Leading questions

Definition

Leading questions are inquiries that suggest or imply their own answers, often steering the respondent toward a specific response. They can significantly impact the direction of an interview, especially in sports journalism, where they may influence how athletes or coaches perceive their experiences or opinions during discussions. Understanding how to utilize and avoid leading questions is crucial for effective interviewing and obtaining genuine responses from interview subjects.

5 Must Know Facts For Your Next Test

1. Leading questions can unintentionally manipulate the subject's response, leading to biased information.
2. In interviews, leading questions can make subjects feel pressured to conform to expectations rather than share their true thoughts.
3. Effective interviewers balance leading questions with open-ended inquiries to gather a range of insights.
4. Awareness of leading questions helps interviewers maintain professionalism and avoid ethical pitfalls.
5. Respondents often recognize leading questions and may resist answering them or provide less candid responses.

Review Questions

• How do leading questions influence the responses of interview subjects in sports journalism?
  • Leading questions can significantly shape how interview subjects respond by guiding them toward specific answers. For example, if a journalist asks an athlete, 'Don't you think your team played poorly last night?' it suggests a negative assessment, which may bias the athlete's response. This influence can hinder the journalist's ability to obtain honest insights and create a skewed narrative about the game or the player's performance.
• What are the ethical implications of using leading questions in interviews with athletes or coaches?
  • Using leading questions raises ethical concerns as they can manipulate responses and distort the truth. This practice undermines journalistic integrity by prioritizing sensationalism over accuracy. Ethical journalism requires obtaining authentic opinions without coercion. Therefore, interviewers should strive for neutrality in questioning to foster trust and openness with their subjects.
• Evaluate the balance between using leading questions and open-ended inquiries when conducting interviews in sports journalism.
  • Striking a balance between leading questions and open-ended inquiries is essential for effective interviewing. While leading questions can guide subjects toward specific themes or ideas, relying too heavily on them risks distorting their true sentiments. Open-ended inquiries encourage subjects to express themselves freely, providing richer narratives. Therefore, journalists should use leading questions sparingly, ensuring that they do not compromise the authenticity of the interview while still exploring key topics.

Related terms

Open-ended questions: Questions that allow respondents to answer in their own words, providing more detailed and nuanced responses.

Closed-ended questions: Questions that can be answered with a simple 'yes' or 'no,' limiting the depth of the response.

Bias: A tendency to favor one perspective over another, which can affect the neutrality of questions and responses in an interview.