What's the longest interview you've ever done?

i've done a lot lengthy interviews through the years, but probably longest in recent years dealt with:

--the late Eddie Robinson, whose Grambling State program I covered for many years; i did a five-part series on him and, honest to goodness, had enough anecdotes and other stuff to have done another five-parter; anybody who ever interviewed him for a feature or enterprise story will probably tell you that several hours were required because he just wouldn't stop talking or trying to accommodate you; an amazing man.

--the late Clete Boyer; i went to Cooperstown several years ago to do a series on the Hall of Fame and wound up dining at the former Yankees' third sacker's restaurant; i had planned to eat lunch there, grab a quick column in case he happened to be there, etc. well, he was there and after being introduced, proceeded to sit down while we ate and tell one freakin' story after another; i wound up doing a full page feature on Boyer, life after baseball, etc. along with a photo spread.

 

Boy, mine was so long ago, but I basically spent a day-plus with Buccaneers owner Hugh Culverhouse in 1979 for a magazine story. Went around with him, plus a couple of long sit-downs in his office.

The magazine then cut the hell out of it for space, and ruined it, and I was traumatized.

(A complete aside: Culverhouse was by all accounts a questionable-or-worse human being, a cutthroat bastard in business only being one example cited. But when I flew to Wisconsin to cover Bucs-Packers that fall, my mom and dad came up to Green Bay to visit me from Madison, and when I got off the charter bus and walked across the parking lot to where they were parked, Culverhouse saw me and walked across the parking lot himself to introduce himself to them. He wasn't a good guy by most accounts, but I'll never forget that. Carry on with the real thread.)

 

Sirs, Madames,

I guess the real question is how long can you sustain an interview. At what pt does it become diminishing returns? And when do you cut things short and go back for another interview later? Varies subject to subject. I find a lot of people tire or get distracted after an hour and it's better to get them later for Round 2. For an 80+ guy, four hrs was a feat of endurance. My worry there: Don't put off until tomorrow anything with an octogenarian.

o-<

 

friend....you're right and that's why now i look back and cherish those times with coach Robinson, who was in his early-80s when I interviewed him. those of us who had the interviews with him during that time realized that he was in the twilight of his career and we had better grab as much time as we could with him. those were really priceless moments.

 

And they actually let that guy teach?

 

This may deserve a thread of its own, but on a book project or long-form story, do you do your own transcribing or do you hire someone to do it? I ask b/c while transcribing is quite tedious, sometimes it gives me ideas for the story or whatever I'm working on. Sometimes it's the quote, sometimes it's the inflection of the voice, but when it happens it's a nice lightning bolt of inspiration.

 

i once did a five-day interview with a guy who was coaching at a tourney who was dying of cancer. i won some awards with the story, but i wish i could have been older when i did the piece so i could have given it some justice.

 

If its only a couple of hours, type it up yourself, or even just do notes from the interview. But if you have to interview someone much longer than that, I would assume that they are important enough that you want to get EVERYTHING. So hire someone, then when you get the transcript back, listen to the tape as you go over the transcript, not only for accuracy, but to preserve those those moments of inspiration you mention. A professional transcriber should cost you between $125 and $175 per hour of tape.

And in regard to how long it takes to get someone's story, when I did my 75 hours with two guys in the complicated project, after speaking to them regularly for nearly a year, the last two hours of those interviews were the best. That's when trust had finally been developed, they finally dropped all their guards, and told me things they had held back on before.

 

Sirs, Madames,

I'm not big on transcription for book projects. I listen to recordings a few times, filling in my handwritten notes. Then I'll pick out what I like or find useful and take it down, but certainly not the whole tapes/file/whatever, not hours and hours. That might differ in an interview with a scientist, lawyer or academic, but that's about it. Some magazines are picky about whole transcriptions and I'll do it but it's not my preference.

With regard to the subject, I'm talking about longest sit-down. Shit, I roomed with one guy I was writing about for a week--couldn't work his snoring or flatulence into what was a story with a religious theme. I don't consider that a week-long interview though. When it comes to Q and A and some small talk mixed in, I'd be mighty impressed by the subject's patience and endurance if it went beyond the four-hour mark ... unless the subject talks for a living (salesman, huckster) or had an acute case of logorrhea.

o-<