interview

## What's new in v2.1 (2026-06-17, S264 research.16) **Mode 1 now accepts citizen voice agents, not just civic.** A new subject class — **named Tier-1 character voice agents** (`.claude/agents/citizen-voice-*`: Keane, Dillon, Seymour, Varek, …) — is a valid Mode 1 voice-interview subject, dispatched via `subagent_type: citizen-voice-<slug>`. The civic-voice path is unchanged. The old blanket "don't interview citizens or players" rule is narrowed: it still bars *generic* ledger citizens/players (those are dispatches/supplementals), but authored citizen-voice agents now have personas deep enough to interview. Built by `/make-citizen-voice` (research.16). See Mode 1 + Step 3 + What This Skill Does NOT Do. ## What's new in v2.0 (2026-05-24, S233 pipeline.30) **Capture-only architecture.** v1.3 bundled transcript capture (Steps 0-3) with article generation (Steps 4-7) into one run. Same-session same-author production of transcript + article meant the article didn't represent a separate cognitive act (the S212 generation-vs-evaluation asymmetry collapsed). The S230 C94 Paulson run made the failure visible: all five Hal Richmond questions were written by Mags from EIC seat (G-I3), the 1,762-word "After A Parade" article was written by Mags in Hal voice attempt under Hal byline (G-I4), and "two files, one cognition" surfaced at artifact-comparison level (G-I5 — Mike caught at "So the interview transcript is the article? Huh."). **What changed:** - Steps 0-3 unchanged in purpose: production log entry + gap-log open + brief + live interview with sports-desk dispatch per turn. - **Step 3 Mode 2 dispatch-per-turn made explicit + non-optional** with worked example (G-I3 text). Dispatch failure (quota kill per S231 G-S2 rule) stops the skill; no EIC-seat fallback. - **Step 4 (article write) removed entirely** (G-I2 + G-I4 + G-I5 structural close). - **Step 4.5 reduced to transcript-only `.txt` compile** (renumbered Step 4). Only one `.txt` artifact emits. - Steps 5-7 cover transcript only (Mara audit, user gate, save). - **Step 8 invokes `/post-publish` against transcript-only canon; `/edition-print` dropped entirely** (transcripts carry no photos — G-I13). - **Step 0 now opens the gap log file as live-append target** (G-I8 text discipline). - Filename retains `-transcript` suffix to preserve S230 canon artifact at `editions/cycle_pulse_interview-transcript_94_let_walks.txt` + the `<TYPE>=INTERVIEW-TRANSCRIPT` masthead (stewardship call per advisor S233 — no rename). **Downstream:** articles framed off interview transcripts come from `/write-edition` (next cycle, via `/sift` surfacing the transcript as canon source) or `/write-supplemental` (any time, sports-desk subagent dispatch against the transcript). The article-generation cognitive act lives at the dispatch terminal, not at EIC. **Companion row:** `pipeline.34` (gap-log path convention harmonization across 5 heavy skills — /sift / /write-edition / /post-publish / /edition-print / /interview / /write-supplemental) split out per advisor pass S233; **SETTLED S248** — canonical convention `output/production_log_c<XX>_interview_<subject-slug>_gaps.md` (`production_log_c{XX}_<skill>_<slug>_gaps.md`, slug-infixed since interviews can run multiple times per cycle). **Source:** `output/production_log_interview_c94_gaps.md` (13 entries G-I1→G-I13, triage at bottom) + JOURNAL Entry 188 (S230 — "the plan was the work") + plan [[archive/plans/2026-05-24-pipeline-30-interview-rewrite]]. --- # /interview — Interview Production (capture-only) ## Usage `/interview [mode] [subject]` - Modes: `voice` (agent-to-voice), `paulson` (agent-to-user as GM Paulson) - Subject: who's being interviewed ## What an Interview Is An interview has a theme — a reason this conversation is happening now. A reporter asks questions grounded in canon. The subject answers from their identity and recent decisions. Questions build on answers. The transcript becomes canon. Articles framed off the transcript are written downstream — `/write-edition` (next cycle, surfaced via `/sift` from the canon transcript) or `/write-supplemental` (any time, sports-desk subagent dispatch against the canon transcript). **This skill captures; downstream skills frame.