Guide
How to interview someone for a local news story
A practical, field-tested guide for citizen journalists and community reporters. If you can hold a conversation and a phone, you can conduct a publishable local news interview. Here's how we teach reporters to do it on Suru.
Local journalism lives or dies on the interview. A council meeting gives you facts; an interview gives you a person, a voice, and the reason anyone should care. Whether you're covering a neighbourhood patch, a niche industry, or a community that's never been properly reported on, the interview is where the story actually starts.
This guide walks through the whole workflow — from picking a subject to publishing a finished piece — and shows how Suru handles the parts that used to take hours (transcription, drafting, layout) so you can spend your time on the parts that matter (asking, listening, verifying).
The 10-step interview workflow
- 1
Pick a subject the community actually cares about
The best local interviews start with a person whose story is already circulating in the neighbourhood — the shopkeeper who's been there 40 years, the councillor who just changed a policy, the artist opening a new studio. If people are already talking about them, you have your angle.
- 2
Do 15 minutes of homework
Read anything already published about your subject. Note the questions no one has asked yet. In local reporting, depth beats breadth — one thoughtful, specific question is worth ten generic ones.
- 3
Prepare 8–10 open questions
Write questions that can't be answered with yes or no. Start soft (their story, how they got here), move to substance (the decision, the moment, the controversy), and end with a forward-looking question so you leave with a natural closing quote.
- 4
Arrange the meeting somewhere quiet
A back room, an empty café mid-afternoon, their workshop. Ambient noise is the single biggest thing that ruins interview audio — and by extension, ruins your transcript.
- 5
Record cleanly on your phone
Suru captures audio and video straight from your phone's browser — no app to install. Hold the phone about a foot from your subject, hit record, and just have the conversation. The recording uploads directly to your draft.
- 6
Take a few photos while you're there
One portrait, one wide shot of the space, one detail. That's enough. Suru accepts photos from the same capture screen and attaches them to the story you're building.
- 7
Let Suru transcribe and draft
Upload the recording and Suru transcribes it automatically, then produces a first draft with a headline, lede, and body — pulling direct quotes from the transcript. You edit from there.
- 8
Verify every fact and every quote
Read the draft against the transcript. Check names, dates, job titles, and any claim that could be wrong. Suru's editorial checks flag common issues, but a human read is non-negotiable.
- 9
Add context and a pull quote
Great local stories have one line that everyone remembers. Find it in your transcript and pull it out. Add a paragraph of context the reader needs to understand why this interview matters right now.
- 10
Publish to your Suru publication
One click. Your story goes live at your publication's URL with a clean editorial layout, SEO tags, and an RSS feed your readers can subscribe to.
Try it on your next interview
Suru is free to start. Record an interview on your phone, let us transcribe and draft, and publish under your own local publication.
Frequently asked questions
What equipment do I need to interview someone for a local story?
A phone. That's it. Suru captures audio and video directly in your phone's browser, transcribes it automatically, and drafts the story for you. If you want higher-quality audio, a £20 lavalier mic is a nice upgrade but not required.
Do I need consent to record an interview?
You should always tell your subject you're recording and confirm they're happy for their words to be published. In the UK and most of the US, one-party consent covers you legally, but in journalism the standard is higher — get explicit permission before you hit record.
How long should a local news interview be?
Forty-five minutes to an hour is the sweet spot for a long-form community piece. Shorter for a news item — 15 to 20 minutes is plenty when you're chasing a single quote or reaction.
How do I turn an interview into a publishable story quickly?
Upload the recording to Suru. It transcribes the audio, produces a first draft with headline, lede, and quoted body, and gives you an editable draft in a few minutes. Most reporters go from interview to published story in under an hour.
What makes a good citizen journalism interview?
Specificity. The best community interviews name streets, dates, decisions, and people. They ask the question no one else has asked, and they let the subject speak in their own voice rather than paraphrasing.
Can I publish an interview if I'm not a professional journalist?
Yes. Suru is built for citizen journalists, community reporters, and independent publishers. As long as you're honest about who you are, verify your facts, and get consent to record, you can publish serious, credible local journalism.
Suru is a storytelling platform for citizen journalists. About Suru · More guides