On 9 July, Deborah Joseph, head of digital at BSME and editor-in-chief of GLAMOUR, hosted a webinar with award-winning broadcaster and journalist Emma Barnett. After talking about her new book, It’s About Bloody Time. Period., Emma spoke about her journalism career and gave tips on mastering interviewing skills.
Here are 10 things we learnt from Emma Barnett, the main presenter of BBC Radio 4 Woman’s Hour and a regular presenter of BBC Two’s Newsnight, who’s earned a reputation for her tenacious interview style.
Summarised by Angela Locatelli, editorial admin assistant, APL Media.
1. The things you enjoy shouldn’t necessarily be your job
When Emma got her first media job — as an editorial assistant at Media Week — she assumed that, since she liked theatre, she’d enjoy writing about the arts. “After six months of going to see quite random, off-West End, plays and interviewing lots of actors, I realised that wasn’t my interest area for work; it was my interest area for pleasure,” Emma said. “Often, your pleasure isn’t necessarily what you should peruse — it ruins it, actually.”
2. Find your natural interview style
Talking about her famed ‘rottweiler-like’ interview style, Emma said: “It only happens when the interviewee isn’t answering the question — it’s a fairness thing. I wasn’t sitting there one day thinking, if they don’t answer the question, we’re not moving on — it was natural. Someone said my style is like politics in the pub.”
3. Always prepare before interviews
“People have more fear when they haven’t done the prep,” said Emma. “That’s your support system and your team.” She explained that in some circumstances — such as when she was working on a programme at Clarence House with the Duchess of Cornwall (who was guest editing) — she can’t speak freely with her producers, making preparation paramount. “Any nerves I have go, because I know what I’m doing.”
4. It’s sometimes best to keep a distance from interviewees
“I can’t get friendly with the accountability people,” said Emma. “I don’t report on their world, I don’t rely on them in a way that a lot of journalists and correspondents will have to, so it’s a privilege of my position that I’m separate. I don’t like to talk to them that much before interviews, and I don’t particularly want to talk to them afterwards.”
5. Remain in control of your interviews
Emma was asked how she still manages to get something good out of an interviewee when things aren’t going well. “Completely change direction, and go personal,” Emma replied. “Not personal with something that’s private, but if you can, ask something they’ll want to answer that will lead to something else.”
6. There’s sexism in the media…
Emma argued that the public perception of women’s programmes can sometimes be sexist. But, she added, that provides an opportunity to disrupt expectations. “Do I think it should be like that? No. Do women’s media and platforms exist because of attitudes like that? Yes,” she said. “One’s always got a lot to discuss because of those exact attitudes — they’ve given birth to great programmes and brands.”
7. … and many ideals are still shaped by men
“I was acutely aware of being the only woman at times — that’s not necessarily misogyny, but it’s obviously not right in lots of different scenarios,” said Emma. “The lens through which we look at the world is still dominated by some ideals that have been shaped by men. And that, for women working in it, is always a negotiation. Just by swimming in the water of the media, you’ve got to swim against the tide of how things should be written about or said.”
8. Do your research to beat imposter syndrome
“The first time you do anything is really hard, except the first time in my line of work is in public, and the only way I know to arm myself is research,” Emma said. “There’s a difference between thinking I shouldn’t be there and being nervous. I try and stay on the right side of being nervous and be prepared by great producers into thinking I should be here.”
9. Being on air like conducting the best orchestra in the world
“I love being on air live with listeners, you just don’t know what’s going to happen, they’re the best company,” Emma said about her love of radio. She added that it can be a very humbling and funny experience. “When something’s going right, it’s like the maddest dinner party on steroids, and you’re in charge of it.”
10. Be entrepreneurial in your approach to journalism
Emma said that for many journalists, digital and broadcast have ended up being an insurance of sorts against print, which is becoming an increasingly difficult space to occupy. “You don’t necessarily have to come up with business models, but you’ve got to stay a little bit ahead of the game to keep relevant and have something people want to buy,” she concluded.
