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Interpreters for Press Conferences and Media Interviews
When a speaker addresses reporters through an interpreter, the interpreter's sentence is the one that gets printed, clipped and repeated. Here is who should arrange the interpreter, which mode suits a press conference or an interview, how to keep the record straight, and what it costs.
The host books it
The organization holding the press conference arranges interpreting for its speakers.
The rendering is the quote
Reporters quote the English they heard; record both languages.
$220 for a press conference
In person is $110 an hour with a two-hour minimum, including the sound check.
Who brings the interpreter to a press conference or an interview?
The side that holds the event, or the side that needs the language. For a press conference, the company, agency, team or campaign that calls it arranges interpreting for its own speakers and, if reporters will ask questions in another language, for the questions too. For an interview, it is whoever asked for it: a newsroom interviewing someone who does not speak English usually brings its own interpreter, and a spokesperson who gives interviews in English as a second language may bring one to make sure their answers are rendered faithfully. We found no rule that assigns the interpreter in either setting, and we do not claim one.
When both sides care about accuracy, both can have an interpreter: the outlet's renders the interview, and the interviewee's listens and flags anything that came out wrong before it goes to air. Who books us: communications teams and PR agencies for press events with foreign executives, officials, athletes or artists; newsrooms, documentary and podcast producers interviewing someone in another language; and spokespeople who want their own interpreter in the room.
Consecutive or simultaneous for a press conference
Consecutive interpreting, where the speaker pauses and the interpreter renders each passage, doubles the length of the event but gives broadcasters a clean clip in each language, and lets reporters hear the original tone before the English. It suits a short statement and a few questions. Simultaneous interpreting keeps the event to its scheduled length, but it needs equipment: a booth or a quiet position for the interpreter, a feed from the podium microphone, and the interpreter's channel sent to reporters' receivers or patched into the broadcast feed. That equipment comes from the venue or an audio-visual company, not from us. For one visiting official following an English press conference, whispered interpreting beside them needs nothing at all.
Questions are where press conferences go wrong. A reporter who asks a long question with three parts, or two reporters talking at once, will get an incomplete rendering. The moderator should ask reporters to use the microphone, give their name and outlet, and ask one question at a time; the interpreter renders the question to the speaker before the speaker answers, so the room hears the answer to the question that was actually asked.
On the record: the interpreter's words become the quote
- Record both languages. When a quote is disputed later, the original is the only way to check the rendering. Keep the audio of the speaker and of the interpreter.
- Give the interpreter the prepared statement. A statement read aloud at speed is the hardest thing to interpret accurately; with the text in advance, it can be rendered almost exactly. If it is embargoed, say so.
- Names, titles and numbers are what reporters print. Send the names and titles of everyone who will speak or be mentioned, and any figures in the statement.
- Corrections on the spot. If the interpreter realizes they misrendered something, they say so — "correction from the interpreter" — and give the right version. Agree in advance that this is how it works so nobody is surprised.
- Humor, idioms and "no comment". A joke rarely survives the trip; a carefully hedged non-answer must stay hedged. Speakers should say what they mean plainly.
News interviews for print, radio and TV
An interview is consecutive. The interviewer speaks to the interviewee, not to the interpreter, and keeps questions short; the interpreter sits or stands just off camera and close to a microphone, so the rendering is captured cleanly. Tell us whether the interpreter will be on camera, whether they will be miked, and whether the interview is live or recorded. For a live broadcast with simultaneous interpreting into an earpiece, the station's engineers set up the audio; test it with the interpreter before going on air.
Remote interviews are common: the interpreter joins the Zoom, Teams or Meet call, or the phone line, from wherever they are. After a recorded interview, a newsroom may want a written transcript in English of what was said in the other language, or subtitles; a written translation of the transcript is a separate service, and producing subtitles is not among our published services. Documentary shoots and podcast productions, where footage is edited later, are covered on interpreters for film, TV and podcast production.
Booking a press event or an interview day
In person is $110 per interpreter per hour with a two-hour minimum, so a 40-minute press conference is $220 plus travel at $0.70 per mile from the interpreter's location, confirmed before you book. Schedule the interpreter's start for the sound check, not the moment the speaker walks in: time is billed from the scheduled start. A media day of back-to-back interviews from 9 to 5 is 8 × $110 = $880; a full day with simultaneous interpreting may need two interpreters, $1,760. A single remote interview by video or phone is $80 for the first hour.
Send with the request the date, the time zone and the venue or platform, the format (statement, questions, one-on-one interviews), the prepared statement and talking points, the names and titles of speakers, and whether the event is live, recorded or broadcast. Press releases needed in another language are written translation, quoted separately.
