I think there are reporters and journalists out there who are fully capable of doing incisive and exposing interviews, but who are at the mercy of the networks and corporations who are terrified of either losing access to someone (Oh, noes! No more Kardahsians!) or of offending someone -- anyone -- in the audience over the slightest of perceived offenses.
--Dave Sikula On Sunday, January 20, 2013 4:28:11 PM UTC-8, Kevin M. (RPCV) wrote: > > All of the recent celebrity confession interviews begs the question: > Is there a TV journalist alive who is actually capable of a hard-news > interview, capable of a televised examination of a person's character > and actions? All we seem to have left are the soft, fluffy > interviewers or the self-promoting, bloviating blowhards who don't > actually listen to the answers or ask follow-up questions. > > Back in the day, Tom Snyder interviewed Ayn Rand and, very gently and > without malice, exposed her as the evil creature that she was (that > interview should air nightly on MSNBC). Edward R Murrow could do fluff > to pay the bills but also pushed subjects in interviews to their > respective breaking points. The Frost Nixon series, the veterans of > "60 Minutes," the guys with cigarettes in one hand and an index card > in the other who made people express genuine remorse as opposed to > marketing-coached remorse -- where did they all go? Surely in this age > of deconstructing everyone and everything, there is a market for > candid, intelligent, and sometimes (when called for) brutal hard > interviews? > > The only candidate I see for a decent interviewer is Jon Stewart, but > I think he'd be the first to point out how sad that is and how far the > bar has been lowered for that to be the case. And with Stewart, if he > isn't personally engaged with the subject or the topic, he's no better > than Leno or Letterman or any of the others who phone it in. Anyone > else have any candidates? > > -- > Kevin M. (RPCV) > On Sunday, January 20, 2013 4:28:11 PM UTC-8, Kevin M. (RPCV) wrote: > > All of the recent celebrity confession interviews begs the question: > Is there a TV journalist alive who is actually capable of a hard-news > interview, capable of a televised examination of a person's character > and actions? All we seem to have left are the soft, fluffy > interviewers or the self-promoting, bloviating blowhards who don't > actually listen to the answers or ask follow-up questions. > > Back in the day, Tom Snyder interviewed Ayn Rand and, very gently and > without malice, exposed her as the evil creature that she was (that > interview should air nightly on MSNBC). Edward R Murrow could do fluff > to pay the bills but also pushed subjects in interviews to their > respective breaking points. The Frost Nixon series, the veterans of > "60 Minutes," the guys with cigarettes in one hand and an index card > in the other who made people express genuine remorse as opposed to > marketing-coached remorse -- where did they all go? Surely in this age > of deconstructing everyone and everything, there is a market for > candid, intelligent, and sometimes (when called for) brutal hard > interviews? > > The only candidate I see for a decent interviewer is Jon Stewart, but > I think he'd be the first to point out how sad that is and how far the > bar has been lowered for that to be the case. And with Stewart, if he > isn't personally engaged with the subject or the topic, he's no better > than Leno or Letterman or any of the others who phone it in. Anyone > else have any candidates? > > -- > Kevin M. (RPCV) > -- TV or Not TV .... The Smartest (TV) People! You received this message because you are subscribed to the Google Groups "TV or Not TV" group. To post to this group, send email to [email protected] To unsubscribe from this group, send email to [email protected] For more options, visit this group at http://groups.google.com/group/tvornottv?hl=en