** Interviews are different from dispatches and supplementals: - Dispatches put you IN a scene - Supplementals EXPLAIN a topic with multi-angle coverage - Interviews CAPTURE a conversation — the subject speaks, the reader (and downstream reporters) listen **Interviews can spawn world-altering moments.** A Mayor revealing she's considering vetoing a vote. Paulson hinting at a trade. A DA confirming an investigation. What gets said in an interview becomes canon. ## Two Modes ### Mode 1: Voice Interview (Agent-to-Voice) Reporter agent interviews a **voice agent** — both are agents. Two subject classes: - **Civic voice agent** (`.claude/agents/civic-office-*`) — Mayor, Chief, council members, DA, project directors. Used for structured civic canon deepening, or when a voice has unresolved tension from city-hall decisions. - **Citizen voice agent** (`.claude/agents/citizen-voice-*`, research.16) — a **named Tier-1 character** speaking for themselves: a player on a milestone (a farewell season), an owner on a build, a manager on a transition. These are authored four-file personas (IDENTITY/LENS/RULES/SKILL) via `/make-citizen-voice`. **NOT generic citizens/players** — only authored `citizen-voice-*` agents qualify (generic ledger citizens stay dispatch/supplemental material). Setup is the same either way — the voice gets questions but not preset answers, responds from their IDENTITY.md (+ LENS/RULES for citizen voices) and recent canon, and can go off-script: offer a revelation, push back on the question, change the subject. Target length: 1200-1800 word transcript. (Articles off this transcript get their own length targets at their downstream skill — `/write-supplemental` typically 800-1800 words per its spec; `/write-edition` per-desk-slot lengths per its spec.) ### Mode 2: Paulson Interview (Agent-to-Mike) Reporter agent interviews Mike in character as GM Paulson. The reporter asks, Mike responds in character, reporter follows up. Runs in terminal or via Discord bot. Agents don't know Mike is Mike — they're interviewing GM Paulson. This is where deep canon enters the world. Mike's answers can establish facts nobody else could — trades, stadium plans, front office tensions, feelings about specific players. What Paulson says becomes canon. No length target. The conversation shapes itself. Mike decides when it ends. ## Rules - **Every theme has a reason.** "Interview the Mayor" is not a theme. "Mayor, OARI just went live and Montez is raising routing concerns — what's your response?" is a theme. - **Questions are scripted, follow-ups are organic.** 4-6 prepared questions per interview. Reporter uses them as starting points. They follow up based on answers. - **Subjects don't get preset answers.** Voice agents respond from their identity and recent canon. Mike responds in character. - **Off-script is allowed.** The subject can refuse a question, pivot, reveal something unprompted. That's where canon is made. - **Citizen verification via MCP.** Anyone named in the interview checked via `lookup_citizen` (citizens) or `get_roster("as")` (A's players). For business / faith / cultural / neighborhood context when the interview touches those domains, use `lookup_business` / `lookup_faith_org` / `lookup_cultural` / `get_neighborhood_state`. Full tool inventory: [[../../../docs/SUPERMEMORY|SUPERMEMORY]] §Search/save matrix. Read `docs/media/citizen_selection.md`. - **No calendar dates.** Cycles and natural time references only. - **Transcript saved incrementally during Paulson mode.** If interrupted, nothing's lost. - **User approval gate before the transcript is published to canon.** Mike reviews the transcript before /post-publish ingests it to bay-tribune. ## Prerequisites - `output/world_summary_c{XX}.md` — current cycle context - `output/production_log_c{XX}.md` — what was covered in the edition (unified per S230 governance.14 convention; falls back to `production_log_edition_c{XX}.md` legacy path if unified absent) - `output/production_log_c{XX}.md` §/city-hall section — recent civic decisions (for voice interviews; legacy fallback `production_log_city_hall_c{XX}.md` if the unified log lacks a civic section) ## Step 0: Production Log + Open Gap Log **A. Append to production log** at `output/production_log_c{XX}.md` (or `output/production_log_edition_c{XX}.md` legacy