Investigative interview

An Investigative interview is an interview style designed to find out information about someone or some thing. Similar to hard news as they both have a political feel about them. This style is used to get as much information out of the interviewee as they can. Investigative interviews can be used when interviewing a criminal, celebrity, palpitation or anyone that holds information that is sought after. Investigative interviews use more closed questions rather than open ones in order to gain more facts and figures rather than opinions.

An example of an investigative interview: 

this clip was taken from the film life and death of a serial killer (trailer below) 

Entertainment Interview

An entertainment interview style focuses on the media i.e usually used when interviewing celebrities.  Entertainment interviews are most often funny and have a relaxed vibe. Avoiding any awkwardness and uptightness. Some Tv shows are devoted to entertainment interviews. These can be seen on such shows as the “Jonathon Ross Show”, “Piers Morgan” and many others.

An example of an entertainment interview is: 

This is a good example of showing an entertainment interview. This clip was taken from the Jonathan Ross show where he is interviewing Lee Evans. This interview was done purely for entertainment purposes.

light hearted ­interviews

A light hearted style of ­interview is a interview that is done in a relaxed and casual manner. However this does not necessarily mean the subject matter isn’t very serious but the way the interview and interviewee go about talking about it isn’t very dull and serious. The aim for this style of interviewing is to put the interviewee at ease and it may also be used for an emotional or personal interview.

An example of a light hearted interview is:

This interview is taken from the Alan Carr chatty man TV series. In this episode Katy Perry is interviewed by Alan Carr to promote her new album, "teenage Dream". As well as the interview Katy performed some of her songs from her new album. This interview is an example of light hearted interview because the interview is done in a relaxed, casual manner. both the body language of Katy and Alan is relaxed, they are almost slumped over the couches rather than sat up straight. the interview has been set up in a casual manner, it almost sounds more like a conversation between two people with no strict questions. when Alan asks Katy a question to guide the topic of conversation he almost gives a joke rhetorical question. for example:

"Doesn't simon look like a cut out? "

Throughout the interview there is a lot of audience interaction. By addressing the audience in this way it makes the interview more relaxed and casual.

Throughout the interview Alan Carr and Katy Perry make jokes to each other. For example :

Alan Carr - "He said he fell in love with you the first time he saw you?"
Katy Perry - "After the bottle hit him on the head, I'm sure he was seeing little birdies going around."

Combative Interview

A combative interview is considered to be an aggressive interview style towards the interviewee. It’s a quite common interview style that is used when the interviewee is reluctant to give out information.  The reasons for using this style of interviewing is that it puts the interviewee under pressure to give out more information then they would previously have wanted to.  

An example of combative interview is: 

In this interview Fox’s Bret Baier interviews President Obama for Fox News.

This interview is notably combative, with a frustrated President Obama feeling that Bret Baier won’t let him finish his sentences. At one point Obama said “Bret, let me finish my answers here,"

For example, here's a portion of the transcript straight from Fox:

BAIER: So how can you

OBAMA: the notion that 


BAIER: guarantee that they're not going to

OBAMA: so but

BAIER: they're going to be able to keep their doctor

OBAMA: Bret, you've got to let me finish my answers

BAIER: Sir, I know you don't like to filibuster, but

OBAMA: Well, I'm trying to answer your question and you keep on interrupting. So let me be clear.

At the end of the interview Baier did apologize to Obama for his repeated interruptions but explained it was only because he wanted to get as much information out of him as he could.

Hard News

Hard news is a term most often used by journalists and others who work in the media industry though you will hear others outside the industry use it. Hard News is often referred to the fast-paced news that usually appears on the front page of newspapers. The different types of topics that hard news often deals with are topics like business, politics and international news. However what defines hard news is not always its subject matter. Some might call a news story that's heavily reported, on a subject matter considered softer (like entertainment), hard news is defined by the way the subject is approached.

An example of hard news is: 

Newsnight is a BBC Television current affairs programme noted for its in-depth analysis and often robust cross-examination of senior politicians. Jeremy Paxman has been its main presenter for over two decades. The interview in this program focuses on the recent widley publicized health scare involving sub-standard breast implants manufactured by French company PIP. And how it has generated worldwide safety concerns about the overall safety of breast implants. The purpose of the interview is to enhance the audiences understanding of the health risks highlighted by the use of PIP implants and how it effects the women involved.

In this interview Jeremy Paxman interviews Naomi Wolf author of “Beauty Myth”, Katie price former page 3 model and Anne Milton MP and Health Minister.

The way the subject matter in this interview is approached is very serious and aims to give the audience more information on the subject matter. The way that Jeremy interviews the three women is assertive and non-bias. He makes sure he asks all three women questions and let them have time to get there point of view across. He also makes sure that he is in control of the interview at all times and some times repeats himself to make sure he gets an answer that he is looking for or will continue the debate. The types of questions asked throughout the interview are generally open questions as it allows the women to express their thoughts on the subject in matter. It also keeps the interview rolling so that it is more like a discussion then one persons point of view.