How to Cite an Interview in APA Format (7th Edition)

Q: How do you cite a personal interview in APA 7th edition?

APA 7th edition treats personal interviews as personal communications. Personal communications are cited in-text only — they do not appear in the reference list because readers cannot retrieve them. In-text format: (J. Smith, personal communication, March 5, 2026). Or integrated in the sentence: J. Smith (personal communication, March 5, 2026) stated that... The interview subject's initials and last name are used, followed by the date.

Q: Do personal interviews go in the APA reference list?

No. Personal interviews (conversations you conducted yourself that are not publicly accessible) are cited in-text only as personal communications. They do not appear in the reference list. Only interviews that were published and are retrievable by readers — such as a newspaper interview, a recorded YouTube interview, or a podcast episode — go in the reference list.

Q: How do you cite a published newspaper interview in APA?

For a published newspaper interview, the interviewee is treated as the author: Interviewee Last, F. (Year, Month Day). Title of interview or article. [Interview]. Newspaper Name. URL. Example: Obama, B. (2020, November 8). 'We are family': Barack Obama on what unites America [Interview]. The New York Times. Https://www.nytimes.com/example

Q: How do you cite a YouTube interview in APA?

For a YouTube interview, treat it as a YouTube video: Interviewer Last, F., or Channel Name. (Year, Month Day). Title of interview [Video]. YouTube. URL. If the interview subject is more relevant than the interviewer, you can put the interviewee first followed by the label [Interview]. Example: Lex Fridman. (2023, March 15). Elon Musk: Tesla, SpaceX, and the meaning of life [Video]. YouTube. Https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=example

Quick Answer APA 7th edition treats interviews differently depending on whether they're retrievable. Personal interviews you conducted yourself: cite in-text only as a personal communication — they never appear in the reference list. Published interviews (newspaper, magazine, YouTube, podcast): include in the reference list like any other published source. The APA Citation Generator extension handles published interviews on web pages and video platforms.

📋 Table of Contents

Personal Interviews (Conducted by You)
Published Newspaper or Magazine Interviews
YouTube Interviews
Podcast Interviews
Radio or Television Broadcast Interview
Interview in an Academic Book or Collection
Email Interview (Non-Personal — Published)
Summary: Interview Type vs. Citation Treatment
Related Guides
Frequently Asked Questions

📋 Table of Contents

Personal Interviews (Conducted by You)
Published Newspaper or Magazine Interviews
YouTube Interviews
Podcast Interviews
Radio or Television Broadcast Interview
Interview in an Academic Book or Collection
Email Interview (Non-Personal — Published)
Summary: Interview Type vs. Citation Treatment
Related Guides
Frequently Asked Questions

Citing interviews in APA requires answering one key question first: can other people actually access this interview? If you conducted a private interview and it exists only in your notes, it's a personal communication. If you're referencing an interview published in a magazine, recorded on YouTube, or broadcast as a podcast, it's a retrievable published source.

Generate APA Citations for Published Interviews

Navigate to any interview page — newspaper, YouTube, podcast — and generate the citation automatically.

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Personal Interviews (Conducted by You)

If you conducted an interview yourself — whether in person, by phone, or by email — the interview is not something another reader can retrieve. APA classifies these as personal communications.

Personal communications:

Are cited only in the text of your paper, never in the reference list
Include the person's name (initials and last name), the label "personal communication," and the date

Personal Interview — In-Text (Citation Form) Climate patterns have shifted in the past decade (M. Rodriguez, personal communication, February 12, 2026).

Personal Interview — In-Text (Integrated Into Sentence) M. Rodriguez (personal communication, February 12, 2026) noted that climate patterns have shifted in the past decade.

No reference list entry for personal interviews. Because readers cannot independently retrieve your private interview, it does not belong in the reference list. Only cite it in-text as shown above.

Personal communications also include emails, text messages, online chats, private letters, and phone conversations — any non-retrievable direct communication.

