Is the reporter going fishin?
Psychology is blessed with a number of nationally prominent reporters who know the discipline well, but some reporters are not as well versed and don’t prepare for interviews as much as they should. Some are “generalist” reporters with little understanding of psychology. When this is the case, it is even more critical that the interviewee control the interview and educate the reporter. Control the interview by “discarding” questions that have nothing to do with the subject matter at hand and bring the reporter back to the crux of the matter. One effective technique for accomplishing this is simply telling the reporter, “I don’t know how to answer that, it’s really not germane to the subject, but what is important is….” Often at the end of interviews reporters will ask you if there’s anything else you’d like to tell them, anything they missed. This is your very important opportunity to add information or correct misinformation. Be sure to do so, even if it’s repeating what you’ve disc
