not an interview

[originally posted on myspace on October 28, 2008, Thursday]

There are some things I am particular about. And I have a cold so I'm grumpy.

A "Q&A" reprint is not an interview.

I hate when a publication (print, online, whatever) runs an "interview" that is just in a "question/answer" format, such as:

Q: Why did you decide to such and such?

A: When I was a young child, an angel visited me and told me that I needed to do such and such by my 21st birthday...blah blah blah.

I hate that format! That is not an interview.

Writing some questions and copying and pasting word for word the response (you emailed your subject those questions, didn't you?) is lazy. You should take the answers and weave it into a story. Take those answers and mix in background/bio info. That is an interview. And operating from a set list of questions (that is, everyone, no matter what, gets the same list of questions, in the same order) is so lazy. You run the risk of asking questions that aren't applicable and you miss out on the opportunity of a follow up - related to the subject's unique answer - question.

Ugh.