Published Newspaper or Magazine Interviews

When an interview has been published in a newspaper or magazine, the interviewee is typically treated as the main author of their words.

Published Interview Template Interviewee Last, F. (Year, Month Day). Title of the interview piece [Interview]. Source. URL

Newspaper Interview — Reference List Obama, B. (2020, November 8). 'We are family': Barack Obama on what unites America [Interview]. The New York Times. Https://www.nytimes.com/example

In-Text (Obama, 2020)

When the title emphasizes the interviewer's questions: If the article is clearly attributed to the journalist who wrote it up (not just the interviewee's words), use the journalist as author and add the interviewee's name in the title context.

YouTube Interviews

YouTube interviews follow the same format as any YouTube video. Use the channel or person who uploaded the video as the author, and add [Video] as the content descriptor.

YouTube Interview Template Channel Name or Interviewer Last, F. (Year, Month Day). Title of video [Video]. YouTube. URL

YouTube Interview — Long-Form Fridman, L. (2023, March 15). Elon Musk: Tesla, SpaceX, and the meaning of life [Video]. YouTube. Https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=example

In-Text (Fridman, 2023)

Podcast Interviews

When citing a podcast episode that features an interview, the host or the show is typically the primary source cited.

Podcast Episode Interview Template Host Last, F. (Host). (Year, Month Day). Episode title: Guest name on topic (No. XX) [Audio podcast episode]. In Podcast Name. Network. URL

Podcast Interview — Reference List Rogan, J. (Host). (2023, September 10). Dr. Andrew Huberman on sleep, stress, and peak performance (No. 2039) [Audio podcast episode]. In The Joe Rogan Experience. Spotify. Https://open.spotify.com/episode/example

Radio or Television Broadcast Interview

Broadcast Interview Template Interviewee Last, F. (Year, Month Day). Title or description of interview [Interview on name of show]. Network. URL if available

TV News Interview Fauci, A. (2021, January 10). COVID-19 vaccination rollout update [Interview on Meet the Press]. NBC News.

Interview in an Academic Book or Collection

Interview Reprinted in a Book Freud, S. (2011). An interview on psychoanalytic technique. In P. Gay (Ed.), The Freud reader (pp. 147–162). Norton. (Original work published 1904)

Email Interview (Non-Personal — Published)

If an email interview between a journalist and subject was published online, cite it like any other published web interview:

Published Email Interview Gates, B. (2023, June 15). Q&A: Bill Gates on the future of AI in global health [Interview]. Wired. Https://www.wired.com/example

Summary: Interview Type vs. Citation Treatment

Interview Type	In-Text Format	Reference List?
Personal interview you conducted	Personal communication	No
Published newspaper/magazine interview	(Interviewee, Year)	Yes
YouTube interview	(Channel/Interviewer, Year)	Yes
Podcast episode interview	(Host, Year)	Yes
TV/radio broadcast interview	(Interviewee, Year)	Yes
Email interview (private)	Personal communication	No
Email interview (published online)	(Interviewee, Year)	Yes

Cite Any Published Interview Automatically

Navigate to any interview article, YouTube video, or podcast page and let the extension generate the APA citation.

Install APA Citation Generator — Free

Related Guides

Frequently Asked Questions

How do you cite a personal interview in APA 7th edition?

Personal interviews are personal communications. In-text only: (J. Smith, personal communication, March 5, 2026). Do not add to the reference list.

Do personal interviews go in the APA reference list?

No. Personal communications — including interviews you conducted yourself — are never listed in the reference list. They are cited in-text only.

How do you cite a published newspaper interview in APA?

Interviewee Last, F. (Year, Month Day). Title of interview piece [Interview]. Newspaper Name. URL. The interviewee is the author, and [Interview] appears in square brackets after the title.

How do you cite a YouTube interview in APA?

Treat it as a YouTube video: Channel or Interviewer. (Year, Month Day). Title [Video]. YouTube. URL. Use the uploading channel or interviewer's name as the author.

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