Asking questions as a reporter

A reporter's questions have a different job from most. They're asked on behalf of readers who aren't in the room, and the answers may be printed word for word. That raises the stakes for precision. A vague question gets a vague answer, and a vague answer makes a weak sentence in the story.

The basics of preparing and ordering questions are in the interview guide. This page covers what reporting adds.

Agree on the terms first

Before the first real question, settle whether the conversation is on the record. Terms like "on background" and "off the record" are used differently in different newsrooms, so spell out what you mean: "Can I quote you by name?" If the source wants to change the terms halfway through, you can discuss it, but nothing already said on the record becomes off the record just because they ask later. Know your outlet's policy before you're in that conversation.

Research so you can ask specific questions

The best accountability question is one the source can't answer with a talking point because it is about a specific, checkable thing. "What's your response to criticism of the program?" invites a prepared statement. "The audit released in March found 40 percent of the grants weren't tracked. Who was responsible for tracking them?" does not.

That kind of question takes homework: the documents, the earlier statements, the budget, the vote record. Reporters who ask the sharpest questions usually spend more time reading than talking.

Factual questions first, hard questions later

Start with questions that build the record: dates, sequence, names, numbers. "When did you first hear about the problem?" "Who else was in the meeting?" These are easy to answer, they set the facts down in the source's own words, and they often turn up a contradiction you can ask about later.

Save the most confrontational question for the end of the interview, when you already have what you need. If the source walks out, you've lost less.

When the answer doesn't answer

Experienced spokespeople and politicians are trained to bridge from the question asked to the message they came with. You'll hear it as "What's really important here is..." or "Let me put that in context."

Three moves help:

1. Re-ask, briefly: "I understand. My question was who approved the payment." Don't add new material; that gives them a fresh question to bridge from.
2. Narrow it. If "how much did it cost?" gets a dodge, try "was it more or less than a million dollars?" Closed questions are useful here because they pin down a fact.
3. Ask why they can't answer: "Is there a reason you can't tell me?" A stated reason (legal advice, an ongoing investigation) is reportable and fair to include.

Stay calm throughout. A hostile interviewer gives the source an easy way to make the story about tone.

Questions every source should get

A few questions are worth asking almost everyone:

• "How do you know that?" Firsthand, from a document, or from someone else?
• "Who else should I talk to?"
• "Is there a document that shows this?"
• "What's the best argument against what you've just told me?"
• "What did I not ask that I should have?"

The first one protects you from printing secondhand claims as fact. The fourth often produces a more careful, more quotable answer than the main question did.

Check before you publish

Read quotes back to yourself against your recording or notes. Confirm spellings, titles and numbers with the source, even if it feels pedantic. If a fact came from one person, ask whether you can confirm it with a second source or a record. Some well-known reporting failures came down to a question nobody asked, about where a claim came from and who could confirm it. Our article on the questions that weren't asked before the Iraq war looks at one well-documented case, including the self-criticism newsrooms published afterward.