The Moderate Voice is a former journalist (he even went through formal training at the Medill School of Journalism) so he was fascinated last night to hear some cable news outlets going on and on about President George Bush having a very tough and unfriendly news interview with an Irish reporter.
But since he worked in the news media, he learned long ago to try and find the PRIMARY SOURCE and read/hear/watch it himself...then decide. That means trying to bypass CNN, MSNBC and...yes...Fox News. So he found the 10 minute interview which you can watch here..
It downloaded very quickly and TMV watched it. And here's our reaction:
(1)What is the big deal about? Cable news networks here need to get a life.
(2)The reporter's mistake was jumping in very quickly with follow-up questions. Tough follow-ups are actually a reporter's job, no matter who the subject is. She did not try to overshout him but stopped once he indicated he was getting annoyed by her cutting him off. She let him give his full response.
(3)Bush wasn't used to immediate and tough follow-up quesetions because the U.S. press now stylistically tends to let interview subjects give their full response to a question during a press conference. Follow-ups sometimes (but not always) aren't asked. But the purpose of an interview is not to allow someone to give "a statement" but to extract information.
(4)The TV reporter doesn't come off like a bully. She's asking questions that many in her audience would like asked. She was doing her job. She was not a public relations person or a supporter. And Bush knows how to handle himself.
(5)The President comes off exceedingly well . He's clearly irked by her not letting him finish (increasingly so as it wears on) but he actually comes off BETTER than he's ever come off before. Why? Because he has challenging questions and is answering them. And his irritation at the reporter's style forces him to answer the questions with extra confidence and conviction.
TMV felt it was one of the best interviews Bush gave in years. If Bush had faced a journalist saying "So what do you think about terrorism?" who had not peppered him with challenging questions it would have been one more perfunctory talk with the press.
Our overall verdict: the reporter and the President did their jobs and both came off looking like pros. Sean Hannity or Michael Moore would not have looked as good or made GWB look as good.
UPDATE:
--Watch the interview for yourself, then read this. Is this an accurate description of what you saw? It may be in the eye of the beholder.
--Apparently the White House, though, was VERY offended because it cancelled an interview with Laura Bush that had been slated for the same Irish news company.
The interview I thought people were talking about was his one with David Dimbleby.
As a current journalist, I agree with everything else you said - especially about what an interview is for - it's not for verbatim press release paragraphs.
Watch the interview carefully. She didn't interrupt him. He had quite a long pause, she interjected with a follow-up question, and he got slight rattled. Hey, I can't help it if the President can't think fast on his feet. She was good, he was slow, but his answers were good, and overall, he didn't come off too badly. He needs to settle down. I've come away with a little more respect for him as a result, but still not gonna vote for him.
The papers here today (in Ireland) were talking about the different approaches to interviewing in Ireland and in the States.
They say that it's not particularly common over there but here constant interruptions are par for the course. Bush had it quite light. Our government issued a statement saying it agreed with the complaints coming from America, but that could have been a dig as most of them have been on the receiving end of something similar in the past.
Bush did ok, but he would have been better off speaking loudly over Coleman like everyone here does. He tried to make the whole thing far too relaxed. A chat by the fireplace kind of thing. Irish politicians would never expect that. I think it's a healthier dynamic though. Interviews shouldn't be a walk in the park.
Made for some interesting headlines in the papers this morning though. "Bush declares war on RTE", etc. Kind of funny. Basically looks like the White House is whining cos our journalists aren't nice enough. Which seems kind of pathetic. They should have kept quiet afterwards, regardless.