As workplaces become more interactive and interconnected, interviewing skills are becoming more important across a range of vocations.
So what is it that makes an interview ‘great’? And what are some of the interviews that every journalist should watch, listen to or read?
In a joint project between upstart and the subject The Interview, run by La Trobe University’s Journalism program, we are compiling a list of the ’50 great interviews’ for journalists.
The project is not just limited to students of The Interview however, so please feel free to join in by nominating and writing your own commentary about any interviews that you believe should be in our list.
A few ground rules. The interview must be available online, and each of your commentary pieces should be no more than 250 words long. And please tell us who you are and provide a preferred link if you feel so inclined. Submissions should be sent to contact@upstart.net.au, and you may want to consult our Notes for Contributors page before you get started.
If you want to follow the discussion on Twitter, we’ll be using the #50interviews hashtag on our Twitter profile.
50 ‘Great’ Interviews for journalists
1. ‘Billy Bob turns on radio host‘ – Canadian radio host Jian Ghomeshi got much more than he bargained for when Billy Bob Thornton dropped in for a breakfast chat with his band, The Boxmasters (selected by Lawrie Zion).
2. ‘A stunt by the Sex Pistols?‘ – A painfully out-of-touch television host Bill Grundy gets a high voltage dose of punk rock attitude, as the Sex Pistols are introduced to the world via this classic 1976 television interview (selected by Matthew Knight).
3. ‘A ‘winning’ Charlie Sheen‘ – Controversial actor Charlie Sheen discusses Two and a Half Men, his public image and his future career plans in this radio interview (selected by Timothy Arendshorst).
4. ‘Cross-examining Carl Williams‘ – Controversial radio broadcaster, Derryn Hinch, shows no fear of the notorious ‘baby-faced killer’ and underworld figure, Carl Williams, in an interrogation-like interview from 2004 (selected by Aaron Pabst).
5. ‘Mel reveals all‘ – Troubled actor Mel Gibson finally breaks his silence on the infamous leaked tapes scandal in this one-on-one no holds barred interview with veteran journalist; Allison Hope Weiner (selected by Daniel Mosca).
6. ‘Just wrap it up‘ – A seemingly straight-forward television interview quickly turned into a frosty confrontation between world famous talk show host Sir Michael Parkinson and American actress Meg Ryan (selected by Tom Midwood).
7. ‘Sting like a bee‘ – American sports presenter Howard Cosell cheekily prods the notoriously confident Muhammad Ali after his infamous 1967 refusal to join the Vietnam War and eventual boxing ban (selected by Alex Pavlidis).
8. ‘An over-the-top personality‘ – The late conservationist, Steve Irwin, explains why he couldn’t have sex after he married, in a humorous chat on the ABC’s ‘Enough Rope’ program with host Andrew Denton (selected by Jackson Saunders).
9. ‘Give peace a chance‘ – Jann S. Wenner probes for answers in this historical interview of John Lennon in 1971, and gets a surprising mixture of responses (selected by Andrew Miller).
10. ‘Dawkins rendered speechless‘ – Richard Dawkins was uncharacteristically caught off guard on a number of occasions during an interview with Andrew Denton for the highly acclaimed ABC program, Enough Rope (selected by Jonathan Wilkinson).
11. ‘Lifting the cloak of mystery‘ – An eloquent and measured Julian Assange rises to the challenge and confronts his criticisms in this extended interview with 60 Minutes presenter Steve Kroft (selected by Emil Jeyaratnam).
12. ‘I’m not Jewish‘ – TV presenter Louis Theroux finds himself in a tense situation while interviewing ‘Skip’, a hostile American neo-Nazi, as part of the 2003 BBC documentary ‘Louis and the Nazis’ (selected by Sam McInerney).
13. ‘One confused politician‘ – The normally ebullient former Vice-Presidential candidate Sarah Palin struggles to explain her foreign policy credentials with CBS’s Katie Couric that fatally damaged her political career (selected by Eric George).
14. ‘A private battle‘ – Confessed gambling addict and former Melbourne footballer Daniel Ward reveals just how close he was to ending it all in a compelling interview with the Herald Sun’s Mark Robinson (selected by Ben Rowles).
15. ‘Encountering the ‘worst’ battle‘ – After the horrific terrorist attacks on September 11, former Australian Prime Minister John Howard joins Richard Fidler to discuss politics and his experience during America’s worst disaster since Pearl Harbour (selected by Sean Munaweera).
16. ‘A jovial repartee‘ – Fast-talking comedian and actor Robin Williams slows down for a moment to tell The 7:30 Report’s Kerry O’Brien about his career and eventful life behind the scenes (selected by Susannah Woolley).
17. ‘Fighting on‘ – In his final months, late actor Christopher Reeve shares his outlook on life with astonishing honestly, divulging the most candid of emotions with journalist Alanna Nash (selected by Nick Schomburgk).
18. ‘You’re an unbelievably stupid man‘ – In the wake of the Sandy Hook Massacre, CNN’s Piers Morgan and Gun Owners of America’s Larry Pratt go for each other’s throats (selected by Will Vero).
19. ‘Forever the King of Pop‘ – In what became one of history’s most-watched interviews, Martin Bashir is given a rare opportunity to delve into the life of one of the world’s most infamous figures, Michael Jackson, writes Bess Zewdie (selected by Bess Zewdie).
20. ‘Life isn’t permanent‘ – Family issues were on the agenda when brothers Barry and Robin Gibb spoke to The Telegraph’s Neil McCormick on the 50th anniversary of the Bee Gees’ first performance (selected by Lauren Bordin).
21. ‘An intimate affair‘ – Speaking with Andrew Denton on Enough Rope, Richard E. Grant subtly reverses roles and momentarily becomes the interviewer (selected by Ewa Staszewska).
22. ‘Deviating from the party message‘ – ABC journalist Leigh Sales unnerves Tony Abbott as she applies reality and logic to his political spin (selected by Erin Leeder).
23. ‘With great risk comes great reward‘ – The evolutionist versus creationist debate reignites as Richard Dawkins and Giles Fraser get into a heated disagreement during this interview (selected by Adam Hill).
24. ‘A harsh PR lesson‘ – Arnold Schwarzenegger speaks frankly to Peter Manso about living with the world’s greatest body (selected by Daniel Bramley).
25. ‘The runaway publisher‘ – Rolling Stone Magazine’s Michael Hastings speaks with Julian Assange, the boy from Australia who became public enemy number one to the USA (selected by Michael Itsou).
26. ‘A message to the kids‘ – Menacing rap impresario and gangland figure “Suge” Knight uses a prison yard interview to send thinly veiled threats to his rivals (selected by Rudi Edsall).
27. ‘Postecoglou’s turning point‘ – Young Socceroos coach Ange Postecoglou walks away with his reputation in tatters following a disastrous interview (selected by Andrew Dimopoulos).
28. ‘Defending a 26-year legacy‘ – Sir Alex Ferguson is made to work hard to defend his marvellous legacy at Manchester United in this interview (selected by Luke Karlik).
29. ‘Flustered and powerless’ – The ABC’s Sarah Ferguson “flusters” Federal Education Minister Christopher Pyne as she lays down the law (selected by Jess Whitby).