual
conversation between two friends. The more relaxed and inviting the host is to
their guest then the more confident the guest will be which make the situation
easier to ask more personal questions. If the host is known to be humorous and
has fun with his guests, such as Graham Norton, Alan Carr and Jonathon Ross
then they will gain the reputation of being extremely entertaining. The
interview isn’t always seated face to face as a hard news interview would be,
as in the first interview there are certain activities and games that can be
played to have even more fun with the audience, this depends on the
relationship between the interviewer and interviewee.
This shows the 2 styles of interview which can both be entertain whilst being extremely different.
The purpose of an entertaining interview is to entertain the audience, this can be done by allowing them to see their favourite celebrities away
from their ordinary job and showing what they are like in a more social
surrounding.It is interesting seeing a serious actor such as Patrick Stewart, out of their job
which may often be a serious role and to see them having fun and also with a
funny personality which you may not expect.
A light-hearted interview is a relaxed and friendlier interview than the
hard or combative interviews. The light hearted-interviews are often featured
in chat shows where a presenter interviews a celebrity in a relaxed, talking to
them as a friend and not a source of information. The celebrity is often there
because they have a new tour or album or something to promote however the
conversations are often very open and general. The light heartedness is done by
slowly building more of a rapport with the guest before and during the
interview so they are comfortable even being watched by an audience as well as
being asked some personal question which they may not have answered if it was
an interrogation and combative interviewing.
The questions asked will
be open giving the guest a chance to give a full answer and explanation they
will have the freedom to give as much or as little information on the subject
as they wish and they would not be pushed to hard for an answer out of respect
by the host of the chat show as it can create an awkward atmosphere for them
and the audience. The host will have some set questions which he/she will want
to ask throughout the interview not necessarily in order or directly after each
other, however much like the combative it can become more improvised if there
is good chemistry between the host and guest.
The guest would be kindly
introduced to continue making them more of a friend to the studio and
surroundings rather than diving straight into the questions they would start as
any conversation would such as greeting each other and asking how they are. The
questions would be easy to answer and not about anything too serious and if
there is an awkward moment then the host will be good enough to keep the
interview flowing and change the subject subtly. They will keep the
interviewee’s confidence by complimenting them often and avoiding the embarrassing
or touchy subjects that can make them feel uncomfortable.
The purpose of these
interviews are too entertain as the chat shows are often hosted by well known
funny people like Alan Carr, Graham Norton and Jonathon Ross. An entertaining
host will give the show a reputation of being humorous and worth watching if
you want to laugh whilst watching your favorite celebrity having fun also.
Combative interviewing is when the interview
becomes a debate or slight argument as two or more opinions are often shared
and voiced and not just one answer from one individual. These types of
interviews can be humorous for the audience to watch as people can enjoy seeing
a type of conflict that shows a very strong but slightly ridiculous view on
life or a particular situation. It can be something simple like the views on a
relationship or on a strong religious view as the two examples show, both are
relatively entertaining to watch as the subject it is on are outrageous in its
own way. The body language of the person or people being interviewed are
slightly awkward or annoyed as the situation is quite intense as the
interviewing is more on the spot and improvised with a few set up questions
which the interviewer intends to ask, it is clear that the interviewer is improvising
more as the answers of the interviewee are unpredictable. The combative
interview can be on a serious subject but still humorous to the audience.
The questions can be
open or closed similar to the hard news, if the person being interviewed
doesn’t answer an open question exactly and try’s to talk around it, the
question will become more direct and closed. They will be asked quickly as
combative interviews are often filled with people talking over each other, so
multiple questions will be asked. A structured interview would not be like
this, there is much improve relating to the questions being asked because the
questions may have been the first time being asked or often have a dramatic
answer.
There is not a strong
structure to this style of interview as the situation often becomes irate and
out of hand. The introduction often quickly show the opinions of both sides
before developing into a debate, it becomes clear at who is on what side of the
situation, this makes it extremely unbiased. The interviewer may intend to play
with the person they are interviewing by being sarcastic because the situation
may be a bit of a joke, such as the Jeremy Kyle show you are able to hear the
audience laugh at the issue and Kyle making a joke of it also.
The purpose of this style of interview is to entertain the audience and also to educate as at times it can
be helpful and relate to the public it is also educational to show the
different, strong views of different people in different situations.
Hard news is serious
news which is simply used to educate and inform and not to entertain it’s
audience. The topic will often be upsetting or affecting society in a negative
way such as politics, it is the opposite of light-hearted news. The interview
will be set up in a studio or with an appropriate background relating to the
subject, the set will be professional and formal. The body language of the
interviewee may be slightly agitated toward the end of the interview as they
may be frustrated from the forceful questions however at the beginning they may
look very confident ready for the interview as it may not be the first time
they have heard the questions if it is a very recent topic.
An interview of hard
news includes direct questions that can be closed or open depending on if the
interviewee chooses to dodge the answer, the interviewer will ask the question
again but closed so they get a straight answer, a more relaxed interview would
not do this as it is less of an interrogation and the question should be easier
to answer. The interviewer wouldn’t necessarily try to build a rapport with the
person they are about to interview because they have the intention to verbally
probe them about a serious subject and wouldn’t want to be answered as a friend
but as any member of society wanting to ask the same questions and wanting a
direct answer.
There may not be an
introduction as the programme such as the news will cut immediately to the
first question however it may be introduced by the studio reporter explaining
who the person being interviewed is and who is the interviewer. There also will
be a particular question that will be asked which will be hugely related to the
subject and which has been asked over and over again by other new reporters and
which the audience would much like the answer to also to get the overall
summary of the topic and what the news reporter wants to hear, this can be done
through suggestive questioning, allowing the interviewee to almost answering
the question to how the interviewer wants it to be answered.
The purpose is to
inform the audience and to hear the opinion of the individual so members of the
public can hear the view of more than one side to find who they agree with
most and who is most likely to change the issue
for the better.
