Finally, A Media Interview Worth Listening To

In this day and age of shock jock, combative interviewing that serves no purpose but to agitate interviewees and listeners, I found an interview that actually presented meaningful questions, meaningful answers and a spirit of dialog.

Here it is: Ron Paul on CSPAN with Laura Knoy .

Bill Maher found a new hero in Ron Paul. I just found my new hero in Laura Knoy.

Her interview style is relaxed. She doesn't indicate agreement on all points and asks the questions in a respectful manner, giving her subject the opportunity to explain his position without cutting him off or making fun of him. Unlike Pat Gray of KSEV, Houston, who asks questions he already knows the answers to in a ploy to trap his subject, setting them up to ridicule, Knoy extracts well-articulated reasoning from her subject. The listener will come away knowing something more about the interviewee than he did going in.

You can also get the whole interview on www.ronpaulaudio.com . Look for the entry on June 5, 2007.

We need more Laura Knoys and less Pat Grays. Broadcast Journalism majors take note.