A Big Interview

As Editor I get to be asked a lot of questions...by members of my team, students of journalism and journalists in the field....I was asked recently what we call a big interview. Here's a brief answer:

A big interview should aim to provide insightful conversation with a person who is in the centre of news…hot issue! This may be due to some crisis, conflict, (positive or negative) political, economic, social, policy, (etc) changes. A big interview is one that has big impact and has the potential to set the news agenda, not just nationally but internationally.

Main features of a big interviewee:
*the person will be highly sought after by the media (e.g. the YarAdua interview after 50 days outside Nigeria)
*may be difficult to get probably because of their position or their very busy schedule (e.g.Sunusi Lamido Sunusi when he was appointed CBN Governor)
*he/she may be in the headlines may be highly contentious or controversial (e.g. Obasanjo following his ‘Yar Adua outburst)
*may be at the centre of the controversy, conflict or change (e.g. Jonah Jang following the Plateau crisis)
*may be “key” to the issue to in the headlines (e.g. David Kelly and the UK’s weapon of mass destruction)
*may be able to offer insights on an issue which other contributors may not do. (e.g. interview with ‘Yar Adua’s CSO Tilde on his account of the president’s Saudi sojourn)

Of course, the list can go on....