By video, by phone or in person
Virtual interpreting runs on Zoom, Google Meet or Microsoft Teams, or over the telephone. It is quicker to arrange, costs less and carries no travel charge, and it suits appointments, calls and most meetings.
In person is what venues with their own rules tend to expect, and the right choice when documents are being signed or several people are speaking at once. Tell us the platform, or the city and the venue, when you send the request.
Languages
The standard-availability languages are: Spanish, Portuguese, French, Mandarin, Cantonese, Arabic, Russian, Korean, Vietnamese, Haitian Creole, Polish, Italian, German, Japanese, Hindi, Urdu, Persian, Turkish, Ukrainian, Tagalog, Bengali, Punjabi, Gujarati, Tamil, Armenian, Greek, Hebrew, Romanian, Serbian, Bosnian, Somali and Nepali. Every other language we offer carries the 25–30% limited-availability rate. If a language is not on that list it is not because we cannot do it — it is because the pool of qualified interpreters in the United States is small enough that we will not promise a date without checking.
Each language has its own page on what to watch for — dialects, names, dates, who the speakers usually are: see interpreters by language.
What it costs
Rates are per interpreter, per hour, and billed from the scheduled start time rather than from when everyone actually arrives.
- Virtual — $80 per hour, one-hour minimum. Zoom, Google Meet, Teams or telephone.
- In person — $110 per hour, two-hour minimum.
- Limited-availability languages — add 25–30%. Which languages those are is listed below rather than left vague.
- Travel for in-person work — $0.70 per mile from the interpreter's location.
How the travel charge works out
Travel is charged at $0.70 per mile from the interpreter's location, which means you can work it out rather than wait for a quote: a 20-mile round trip is $14, a 60-mile round trip is $42, a 150-mile round trip is $105. There is no separate call-out fee on top.
We will not pretend to know in advance where the interpreter will be coming from — that depends on the language, the date and the venue. What we do is confirm the interpreter and the exact travel figure before you book, so it is never a surprise on the invoice. Virtual assignments carry no travel charge at all, which is one reason most of what we do is virtual.
How booking an interpreter works
- You send the request with the form below: the language, the setting, the format, the date and how long it should last.
- We confirm before you commit: the interpreter, the exact price and the travel figure if there is one. We reply the same business day, and no payment is taken at this stage.
- You confirm, and the interpreter is booked for your date.
What to have ready
The more of this comes in the first message, the fewer exchanges before you have a price:
- The language, the date, the start time and how long it should run.
- Virtual or in person: the platform, or the city and the venue.
- The setting and the subject matter.
- How many people need interpreting for.
- Any credential the venue requires of the interpreter.
Request an interpreter
Tell us the date, the language and the setting and we will come back with the interpreter, the exact price and the travel figure if there is one — before you commit to anything.
Thank you — we have your request
We will reply the same business day with the interpreter, the exact price and the travel figure if there is one, before you commit to anything.
Sources
What this page says about the rules was checked against these official sources on October 28, 2026. Rules change; the source is always the authority.
Frequently asked questions
Who pays for the interpreter at a press conference?
The organization holding it, for its own speakers. Reporters who need the speaker's answers in English rely on that interpreter; an outlet that wants its own check can bring one too.
Should a press conference use simultaneous or consecutive interpreting?
Consecutive for a short statement and a few questions, which gives clean clips in each language but doubles the time; simultaneous to keep a longer event on schedule, with equipment from the venue or an AV company. The European Commission explains both modes.
Can reporters quote what the interpreter said?
They do, every time, which is why both languages should be recorded. If a quote is disputed, the original audio is the check. An interpreter who notices an error should correct it on the spot, aloud.
Can an interpreter join a TV or podcast interview remotely?
Yes, by Zoom, Teams, Meet or phone, at $80 an hour with a one-hour minimum. For live broadcast, the station sets up the audio path and should test it with the interpreter first.
How much does a press conference interpreter cost?
In person, $110 an hour with a two-hour minimum: $220 for a short press conference including the sound check, plus travel at $0.70 per mile. A media day from 9 to 5 is $880.
Is the price per person or per interpreter?
Per interpreter, per hour, billed from the scheduled start time. One interpreter covers a meeting; a full-day hearing may need two working in relay.
How is travel charged?
$0.70 per mile from the interpreter's location — a 20-mile round trip is $14. We confirm the exact figure before you book, and virtual assignments carry none.
Need an interpreter?
Tell us the date, the language and the setting and we will confirm the interpreter and the exact price.