Contacting people to gain interviews can be a long and thankless task often with no end product in sight. The people that you want to interview are often very reticent to being interviewed. It is almost always necessary to go through a personal assistant or secretary who will act as a gatekeeper to prevent you getting access.

For contacts in the travel world it is often useful to either use a travel agent as they have good relationships with hotels and airlines as they provide a lot of business for them. Alternatively most large hotels will have a Press relations or communications team who can provide basic information and introductions to help secure an interview. If an interview is secured this way it will often leave the power in the hands of the interviewee as they can always stop the interview at any time.

Finding the right person to contact is always the first step in securing that vital interview and technology has made this a much simpler task for all concerned. Make sure to check whether the person you wish to interview has done interviews before. Look to see where the interview took place if you can. Read this interview ad see if you can arrange some kind of reward for your chosen target. Interviews can be a great way for people to express themselves directly to the public.

In sport it is vital to attain your press accreditation if you wish to obtain interviews as most clubs and individuals are loathe to grant interviews to all but the most respected journalists.