Receiving a request for more information or an interview from a journalist is a promising sign that your story has caught their attention.
They could be looking for clarifications, more information, or an exclusive comment to give their story a unique edge.
Answering email questions
Answering questions via email is relatively easy.
Provide comprehensive, thoughtful answers and don't hesitate to share additional information that could be beneficial. This will help build your relationship with the journalist.
Preparing for live interviews
Being asked for a phone call or an interview can be daunting, but remember that this means the journalist liked your pitch.
The journalist isn't looking to catch you out or pick your data apart, they simply want to flesh out their story with your input.
Make sure you (or your client) are well-clued up on your campaign.
If it's a data study:
Review the key findings, methodology, and any quotes you supplied.
Try to anticipate questions on any potential weaknesses or nuances in your data.
Have answers ready to questions about yourself, your professional background, your job, and what prompted you to carry out the study in the first place.
If it's an expert commentary pitch:
Refamiliarise yourself with your commentary
Refamiliarise yourself with the subject or event you're commenting on.
Based on my experience, the questions are never too left-field and are generally predictable. Sometimes, questions can even be quite leading - journalists often have a story angle in mind and just need the words to come from you.
If you're being interviewed to go on TV, it's even more the case that the anchor knows what they want you to say and will guide you into these answers. In the TV interviews I've done, the anchor essentially wanted me to regurgitate the expert quote I had provided in the pitch. They didn't want any new information.
Post-interview tip: As soon as you've finished, jot down the questions you were asked. This will help when you're preparing for subsequent interviews.
Tips for Zoom Interviews
If you're preparing for a Zoom interview, here are my top tips to help it all go smoothly.
Tech setup: Check your internet, camera, and microphone are all working well before the interview starts.
Lighting: Position yourself in front of a window (or another light source) for the most flattering lighting. Avoid having a light source directly behind you.
Camera positioning: Place your camera at eye level and look directly at the lens to simulate eye contact. Aim to have as neutral a background as possible and minimise any potential background noise.
Prompts: If you feel like you'll need a prompt, place a sticky note or a folded-over piece of paper near your camera so you don't have to look away to read it.
Speaking tips: Give concise answers and control the pace. Using hand movements and consciously pausing at punctuation are good techniques to help you slow yourself down.
Side note: Once I was asked to spell out my name, which confused me at the time (I asked him to repeat the question three times!). He then explained it was so they could ensure they spelt it correctly in the caption.
A real-life example
Here's a real-life example of an interview I gave, with the questions and my answers.
We had pitched a data story highlighting price rises for certain products around the holiday season, and I was contacted by a journalist who wanted to interview me about it.
I chose this example because it's the hardest interview I've done, and I thought it would be helpful for you to see some of the 'harder' questions they asked.
Q: How should we refer to you in the article? What is your preferred job title?
A: Veronica Fletcher, cofounder and publisher at [company name here].
Q: Can you tell me more about [company]?
A: The answer to this will depend on your company, but I gave a 1-2 sentences about what my company does.
Q: Your company is based in the UK? Why do you have an interest in American prices?
A: Yes, I'm from the UK and the company is based there, but the majority of my readers are from the US, which is why I focus on it.
Note: I had preempted this question and was expecting to be asked this.
Q: What gave you the idea for this study?
A: I come from a data background having worked as a data analyst in the food retail space for several years, so I have a keen interest in this sort of thing. If you've had a look at our company website, you'll see we've run multiple other similar studies.
As I was doing a food shop, I noticed similar price rises to the ones I've highlighted in my local grocery store and wanted to see how widespread this was. When I saw how big some of the price hikes were, I was shocked.
I think it's important the consumer is made aware of this sort of pricing practice, so they can make informed choices about how they spend their money.
Q: Did you only look at one retailer and do you have any data from previous years?
A: For this study we only collected data for one retailer, but anecdotally I saw similar things on other retailers' websites. And no, no previous data.
Q: How do you think these price rises would be justified?
A: The more expensive products are being made for a specific event and the special packaging may require adjustments to the manufacturing process, which will obviously affect cost.
Another big factor that will affect the pricing of the products is waste. These seasonal products won't sell after the Holiday season, or they will have to be sold at a significantly discounted price.
So while a slight increase in price is expected for Holiday products, the degree of price hikes we're seeing I'm not sure can be justified when the actual edible product the customer is getting is no different from normal.
Q: Are all the products you included in the study sold by [retailer]?
A: No, some of the products like 'example 1' and 'example 2' are sold by third-party vendors. These vendors will set the prices, not the retailer.
I have highlighted in my table which examples have one of these third-party vendor products, and also swapped out some of the third-party vendor products I did have with examples sold by the retailer - so the table might look a little different from when you first saw it.
Example 3, example 4, and example 5, which are highlighted in my pitch, are all sold by the retailer.
Note: This was another question I had anticipated because there was a slight issue with the data in that some of the products I'd included were sold by third parties instead of the retailer, so the prices weren't directly comparable. I didn't hide away from this and was honest in my answer, plus what I had done to mitigate the impact of this.
Q: Who generally has more influence over the prices that are set? Retailers or manufacturers?
A: From my time in the grocery retail space, the manufacturer will go to the retailer with a suggested price, but it's the retailer who has the final say over the price they set.
Note: I was surprised by this question because it is quite specific information that requires some knowledge of the inner workings of the retail space. Luckily, it's true that I worked as a data analyst at a supermarket, so I do have some knowledge of how pricing works.