As we begin to consider the practice and art of interviewing, take a look at a clip of an interview that took place on CNN's Piers Morgan Tonight a few months ago. Morgan was questioning Christine O'Donnell, a well known member of the highly conservative Tea Party. Though O'Donnell held public office at one time, she was on his show to promote her new book -- at least that's what she wanted to do. When Morgan's line of questioning wasn't up to her liking, things got a bit tense.
Watch the video clip and weigh in with your reactions.
If you're interested, you can learn more background about O'Donnell and the Twitter war with Morgan that followed her walkout in this article. More on the hacking scandal in the days ahead . . .
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I believe that Morgan should have respected the topics that O'Donnell wanted to talk about and what she did not want to talk about. I also believe that O'Donnell, who has had experiences with public interviews could have better handled the situation. Leaving the interview was somewhat childish. I believe that all politicians should be prepared to answer any uncomfortable questions. In conclusion, I think that both Morgan and O'Donnell were in the wrong during this interview
ReplyDeleteIn my opinion both Morgan and O'Donnell showed unprofessional ways to handle a situation. I think both should have been prepared to handle topics that are "touchy". Morgan should know that anything could be asked at the interview because O'Donnell wants to have a good show and give the people what they want. On the other hand O'Donnell should have taken Morgan's response to his questions and used it to contribute to the show.
ReplyDeleteI think O'Donnell was purposely trying to sway the conversation to topics that would make her look good, and to promote her book. She agreed to come onto Morgan's show and I feel that with that, she should have known that she might be asked questions that she wouldn't have been comfortable with. If you are in a prominent position like O'Donnell, having a political standing like her, she will be asked questions like these, and I believe she has an obligation to answer them. If the public is to follow her ideas, or if they want to be on her side of political standing, then they should know what she believes in, and what her views on issues such as gay marriage are. I think Morgan was just doing his job, asking her questions that people would like to know the answers to. I think O'Donnell was being very unprofessional and rude. The way she acted was extremely annoying to me.
ReplyDeleteI think that the reporter has to right to determine what questions should be asked in an interview because the reporter needs certain information to be able to write a correct and structurally sound article. I also believe that the person or persons being interviewed do not have to answer all of the questions that are being asked in the interview if the questions are out of their comfort zone or if they do not feel like broaching that subject. I think that Morgan was just doing his job because he was told to ask her certain questions and that is what he did. I do not understand why O'Donnell didn't confirm of deny things that she had written in her book during the interview. I think that she handled the interview with out very much social grace or poise and got to flustered. She should be able to have a ready answer for all of the questions asked during the interview.
ReplyDeleteI think that Morgan should have the right to ask the questions that he wants to ask on his show, because he is the host of the show. Christine O'Donnell chose to be interviewed. Nobody forced her to appear on the show, and if she did not want to be asked about her opinion on issues she should not have gone on the show. Walking off of the show simply made her look childish. When a person prepares to be interviewed on a television show, they should expect to be asked questions.
ReplyDeleteI think the reporter has the right to determine the questions that will be asked in the interview, but the source doesn't have to answer every question. With that in mind, I think Christine O'Donnell was acting the prima donna, trying to control the interview. She doesn't run this talk show and she opened herself to questions by making an appearance; she should be prepared to answer tough questions about potentially controversial subjects. This is especially true because she is a politician. She serves the people (or we hope she does); it's her job to be open and honest. This does not mean that she had to answer that particular question, and Morgan's persistence perhaps made her uncomfortable; that's understandable. However, avoiding the subject was unprofessional on her part. In addition, calling Morgan "rude" several times on air and talking about other commitments she gave up to get to the show before leaving was way out of line. Maybe Morgan should have switched to another topic and not pushed her so hard; he should certainly be mindful of his role as host. But that does not excuse O'Donnell's actions; going on a show doesn't mean the world revolves around you!
ReplyDeleteI think that Morgan had the rights to ask her the questions, but O'Donnell had the right to not answer. However, after she stated that she didn't want to answer the questions, Morgan should have been respectful and moved on with the interview. I think that the interview went down badly because of his persistence for her to answer the questions.
ReplyDeleteIt was mentioned that the issue of gay marriage was covered in her book. If it was in her book, she made herself vulnerable for questions about the issue from reporters. Perhaps she could have made a small comment on it if she didn't want to dwell on the topic, but it seemed unprofessional on her part to avoid the subject altogether.