fallback): ```markdown ## Interview: {subject} ({mode}) **Started:** {timestamp} **Reporter:** {name} **Subject:** {subject + mode} **Theme:** {one-line theme} **Status:** IN PROGRESS ``` **B. Open gap-log file as live-append target** at `output/production_log_c<XX>_interview_<subject-slug>_gaps.md` (pipeline.34 convention `production_log_c{XX}_<skill>_<slug>_gaps.md`, settled S248 — slug-infixed since interviews can run multiple times per cycle). The file opens with §Run summary frontmatter from [[../../../docs/plans/GAP_LOG_TEMPLATE]] and stays open through Steps 1-8 as a live-append target. ```markdown # Production Log — /interview Skill Run, C{XX} ({subject}) **Cycle:** {XX} | **Subject:** {subject} (POP-{NNNNN}) | **Slug:** {subject-slug} | **Reporter (intended):** {reporter} (POP-{NNNNN}) | **Session:** {SXXX} | **Run date:** {YYYY-MM-DD} | **Skill version run:** v2.0 ## Gap entries (live append per S230 G-I8 discipline) <!-- append G-I{N} entries here as friction emerges; do NOT hold in conversation context --> ``` Appending live (not at skill close) prevents context-held knowledge from being lost on compaction or session end. This was the G-I8 failure mode in S230 — gap log filed at close, several issues lost on the trip there. ## Step 1: Theme + Reporter Selection Define the theme — why this interview, why now. Read the world summary, production logs, newsroom memory for tension points. Select reporter by beat fit: - Civic/policy voices → Carmen Delaine, Luis Navarro, Jax Caldera - Paulson (sports) → Anthony Raines, P Slayer, Hal Richmond - Community figures → Maria Keen, Sharon Okafor Bench development applies — default to underused reporters when fit allows. ### Engine archetype-to-journalist match (T4.5) For Mode 1 (Voice Interview) where the subject is a verified citizen, **call `matchCitizenToJournalist_(archetype, neighborhood, domain)`** from `utilities/rosterLookup.js:907` to get an engine-validated reporter suggestion. The function exists pre-T4.5 — it scores journalists against the citizen's archetype themes (Connector / Watcher / Striver / Anchor / Catalyst / Caretaker / Drifter), neighborhood weighting (CIVIC vs CULTURE neighborhoods), and story-domain affinity, returning `{ journalist, interviewAngle, voiceGuidance, confidence }`. **Skill action:** 1. Look up the subject citizen's archetype + neighborhood from `Simulation_Ledger` (or `Generic_Citizens` / `Cultural_Ledger` / `Faith_Organizations` / `Chicago_Citizens` per their canonical home). 2. Call `matchCitizenToJournalist_(archetype, neighborhood, domain)` where `domain` is the interview's editorial domain (CIVIC / CULTURE / HEALTH / etc.). 3. Add the result to the briefing as `interviewerCandidate` field: ```json { "interviewerCandidate": { "journalist": "Dr. Lila Mezran", "interviewAngle": "human interest / who they look after", "voiceGuidance": "Calm, clinical, exact", "confidence": "high" } } ``` 4. **Surface to Mike** alongside the manual beat-fit reporter recommendation. Mike picks the reporter; engine's `interviewerCandidate` is a transparency signal, not a pre-fill. **For Mode 2 (Paulson interview)** the function still runs — Mike's archetype is `Anchor` and his neighborhood / domain context drives the match — but the editorial decision is more constrained (sports beat reporters are the canonical Paulson interlocutors). Use as confirmation, not direction. **No archetype available?** When the subject's archetype field is empty, fall through to the beat-fit selection above. Engine signal is best-effort, not blocking. **Show Mike theme + reporter (manual + engine `interviewerCandidate` if populated). Wait for approval.** ## Step 2: Prepare Questions Write 4-6 scripted questions grounded in canon. Save to `output/interviews/c{XX}_{subject_slug}_brief.md`: ```markdown # Interview Brief — {subject} ## Cycle {XX} | {mode} ### Theme {one paragraph: why this interview, what's at stake} ### Subject Context (for reporter) {identity file path, recent decisions/appearances from production logs, canon history from bay-tribune} ### Citizens Verified {Any citizens that may come up — MCP lookup results} ### Questions (scripted — follow-ups organic) 1. {Question grounded in canon or recent event} 2. {Question} 3. {Question} 4. {Question} 5. {Question} 6. {Question} ### Follow-up Guidance - If subject reveals X, follow with Y - If subject deflects on Z, acknowledge and move on - The subject CAN go off-script. Capture it. ``` **Show Mike the questions. Adjust before launching.