This interview is unique in a way that Fidler interviewed another radio interviewer. The conversation can be roughly divided into the following three sections.
Part 1
1. What was your first job in radio? Did you sort of accidentally backed into it in public radio?
2. How long did it take you to get good?
3. You're impersonating. It leaves you to feeling authentic. Is that what you think you were doing in this clip?
4. So who knocked that out of you? Did someone come along and just say ‘knock it off'? Did someone do that? Or did you just realise yourself that to actually start talking like a normal person?
5. Theory -- 10,000 hours to spend at anything to be seriously good. Do you think there's a similar kind of lesson there to you?
6. It's worse though if she's not mean, isn't it?
The two of them were able to build on their shared experience, both being experienced interviewers, and eased into a conversation about Glass's journey as a radio interviewer. Using information he picked up from the answer, Fidler then made a few follow-up questions.
Part 2
7. The story you did at Lincoln Park High School, the making of that story, changed your approach to making radio documentaries. Do you want to talk a bit about that story, if you can remember? And what changed? And finding the right people to talk to, in order to make that documentary story live?
8. It sounds like what you're talking about is, you're trying to always look to hold two conflicting ideas in your head at the same time, and give that to the listener too.
Part 3
9. Did you find a time you have to train your listeners to listen to what you're trying to do?
10. Sounds like you had to train people to see that was there because you weren't talking in that normal radio voice.
11. You mentioned there are story tests about sympathy. Do you have other tests? Do you put your stories to series of tests?
12. Do you have to be prepared to kill your babies? Do you have a similar process like that? Baby genocide, every day?
Part 1
1. What was your first job in radio? Did you sort of accidentally backed into it in public radio?
2. How long did it take you to get good?
3. You're impersonating. It leaves you to feeling authentic. Is that what you think you were doing in this clip?
4. So who knocked that out of you? Did someone come along and just say ‘knock it off'? Did someone do that? Or did you just realise yourself that to actually start talking like a normal person?
5. Theory -- 10,000 hours to spend at anything to be seriously good. Do you think there's a similar kind of lesson there to you?
6. It's worse though if she's not mean, isn't it?
The two of them were able to build on their shared experience, both being experienced interviewers, and eased into a conversation about Glass's journey as a radio interviewer. Using information he picked up from the answer, Fidler then made a few follow-up questions.
Part 2
7. The story you did at Lincoln Park High School, the making of that story, changed your approach to making radio documentaries. Do you want to talk a bit about that story, if you can remember? And what changed? And finding the right people to talk to, in order to make that documentary story live?
8. It sounds like what you're talking about is, you're trying to always look to hold two conflicting ideas in your head at the same time, and give that to the listener too.
Part 3
9. Did you find a time you have to train your listeners to listen to what you're trying to do?
10. Sounds like you had to train people to see that was there because you weren't talking in that normal radio voice.
11. You mentioned there are story tests about sympathy. Do you have other tests? Do you put your stories to series of tests?
12. Do you have to be prepared to kill your babies? Do you have a similar process like that? Baby genocide, every day?
In these two parts, Fidler wanted Glass to talk about a specific experience/topic. He started with a pre-planned question to bring up the topic. Then he gave his summary of Glass's answers and prompted Glass to talk in more depth.
The flow of the interview almost made me feel that it was two friends having a chat. As an interviewer, Fidler planted key questions to bring up the topic that he would like to find out more about. He often provided summaries of Glass's points, then followed with more questions. There was a few noticeable moment of silence, no more than a few seconds each though. My guess was Fidler waited for Glass to carry on talking and have his stories told uninterrupted.
It's interesting that Fidler seemed to have some specific questions that he asked the person he was interviewing. I wonder if this was because they were both radio hosts and as such, the one being interviewed might expect to be asked certain questions? It's interesting that you were able to ascertain three distinct sections or parts to the interview you listened to, and it makes me wonder if Fidler intended to structure the interview that way?
ReplyDeleteHi Jingyu,
ReplyDeleteI found your point about the “noticeable moment of silence” was quite interesting and I wonder why the existence of those moments of silence. The interview I transcribed on Wade Davies, there were several times that the interview and the interviewee were talking at the same time which is quite different from your interview and I found it also made the transcribing a little bit more challenging.