Keep asking in hopes of getting the right answer
Heard this on CBC Radio’s The Current, yesterday, and it’s a good example of why people can be suspicious of being interviewed by the media. Peggy Thomas was on a committee of the Ontario Library Association which approved a book that several school boards later banned:
I got a phone call from a reporter… and he was quite adamant about the book, and he kept saying this one question over and over and over to me - ‘Do you believe this is an appropriate book?’ - and I kept answering him and finally I said you’re asking me the same question over and over and he said - ‘That’s because you’re not answering it’ - and I said, am I not answering it or am I not giving you the answer that you want, because obviously, as a selector, as one of the people who chose this book, I obviously think it’s appropriate.
Sometimes reporters will ask a question several times to ensure they get a consistent answer or to try and get someone to say something in a more quotable way, or in the case of evasion, at least show how the interviewee won’t give an honest answer. Things get dicier when the reporter is repeating a question because they’re not hearing the answer they want; perhaps they want things more black and white or more forceful or more controversial.
Even worse, this sounds like a case where the reporter can’t believe the person’s opinion and, what?, hopes they’ll change their mind after enough repetitions of the question? That’s turning into a (poor quality) debate and not an interview.
[Disclosure: The reason I don't mention the book or the reasons for the ban or the name of the publication is simply that I don't want people distracted by the details of the case; my focus here is on the method of questioning and those details aren't relevant.]
Posted: February 20th, 2007 under Asking Questions, Guest Experiences, Tough Questions.