NPR Radio Interview Analysis

Suzzette Medina
MCom100w- Tu/Th 10:30 a.m.
NPR- Radio Interview Analysis
Word Count: 512

After listening to almost an hour of a radio interview of Sheryl Crow, it is quite clear that Terry Gross is a talented and personable interviewer. She was able to lead the conversation and make sure Sheryl discussed topics that were most important and influential to her music.

Terry clearly had done her homework prior to the interview with Sheryl Crow. She knew about certain events in Sheryl’s adolescence that dated back to her high school days. Terry also was familiar with the timeline of Sheryl’s life recently regarding her relationship with Lance Armstrong, her breast cancer battle, and the adoption of her son Wyatt. Terry also knew about the history of Sheryl’s career and the hidden meanings behind some songs and albums. She used the knowledge she had through research to spark questions and keep the conversation flowing. Also, because Terry had such a strong understanding of Sheryl’s past, it seemed easier to have a more personal conversation between the two. Her knowledge allowed Sheryl to open up on a deeper level and speak about more personal issues in her life. There was no need to discuss the statistics about her background or other superficial data.

Terry asked mostly open-ended questions to encourage Sheryl to answer in a more complete and detailed way. She began several questions with words like “how” and “why” to spark up a discussion and avoid receiving simple yes or no answers. Terry asked questions like, “So you had an album and chose not to release it, why?” The questions that were asked mostly were aimed to get Sheryl talking about her personal struggles, experiences, and lessons in relation to her music.
Some questions were built upon from other previous questions and developed along with the types of answers given. When Terry asked about cheer leading in high school, Sheryl corrected her by saying she twirled the baton instead. From there Terry went off her answer and asked how she learned to twirl and if she ever performed on stage.

The interviewer did not seem to have an apparent strategy other than to nudge Sheryl to answer more personally and in depth if she ended with short or superficial answers. If an answer was not satisfactory, Terry would ask about specific events and people to dig deeper. Terry occasionally had to ask Sheryl to elaborate on her answer when she found herself with less than adequate information.

The relationship between Terry and Sheryl seemed almost personal and quite friendly. The types of issues they talked about and how sincere and easily Sheryl spoke about her personal life, made it seem like the two were quite close.

From this interview I learned that it is very helpful and plainly essential to have a set of questions and a background of the interviewee prior to meeting. This way, the interviewee knows that you have a bit of knowledge about their background and can talk about deeper, intimate, and ultimately more interesting things. I learned how to politely ask for more information from an interviewee if their answer was not sufficient.