NPRSpeak

[Brooke Pierce]

I've heard that dubbed interviews are very common on music radio, especially
with musicians and rock groups who are touring.  The group's publicist sends a
pre-recorded interview tape to the various radio stations across the country
along with a list of the appropriate questions.  The DJ then does the
interview "on the air", asking the questions during long pauses left on the
pre-recorded track - the effect being that the individual radio personalities
seem to be conducting a live interview with said rock group.

As for pen and ink journalists and the liberties they take ... I've been
"doing journalism" for the last couple years and have often been struck by how
easy it would be to cast the interview subject in a terrible light - or bathe
him in an angelic glow, depending upon one's desire.  Obviously, any good
journalist will do his or her best to present the subject as honestly as
possible during the editing process.  But there have been a couple occasions
where I've been shocked to hear my editor make a remark like "boy, he seems
like a jerk" after reading an interview feature I've written - having been
there and having heard the person's tone and taken in their demeanor, it never
occurred to me that in stark black and white they might seem very different.
Editing interviews is a tricky little process.

Brooke Pierce

www.theatermania.com



>  Duane Campbell writes:
>.......> What I find interesting about Morning Edition are the many
>>dubbed interviews. It is obvious that some producer has actually done the
>>two-way. Then Edwards is handed a script of the questions, and his
>>questions are dubbed into the interview by very expert digital editors.
>>
>>I dunno, but personally I find this a bit dishonest.
>>
>>D