Creating Powerful Radio

I really enjoyed this reading. It put into words my experience as a radio listener and deepened my understanding of what both the interviewer and interviewee are doing. I thought it was interesting that interviewers, in a way, manipulate information out of their guests by pretending not to have done their pre-show work or "playing dumb". I notice this tactic a lot on Larry King, the Daily Show with Jon Stewart and the Colbert Report, but often dismissed it as them being humorous - but it truly works! The article has taught me that there is some sort of balance between the interviewer and his or her guest: who is controlling the interview, when and how.

For my project, I am interviewing a 21 year old woman named Rebekah who writes poetry. In terms of my interview, I'm hoping to delve into her character and find out how she came to love poetry - a written art that, in my opinion, is slowly disappearing. However, some poets need to go to dark or personal places to get their material, and I understand I need to be careful in the direction of my interviewing and help make her comfortable enough to open up to me, or to not let the conversation stray away from getting to the essence of who she is. This article has helped me think about how i need to be careful yet diligent in getting to the point of the interview: creating a portrait of who Rebekah is and what makes her tick.