I think Morgan had the right to ask and pursue his question. It is his show and O'Donnell agreed to be on it, therefore she should have been ready to answer any question about anything. Also, Morgan says she broached the topic in her book, making his question even more justified. I think she overreacted and could have handled the issue much more gracefully. O'Donnell leaving the show just made her look rude and unprofessional.
ReplyDeleteThis topic can go either way: O'Donnell being a prima donna, or Morgan being rude. I believe that they both contributed to the interview in a bad way. O'Donnel was unprofessional, childish, and unprepared. Morgan, who was also at fault, was overly persistent, very unrespectful, and harsh. Both needed to give up some leeway and give each other acceptable behavior.
ReplyDeleteWhen Morgan says "I think I'm being charming and respectful" I could not agree more. He conducted the interview in a very appropriate manor and did not get snippy with O'Donnell for being difficult. If it is written in her book she obviously has an opinion on the topic of gay marriage so for her to hide it is foolish. Speaking from my own point of view, if she acted in such an immature way for the publicity she made a mistake. I would never trust a politician that couldn't debate a topic on air.
ReplyDeleteI can understand why both Morgan and O'Donnell acted the way they did. Morgan wanted to have a good show, so he asked O'Donnell the questions he thought his viewers would like to hear about. I think he should have backed down a bit after O'Donnell made it clear she did not want to answer these questions. However, O'Donnell was extremely unprofessional and she should have handled the situation better. Any politician should be able to debate and handle uncomfortable situations well. Leaving the show was rude and unnecessary.
ReplyDeleteI do not think that Morgan was unprofessional, his job is to ask what people want to hear and not dawdle around the topic. I don't think he was seeking to provoke his guest either because he was casual about the question and persistent to find the answer. Overall, the interview, so it seemed, was to promote O'Donell's book and people want to know what they're going to be reading, no one is going to want a book not knowing what it's about just because someone said so. You would, however, want the book after being told why it is so great and the reasons that make it worthy of the reader's time. O'Donnell didn't need to answer the question if she didn't want to, and in a respectful way could have said so instead of walking off. At first she did make it clear, but with hesitance to answer a question any reporter is going to be curious and persistent about the question. It was up to O'Donnell to make it clear as respectfully as possible that she didn't want to answer the question and move on, from there it is up to the reporter on how to handle the interview.
ReplyDeleteI think Morgan had the right to ask those questions as the reporter, but at the same time O'Donell had the right not to answer. I don't think Morgan was being rude until he kept persistently asking her the same question after she had made it clear she didn't want to answer. At the same time, I think she should have come into the interview prepared to give a straight answer for any questions asked of her, not just the ones she felt like answering at the time.
ReplyDeleteI do not believe either Morgan or O'Donnell handled the situation with much grace. Although it was not polite of Morgan to persistently ask questions O'Donnell did not want to answer, it is his job as a reporter to ask the hard hitting questions. O'Donnell needs to understand that as a politician she is setting herself up to answer uncomfortable questions and be put in awkward situations. It is part of the job description!
ReplyDeleteI don't think that Morgan was being rude. He asked O'Donnell a question that is being debated in politics today. He just wanted her opinion on it. If she had answered the question then it wouldn't have turned into an argument. Then when she wouldn't answer him that was the reason why he continued asking. Morgan and his viewers wanted to know why she wouldn't answer him. She should've been ready to answer heated questions. Everyday politicians go in front of thousands of people and discuss issues that people have different opinions on. I feel she overreacted. I also feel that the interviewer has the power in the discussion, not the person being interviewed. The interviewer chooses the questions and can put someone right on the spot.
ReplyDeleteI'm pretty sure that a talk show and the person being interviewed have to talk at least a little bit about what they're going to talk about before the person actually comes on the show. In that case, I think O'Donnell was the one being extremely rude and unprofessional during the interview. However, if Morgan just pulled the question up with O'Donnell thinking and being told that she was only going to be on the show to promote her book, I think he was in the wrong.
ReplyDeleteI think you have to know more about the story to have a concrete stance on it, and it should be looked at from both points of view.
I feel that agreeing to do an interview is agreeing to answer any questions asked, or if they do not want to answer it, at least declining it in a mature way. Both the interviewer and the person being interviewed should have the maturity to calmly work out any issues during the interview. Both Morgan and O'Donnell were being immature in this case.
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