** ## Step 3: Run the Interview ### Mode 1: Voice Interview Mags mediates — she is the reporter's brain between exchanges. Sequential turns, one agent call per exchange. 1. Read the interview brief and reporter IDENTITY.md 2. Ask Q1 — write it in the reporter's voice, append to transcript file 3. Launch the subject voice agent with the brief theme + the current transcript up to Q1. **Civic voice** → its `civic-office-*` agent. **Citizen voice** → dispatch `subagent_type: citizen-voice-<slug>` (it boots its own IDENTITY/LENS/RULES — pass the theme + transcript + an `INTERVIEW TURN` framing; it returns only its spoken answer). 4. Voice responds. Append their answer to the transcript. 5. Read the answer. Decide: follow up or move to Q2? - If the answer opened a thread worth pulling, write a follow-up - If it was deflective or complete, move to next scripted question 6. Repeat until questions exhausted or conversation has natural ending 7. Final transcript at `output/interviews/c{XX}_{subject_slug}_transcript.md` **Note:** True autonomous agent-to-agent interviews (both agents passing a transcript back and forth without Mags mediating) is a future build. For now Mags controls the pacing and follow-ups. **Voice agents can go off-script** — they read their identity and recent canon but get no preset answers. They can refuse a question, pivot, reveal something unprompted. Capture everything they say. ### Mode 2: Paulson Interview Runs in terminal. Mike responds as Paulson. (Discord bot interview mode is future work.) **Dispatch-per-turn is non-optional (G-I3 — non-negotiable since v2.0).** Mags writes NOTHING in reporter voice. Every Reporter question + every follow-up MUST come from a Task tool dispatch to the matched sports-desk subagent (Hal Richmond / Anthony Raines / P Slayer — per Step 1 reporter selection). The dispatch IS the architecture being tested; substituting EIC-seat writing collapses generator and editor into one cognition (the S230 G-I3/G-I4/G-I5 contamination failure mode) and the skill's purpose is defeated. **Worked example — dispatch shape per turn:** ``` Task( subagent_type="sports-desk", description="Hal Q1 — let-walks lead-in", prompt="You are Hal Richmond. Read the brief at output/interviews/c{XX}_paulson_{slug}_brief.md. The transcript so far is at output/interviews/c{XX}_paulson_{slug}_transcript.md (empty for Q1). Write Q1 in Hal's voice grounded in the brief's first question prompt. Return only the question text — Mags will append to transcript." ) ``` **Quota-coupling clause (G-S2 — S231 MEMORY rule).** If a dispatch returns the session-limit signature (`status=completed` + `<result>` carrying "session limit" string + `<total_tokens>0</total_tokens>`), **STOP the skill immediately**. Do NOT fall back to EIC-seat question-writing. Log the infra failure to the gap log (G-S2 detection signature per MEMORY rule) and end the skill with disposition `INCOMPLETE — quota`; resume after the reset window. **Run sequence:** - Dispatch reporter agent for Q1 (per worked example above) — capture the returned question - Append the question to transcript at `output/interviews/c{XX}_paulson_{slug}_transcript.md` - Mike responds in character as Paulson; append response to transcript - Mags reads the answer and dispatches reporter again for Q2 or follow-up (one Task per turn) - Incremental save after each exchange - Mike ends when natural - Reporter doesn't know Mike is Mike — they're interviewing GM Paulson ## Step 4: Compile Transcript to .txt The transcript `.md` is intermediate. The transcript `.txt` is canon. Compile per [[../../../docs/EDITION_PIPELINE|EDITION_PIPELINE]] §Published `.txt` Format Contract — Bay Tribune masthead + 5 structural sections (HEADER / BODY / NAMES INDEX / CITIZEN USAGE LOG / BUSINESSES NAMED / ARTICLE TABLE). One `.txt` artifact emits: **Transcript `.txt`** — `editions/cycle_pulse_interview-transcript_<cycle>_<slug>.txt` - Body: the full transcript verbatim - Article Table: single row (`<slug> | <reporter> | INTERVIEW-TRANSCRIPT | <word count>`)