Individual skill
source-interview-prep
Prepare a journalist to interview a source or subject — including hostile or accountability interviews. Use when a reporter needs to prep an interview with a source, plan questions for a subject, handle an on-the-record accountability interview, or get a reluctant person to talk. Produces a question plan sequenced from rapport to the hard asks, ground-rules handling (on/off record, attribution), techniques for evasive or hostile subjects, and a capture plan. Distinct from expert-interview-prep (learning from an expert).
plugins/pm-journalism/skills/source-interview-prep/SKILL.md
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- Last checked
- Nov 9, 2026
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- License
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# Source Interview Prep Skill
A journalistic interview isn't a friendly chat or a research call — it's an on-the-record exchange where the subject may have every reason not to answer straight. This skill preps the interview to get truthful, usable, attributable answers: rapport first, the hard questions sequenced so they don't end the conversation early, and a plan for the dodge.
## Working from a brief
Given the subject and the story, **write the full prep** — infer where the subject is cooperative vs. defensive and sequence accordingly. Always handle ground rules explicitly; never counsel deception or entrapment.
## Required Inputs
Ask for (if not provided, else infer and label):
- **Who** you're interviewing and their **relationship to the story** (witness, expert, accountable party, whistleblower)
- **What you need** — the facts, quotes, or confirmation this interview must produce
- **The dynamic** — cooperative, reluctant, or adversarial; on/off record expectations