Getting a Word in Edgewise

Last week I expressed my frustrations about sources that want to rewrite my articles when given an opportunity. Another problem I infrequently encounter as a journalist is the source that takes control of the interview. Again, I think insecurity is a chief factor. Most interviewees are content to let me, as the journalist, ask the questions. They know it’s my job to write the story based on the information I obtain from them. I have a list of questions prepared before each interview to guide me and conversations normally go smoothly. But once in a great while I will come across a source (often a professor or other professional “expert”) that wants to manage the interview. He has an agenda. He has been granting interviews so long he thinks he knows what I will ask so he proceeds to blather. Instead of waiting for the actual query he takes off on a rambling line of rhetoric that isn’t the information I’m seeking. He tosses in clichés every few sentences. I had one of my absolute worst experiences in a phone interview this month. I couldn’t even ask my first question before the fellow began ranting about the subject at hand. He didn’t take a breath for 15 minutes. In cases like this, I know I might as well give up trying to ask a specific question. He won’t respond with what I’m looking for anyway.