Wheels Turning

Finally, there is some movement on my PhD research interviews. About time, since I was beginning to get discouraged. But, a visit to the RBI Archives yesterday and a phone call to an old contact yielded some useful contacts. I was not sure if I was prepared for interviews since I haven't figured out what I really want from the interviews. But, sometimes, it pays to look before you leap. In this case, the worst that can happen is it will be a waste of my time and a chastening experience if the interviewer finds my questions silly and/or me ill-prepared. I am trying to keep in mind that I am not a journalist anymore and this is not a media interview. I am going to this meeting for new ideas and some mutual brainstorming rather than getting the interviewee to say something newsworthy. As my contact told me this morning, I am not on a "fishing" expedition. I need to be in a different frame of mind to do academic interviews, and that will come only with practice and reflection. I wish there were more resources on the difference between journalistic and academic interviews. Maybe I should try harder to find them. At the same time, I don't want to devote too much mental space to my interview techniques at the cost of substance. Ah well, like most things in life this is a balancing act between two dualities--form and substance, in this case.