I read an personality profile of Michael Bérubé by Angela Haupt. The profile starts with a quick history of Bérubé's life, to get information about this without too much detail the question: "what aspect of you childhood most affected your life?" could be asked. Another section of the profile probably came from the question, "How do you respond to questions about controversial subjects in your classroom?" This question yielded answers in which Bérubé told of his ability to answer questions indirectly so they don't cause too much discussion. A third question that Haupt probably asked is, "How do you feel about being in Horowitz' book?" This question would give answers about Bérubé's thoughts on Horowitz and his writing.
One big difference between a front page article and a personality profile is the subject. The first is usually about a topic of interest rather than a person of interest, it is usually very specific, and it is less personal. Personality profiles on the other hand are about a specific person, and often includes that persons thoughts/feelings and not just their role in an event. They also seem to show a lot about who the subject in on a personal level than a newspaper article would.
The distinction between subject matter in a personality profile v. hard news is well articulated. Personality profiles do allow us to learn the inside story, which is generally more than just the facts we see on the front page. Good luck with your own interview today!
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