[Rick Mullin]

…A big problem with this interview and others like it is that the questions were apparently (...well, they were no doubt, actually...) e-mailed to Erica and Alicia, and the two of them sent back written responses. This is deadly for the obvious reason that an interviewee’s response cannot direct the next question. This practice of interviewing via e-mail is an insidious trend in journalism. I’m a business journalist and very frequently public relations people, or my sources themselves, ask for a convenient list of questions for them to answer in writing. I refuse to give them a list (they are often shocked that I reject their suggestion, the e-mail exchange seeming to them so efficient and convenient!). Usually I have my way and there is an old fashioned “live” interview. And during the really good ones, I throw my prepared questions away. I find out only during the interview what I really need to be asking. This is, of course, from Journalism 101, a course that is no longer taught.


A great example of where questions are sent out and answers typed in is the “By the Book” feature in the New York Times Book Review in which, this week, Nathan Lane tells us what’s on his night stand. I like reading what certain folk have to say in this feature, but it would be better if there were a real discussion.