I was preparing a client for a phone interview this week, pulling together a reporter backgrounder, key messages, and a couple of interview tips, and I discovered something shocking: apparently the phone interview is dead. Or at least dying, for some.

If you’re like me, this is the first you’re hearing of this. I missed the big “to do” last April when Internet entrepreneur, blogger, and tech celebrity Jason Calacanis politely turned down a phone interview with Wired reporter Fred Vogelstein and requested Vogelstein conduct the interview via e-mail—citing this as his personal policy.

As a result of Calacanis’ refusal, the two engaged in a back-and-forth debate on interview etiquette and legitimate fears and preferences on behalf of both. Vogelstein published the pre-interview email communication with Calacanis, another Wired reporter printed a follow-up editorial to the debate, and Vogelstein and Calacanis conducted a very civil podcast together on the topic.

Calacanis later blogged the reasoning behind his policy: "journalists have been burning subjects for so long with paraphrased quotes, half quotes, and misquotes that I think a lot of folks (especially ones who don't need the press) are taking an email only interview policy."

The (mostly tech) media frenzy that followed debated the need for in-person interviews, the true intentions of a reporter during an interview (the “Gotcha!” moment) and the warranted, or unwarranted, paranoia of public interview subjects.

Calacanis is certainly not the only public figure that limits reporters to email interviews, and he isn’t the only one whose principle has generated media coverage. But my question is this: Who is right, and who has the real say in how an interview is conducted?

As a former journalism student and editorial intern and now practicing PR maven *insert horn tooting here*, I’ve been on both sides of this debate. No, I’ve not been a reporter for a top tier media outlet or blog, but I’ve conducted my share of interviews. I’ve experienced articulate subjects, divas, dreaded two-word responders, and even one who completely fabricated events (but we’ll save that lovely tale for another post). In my experience, an in-person interview gives you context and a depth that a typed interview never could.

Conversely, I know how it is to want to look after a client and guard them from potentially uncomfortable media experiences. And what one learns in PR is that if you aren’t, say, Oprah, Bill Clinton, Kanye West, or, in this case, Jason Calacanis, often the choice isn’t yours. The journalist trumps your request, and for the most part, the phone interview will win.  

Maybe the phone interview is dead to you. But in my world, the phone interview isn’t dead, dying, or coming down with a cold—it’s very much a part of my clients’ media routine. I take the responsibility of preparing them and the reporter extremely seriously, and until I get them Oprah status, I'll work tirelessly to that end.