Interviewers losing the plot

Michael Parkinson talks to Meg Ryan. Sort of. “It’s awkward,” says Meg, who trained as a journalist at NYU (3 mins)

George Lamb interviews Ray Davies of The Kinks, somewhat insulting the rock legend. (3mins to conclusion of Ray Davies interview, 4mins 40secs including George Lamb ‘justification’).

Fox host Ainsley Earhardt’s line of questioning is unsettled by author Uri Man’s flirtatious comments (2 mins)

Icelandic band Sigur Ros are encouraged to be monosyllabic by interviewer Luke Burbank asking an endless stream of closed questions (6 mins)

http://www.npr.org/blogs/bryantpark/2007/10/when_good_interviews_go_bad.html

The Sigur Ros interview broken down to its components (15 mins)http://www.npr.org/blogs/bryantpark/2007/10/anatomy_of_an_interview_gone_w.html

Tom Cruise interviewed on MSNBC by Matt Lauer. Cruise calls Lauer “glib” and tells him he should do his homework, taking control of the interview despite making nonsense claims. (6 mins)

Bill Grundy and the Sex Pistols – Today Show, ITV, 1976 (2 mins 40s). WARNING! Contains profanities!!!

The Word. My word. Terry Christian demonstrates the fine use of ‘dead air’ interviewing Keanu Reeves live, via satellite, from Los Angeles (4 mins)

Very, very awkard interview with Jake Lloyd who appeared as the Young Anakin Skywalker when he was a boy but has since given up acting. If only the interviewer had conducted some research.

A 54-year-old mystery revealed by ABC News that, well, is still a mystery. How not to make gripping television!

NBC News – Bush keeps reporter in line (stop at 1 min in before Bush’s war speech!)
“You want another follow-up? They’ve taken your mic away.”

SKY NEWS – Bush kept in line by Sky News reporter Adam Boulton

KTNV: And to conclude, how not to communicate with people in the street, even if your are a reporter and they are drunk

Interview reminders:

The term ‘off the record’ is meaningless.

Interviewee’s have the right not to answer a question, as much as interviewers have the right to ask.

Establish what is going on – is this interview live, pre-recorded, delayed?

Prepare!

Establish ground rules – remember who should be driving the interview.

[Via http://dmjblog.wordpress.com]

Podcasts I Love, Part One

I’m addicted to podcasts. Podcasts take up about half of the space on my iPod Touch and I spend more time  listening to them than I do to music. They’re amazing! They’re free, and there really is something for everyone. Comedy, news , sports, arts and crafts, movies, books, audio journals, public radio, hobbies, language learning, cooking…there’s a podcast for almost anything you could possibly be interested in. Here’s what’s on my iPod (you can subscribe to any of these on iTunes):

American Public Radio’s The Splendid Table is “the show for people who love to eat”, according the the show’s host, Lynne Rossetto Kasper. My cookings skills don’t reach any further than toasting bagels or brewing coffee at work, but I sure do love food! And I love hearing about food. They do talk about cooking equipment and techniques, but it’s so much more than that. You hear about food from around world and around the country and at the end of the show, listeners of the show can call in and ask Lynne a question about food, cooking, or culture. The Splendid Table is an hour-long weekly show on NPR, released for download every Saturday.

American Public Radio’s The Story is all about stories. Hosted by Dick Gordon, The Story is another hour-long NPR radio show I’m in love with. In short, it’s basically a show that interviews ordinary and extraordinary people about particular events in their lives. Each show consists of two interviews, one long and one short. Interviewees have ranged from a family that traded homes with a French family for a few weeks to a woman telling her story about her life as a train-hopper. Dick Gordon is an amazing interviewer.

Best of YouTube is, put simply, the best of YouTube. They release a few video episodes each week of funny and/or interesting videos you might have missed otherwise.

The New York Times’ Book Review is a 20-minute long weekly podcast from the NYT. They review and discuss bestsellers and hidden gems, so it’s great for those times when you just can’t find anything to read. I’d recommend listening this when you’re in a position to jot down the title of a book that intrigues you.

[Via http://mattiemkim.wordpress.com]