My brief was to focus this article on my relationship with the Times of Malta. But I can deal with that in two words: like family. So instead, I’m going to pollute this space with a yarn about the encounters I had with others through the media house that commandeered my life for 18 eventful years – and offer up a solemn guide to the hazardous art of interviewing:
1. Always know your subject… though this will be of no use whatsoever if you suddenly discover you’re talking to a person who happens to share the same name as the one you were supposed to be interviewing but isn’t actually them. Cringe and carry on.
2. Listen carefully to what your interviewee is saying… and if he storms out of his own office because he feels you’re not doing that, be sure to have a map of the building so you don’t walk into all the wrong offices while attempting to make a hasty exit. Apologies to Alfred Sant and his irate assistant.
3. Always have the most up-to-date equipment… or upon seeing a bulky cassette player (millennials, consult Google), someone like Austin Gatt will holler: “What the *bleep* is that? Looks like a *bleep* wardrobe!” When I eventually bought a digital recorder, Eddie Fenech Adami’s eyes lit up as I placed it on the table: “What a fantastic gadget!” he said, with no *bleeps*.
4. Ensure said equipment is working… or you’ll have to call back a patient soul like the late Fr Peter Serracino Inglott and ask him to repeat his 30-minute exposition all over again. A *bleep* moment.
5. Don’t get too close to your interviewee… as I stewed for two hours waiting to meet the late Gozo Bishop Nikol Cauchi for the first time, his communications officer repeatedly asked if his boss could see my questions. “No,” was the emphatic reply. This was supposed to be a combative interview. And it was till he started cracking jokes. The moment the tape stopped, a close friendship started.
6. Tell nature not to call… or you could find yourself thinking far more intently about how your stomach bug is going to affect proceedings than your questions to a Prime Minister like Lawrence Gonzi. Talk about flying by the seat of your pants!
7. Never ask the same question to the same interviewee: Since I’d once got Austin Gatt into legal bother after daring him to repeat an allegation he’d made in the safe confines of parliament, I thought I’d try my luck again: “Are you obsessed with *bleep* libel cases?” he blurted out. “*Bleep*, *bleep*, *bleeeeep*!” Sorry, Austin.
8. Stop at nothing to secure an interview… when it came to Dom Mintoff, who had never previously cooperated with anyone at this media organisation, my efforts involved freezing half to death in the wintery waters of Peter’s Pool and, even worse, having to drink the putrid vinegar he passed off as wine. Caught a cold, got stomach acid and received several lectures. No interview though.
9. Act professionally at all times… unless you need to involve the interviewee in a practical joke on a colleague. After Mark Micallef came up with an endearing nickname for Mgr Charles Scicluna to reflect his diminutive stature, it seemed only proper to ask the Archbishop to cold call him from my phone to ask why. Mark is still in the process of untying his tongue.
10. Do not drink… even when a world-class tenor keeps refilling your glass with wine he claims is fine but really isn’t, because your interviewing technique is likely to have a more tragic ending than his operas.
11. Keep in constant touch with your editor… so when you finally get through to the Times of Malta reception desk after spending hours searching for a functioning telephone box in South Africa – yes, there was a time when mobile phones were not ubiquitous – the security guard at the other end doesn’t tell you’ve already left the office before slamming down the receiver as you attempt to identify yourself. *Bleeeeep*
Steve Mallia is a former editor-in-chief of Times of Malta.
This article first appeared in a commemorative supplement marking 85 years of Times of Malta. Contributions will be published online every day between August 11 and August 20. Read other contributions.