Saturday, April 28, 2007
Interview(er)s
Jeff Jarvis is right on in his post about the “rules” of interviewing. The media has enjoyed a role of privileged gatekeepers but they should welcome collegial effort in an interview to arrive at substance rather than spin. It honors their profession to have the ideas being expressed by their subjects accurately reported.
Who says that reporters are in charge of interviews anymore? Why should they set terms? They are the ones who are seeking information.
Although journalists resent the tendentious intrusions of whatever media conglomerate provides them a venue they often spin stories wildly themselves. And when challenged hide behind free speech claims, saying the denotative is their sole aim, pretending words don't have connotative force.
One reason TV and radio interviews are popular is that people can hear the actual words and interpret the demeanor of the subject (and reporter) for themselves. Admittedly, people hear and see what they want, but at least there can be a foundationalist reality offered to the audience before the process of filling in the outlines of personal prejudice begins.