Political television interviews and communicative failures for journalists
Khrystyna DyakivThe article analyzes television interviews in Ukrainian and German from the perspective of the personality of the interviewer and the difficulties that arise before and during that interview. Communicative deviations as differences in the expectations of the interviewer vis-à-vis the expectations of the respondent and the addressee are revealed and critically analyzed. Particular attention is paid to the triangle of relationships between the interviewer, the respondent, and the addressee (the viewer). Elements such as age, sex, status, knowledge, interests, and expectations play an important role in the building of relationships between the interviewer, the respondent, and the addressee. Therefore, they are important for the overall success of the interview. Accordingly, the journalist assumes three roles: a representative of the audience (the addressee), a promoter of the invited (the respondent), or a representative of himself/herself. Here, by the term “communicative deviations” we understand the differences in the expectations of the communicators in an interview. In this article, we only draw on and reflect the deviations in the television interviews in both languages when the interviewer has other expectations about the interview than the respondent or the addressee (the viewer), which is a failure from the side of the first one, that is, the interviewer. Communicative deviations as violations of the interviewer’s expectations in all their forms can be avoided, or at least reduced, if all the elements of communication at the informative and emotional level—and very often at the communicative-situational level—are taken into account, and greater attention is also paid to technical characteristics.
Das politische Fernsehinterview und kommunikative Misserfolge für Journalisten
Khrystyna DyakivDer Artikel widmet sich den politischen Fernsehinterviews im Ukrainischen und Deutschen aus der Perspektive der Persönlichkeit des Interviewers und der Schwierigkeiten, die vor und während des Fernsehinterviews auftreten. Kommunikative Abweichungen (Deviationen) werden als Unterschiede in den Erwartungen des Interviewers im Vergleich zu den Erwartungen des Befragten und des Adressaten aufgezeigt und analysiert. Besonderes Augenmerk wird auf das Beziehungsdreieck, bestehend aus Interviewer, Befragter und Adressat, gelegt. Bei der Beziehung zwischen diesen drei Größen spielen die Elemente Alter, Geschlecht, Status, Wissen, Interessen und Erwartungen eine wichtige Rolle und tragen zum Erfolg des Interviews bei. Dementsprechend übernimmt der Journalist drei Rollen: als Vertreter des Publikums, als Promotor des Eingeladenen (des Befragten) oder als Vertreter von sich selbst. Durch kommunikative Deviationen werden die Unterschiede in den Erwartungen der Kommunikatoren in einem Interview verstanden. In diesem Artikel wird nur auf die Abweichungen in den Fernsehinterviews in beiden Sprachen eingegangen, wenn der Interviewer andere Erwartungen an das Interview hat als der Befragte oder der Adressat (der Zuschauer), was für das erste ein Misserfolg ist, d.h. für den Interviewer. Es werden kommunikative Abweichungen des Interviewers gegenüber dem Befragten und dem Adressaten skizziert und die Strategien zur Überwindung von Misserfolgen eines Fernsehinterviews vorgeschlagen. Kommunikative Abweichungen als Verstöße gegen die Erwartungen des Interviewers in all seinen Erscheinungsformen können vermieden oder zumindest reduziert werden, wenn alle Elemente der Kommunikation auf informativer und emotionaler und sehr oft auf kommunikativ-situativer Ebene samt technischen Besonderheiten berücksichtigt werden.
The article analyzes television interviews in Ukrainian and German from the perspective of the personality of the interviewer and the difficulties that arise before and during that interview. Communicative deviations as differences in the expectations of the interviewer vis-à-vis the expectations of the respondent and the addressee are revealed and critically analyzed. Particular attention is paid to the triangle of relationships between the interviewer, the respondent, and the addressee (the viewer). Elements such as age, sex, status, knowledge, interests, and expectations play an important role in the building of relationships between the interviewer, the respondent, and the addressee. Therefore, they are important for the overall success of the interview. However, we believe that all these elements can be generalized under a hypernym of expectations. Accordingly, the journalist assumes three roles: a representative of the audience (the addressee), a promoter of the invited (the respondent), or a representative of himself/herself. In this article, we only draw on and reflect the deviations in the television interviews in both languages when the interviewer has other expectations about the interview than the respondent or the addressee (the viewer), which is a failure from the side of the first one, that is, the interviewer. Therefore, the two levels at which interviews are conducted are important. Namely, these are the informative level (receiving and providing information) and the emotional level (feelings and mutual understanding). The informative level includes informative purpose, types of questions, clarity of expression, clarity of answers, and content of information. The emotional level embraces climate (socio-emotional connection), non-verbal behavior, elaborative questions, intentional adjustment, and approaches to journalists and respondents. Yet, we believe that it is also noteworthy to include a third level, namely a contextually situational one. On the basis of empirical material, we have identified the following communicative deviations in the television interviews from the perspective of the interviewer: 1. The goal is not set or is prepared inaccurately, 2. The topic is too broad, 3. Inappropriate respondent, 4. The respondent is not sufficiently prepared for the interview, 5. Difficulties in conducting interviews (such as issues with equipment or problems with shooting), 6. The respondent is not listening (in some situations this prevents the opening of a dialog altogether), 7. Too conventional and fixed list of questions, 8. Lack of time for preparation, and 9. Wrong approach to the respondent in terms of his/her expectations regarding age, gender, status, knowledge, and interests. Taking into account the communicative failures in the television interviews we have analyzed before, one can distinguish the following ways of eliminating them: 1. Clearly define the goal of the interview, 2. Find the appropriate communication partner in terms of his/her skills and the ability to speak, 3. Create a favorable atmosphere in the previous conversation to properly prepare the respondent for the communication, 4. Carefully listen to the respondent, 5. During the interview itself, the content, the intention of the respondent, the language, and the speaking manner of the respondent, as well as the body language, and facial expressions and gestures of the respondent should be additionally observed, and 6. In cases when the interviewer is evading a question or does not want to respond at all, one can resort to these tactics. Communicative deviations as violations of the interviewer’s expectations in all their forms can be avoided, or at least reduced, if all the elements of communication at the informative and emotional level—and very often at the communicative-situational level—are taken into account, and greater attention is also paid to technical characteristics. This will contribute to an interesting and dynamic, understandable and consistent, and most importantly, informative television interview. At the same time, there were no significant differences in the television interviews in Ukrainian (more cautious and sensitive questions) or in German (more specific and targeted questions), for the journalists’ European way of conducting television interviews is similar in both linguistic cultures, and the differences are due to the historical development of democracy.
