You may be interviewing a celebrity for the first time. Here are some handy tips.
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Author: Pallavi Bhattacharya
So it’s for the very first time that you’ve been assigned to interview a celebrity. You are feeling nervous. Maybe you have worshipped him by putting up a poster of him in your room. But when you interview him you must do so as a professional journalist and not behave like a fan. By following these simple tips you may make the interview a success.
FINDING THEIR CONTACT
As a fan, it may seem quite impossible to you to find your doted celebrity’s contact details. You may just ponder on the fleeting glimpse you got of your hero signing autographs in a crowd of fans. Maybe you’ve felt the closest in proximity to your favourite celebrity while going down his lane. But even if you camp outside his house for days you won’t get an exclusive interview.
If he is a celebrity in acting, modeling, fashion, music or the creative arts; you may pick up the local film directory of your city. The Film India Directory in Mumbai has an exhaustive list of most celebrities in the city. Check out www.thefilmindia.com or call (022)26515194/ (022)26512882 to buy a copy of Film India. Similarly the Ganashakti Dial of Kolkata has a detailed list of celebrities. The Ganashakti Dial is published by the Ganashakti newspaper house of Kolkata. These directories are published every year. Buy the latest edition.
If the celebrity you are to interview isn’t listed in the Directory; then google him and find his official website or his company’s official website. Yet another way of getting the contact of celebrities may be through journalist friends who may be having their contact.
Many celebrities are already on facebook. And many of the profiles are real profiles and not impersonations. Approaching celebrities for an interview through facebook is yet another option.
THE PROFESSIONAL WAY OF REQUESTING FOR AN INTERVIEW
If you have found the contact of the PR person of the celebrity, it’s best to contact him with the interview request. On phone clearly and crisply mention your name and the publication the interview is meant for. The PR person may turn down the request (if the publication isn’t one the celebrity may benefit from) or he may ask you to call back later on a certain date. Sometimes the PR person may ask you to send an email clearly stating your interview requirements with essential information like the name of the publication the article is meant for, the kind of interview it will be (eg: if it will be carried as a cover story, or if it will be a be a feature with quotes of the celebrity incorporated, or if it will be in ‘Q’ and ‘A’ format, for how many pages the interview may run). You may be asked to state your credentials as a journalist too. If the publication is a new one; you may be asked for necessary details regarding your publication.
Celebrities generally don’t take calls from unknown numbers. So if you just have the mobile number of the celebrity, it is best to leave them a crisp sms mentioning your name and the publication the interview is meant for. If the celebrity is willing to give an interview; he will generally reply providing the mobile number of his PR person and ask you to coordinate with him.
If you are contacting a celebrity you don’t know through facebook, please don’t send a friend’s request along with your initial mail. Give a very crisp title to your private message like ‘interview request from ___________ (the name of the publication)’ so that it’s not categorized as spam or fan mail. Celebrities may be skeptical if this is a genuine friend’s request especially if it is made though facebook. Do send him your contact details as well as the contact details of your editor/ publisher so that they feel that it’s an authentic friend’s request and can always cross-check the details. The information section of your facebook profile should clearly state that you are a journalist and be updated with your work experience.
FRAMING THE INTERVIEW QUESTIONS
Generally your editor will review the questions you frame for the celebrity. Research intensively before framing the questions. Google is obviously a quick and easy way to find out about the celebrity. All well known celebrities have a Wikipedia page.
Pay special attention to the recent news concerning the celebrity. Watch the latest film or play of the celebrity. Please read the latest book of the celebrity if he is an author. The celebrity will be impressed with you if you have done your homework well.
There may be some unpleasant questions that you just have to ask the celebrity. Keep those personal/ uncomfortable questions right at the end of the interview.
BEING ON TIME
Being late is absolutely unacceptable. A celebrity with a tight schedule would expect you to be right on time. It’s best to arrive early. If you are even fifteen minutes late, the celebrity may scrap the interview. Keeping in mind that it’s a new address to find, start and arrive early. However please don’t give the celebrity a call if you are an hour early for an interview. It’s is better to wait outside his home, office or the venue of the interview if you have arrived really early. Give his PR person a call fifteen minutes before the scheduled interview time informing that you have arrived.
TIPS DURING THE COURSE OF THE INTERVIEW
Professionally shake hands with the celebrity when you first meet him. If he’s a celebrity of the yesteryears who is comfortable with a namaste do that instead of a handshake. Ask for permission before you switch your dictaphone on to tape the celebrity’s interview. If the celebrity wants to say anything off record you need to switch your dictaphone off.
Some celebrities like to engage in conversation not allied to the interview with the journalist. Whereas other celebrities are more formal and try to maintain a distance. Respond in accordance to the celebrity’s temperament.
Don’t linger on for long after the interview is over. Thank the celebrity for his time and send him a copy of the article after it is published.
MAINTAINING CORDIAL RELATIONS WITH THE CELEBRITY AFTER THE INTERVIEW
Make sure that the magazine is promptly couriered to the celebrity after publication. If the article has appeared in a newspaper or online, make sure that he is informed on the day of publication and the online link is mailed to him. The PR person of the celebrity is to be informed on the publication of the article.
Make sure that the PR person has your contact details so that he is likely to update you on the latest news of the celebrity and you are included in the panel of journalists to be invited to press meets conducted by the celebrity. This is how you can make sure that the first interview is the stepping stone to having a long lasting professional relationship with the celebrity.
UPDATE YOUR CV STATING THE NAME OF THE CELEBRITY INTERVIEWED
After interviewing the celebrity mention in your CV which celebrity you have interviewed. After the publication of the article, mention the publication in which the interview was published, more so if it is a renowned publication. You may categorize the celebrities you interview under the heads- ‘actors’, ‘models’, ‘musicians’, ‘authors’ etc to make it discernible to whoever wishes to get an idea of the range of celebrities you have interviewed from viewing your CV.
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Amateurish style. Grammatical errors . Reads like a keyword type article that struggles to flow