Difficult Interviews

It may be a journalist's greatest challenge: conducting an interview with someone who refuses to answer questions or who spins the issue to his or her own point of view. Government officials, athletes, celebrities, attorneys, CEOs, educators (yes, educators!)--all withhold information or slant their answers when it suits their interests.  Even people who are ordinarily candid with the press can bob and weave with the best of them when faced with questions they'd rather not answer.   

While journalists don't find themselves in these situations every day, most experience them from time to time.  And on such occasions, most try to remain professional, asking questions, listening to their subject's responses, and posing good follow-up questions--all while trying to keep their frustration from showing.  But when they sense that their subjects are determined to either sidestep their questions or put up a smokescreen, most are also not shy about confronting dodges and doubletalk.  

Not all journalists respond to such situations in the same way.  Some clearly display more patience, giving their subjects lots of room to roam before jumping in and bringing the conversation back to the issue or question at hand. 

But other interviewers have less tolerance for spin: they're quick to interrupt their subjects and push them to face the contradictions inherent in their words and actions or own up to their less-than-admirable beliefs and behaviors.   

Which style works best?  Take a look at the following clips and decide for yourself.  The first video features Chris Matthews, host of MSNBC's "Hardball," questioning California Representative John Campbell about Barack Obama's citizenship (better known as the "Birther" controversy).  The second features Piers Morgan interviewing Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad about his remarks questioning the existence of the Holocaust.  And finally, Anderson Cooper interviews Republican Representative Michele Bachman on her plans to reduce America's deficit.  Each interviewer's style is unique.