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Newsnight editor says end ‘Mexican stand-off’ in political interviews Newsnight editor says end ‘Mexican stand-off’ in political interviews
(5 days later)
Newsnight editor Ian Katz has called on politicians and broadcasters to end the “Mexican stand-off” that has made political interviews “arid, ritualised” affairs and – echoing his infamous Twitter faux pas – “boring, snoring”.Newsnight editor Ian Katz has called on politicians and broadcasters to end the “Mexican stand-off” that has made political interviews “arid, ritualised” affairs and – echoing his infamous Twitter faux pas – “boring, snoring”.
Katz, writing in the Financial Times in an article headlined “The death of the political interview”, says that there needed to be an “updated contract” between journalists and political leaders so that interviews became a “source of light as well as heat”.Katz, writing in the Financial Times in an article headlined “The death of the political interview”, says that there needed to be an “updated contract” between journalists and political leaders so that interviews became a “source of light as well as heat”.
He said it was no surprise, given the moribund state of the political interview, that the most talked about encounter of the last year was Russell Brand speaking to Jeremy Paxman on Newsnight, watched by more than 10 million people on YouTube.He said it was no surprise, given the moribund state of the political interview, that the most talked about encounter of the last year was Russell Brand speaking to Jeremy Paxman on Newsnight, watched by more than 10 million people on YouTube.
Katz, a former deputy editor of the Guardian, also reflected on the “bowel-loosening mortification of the moment” he realised he had publicly described on Twitter, just a few days into the job, Paxman’s Newsnight interview with Labour MP Rachel Reeves as “boring, snoring”.Katz, a former deputy editor of the Guardian, also reflected on the “bowel-loosening mortification of the moment” he realised he had publicly described on Twitter, just a few days into the job, Paxman’s Newsnight interview with Labour MP Rachel Reeves as “boring, snoring”.
He said he had met Reeves several times and she was “clever, engaging, even funny … What made my tweet so unfortunate was that it singled out Reeves for doing no more than conforming to her profession’s standards of best practice. A fairer observation might have been that a large proportion of political interviews – maybe even most – are boring snoring.”He said he had met Reeves several times and she was “clever, engaging, even funny … What made my tweet so unfortunate was that it singled out Reeves for doing no more than conforming to her profession’s standards of best practice. A fairer observation might have been that a large proportion of political interviews – maybe even most – are boring snoring.”
Katz sets out a four-point plan in which politicians would be given “the opportunity to explain their thinking and decisions in depth, in exchange for the chance to test them thoroughly”.Katz sets out a four-point plan in which politicians would be given “the opportunity to explain their thinking and decisions in depth, in exchange for the chance to test them thoroughly”.
Advocating a less adversarial approach in the month that Evan Davis will succeed Paxman as Newsnight’s lead presenter, Katz said there needed to be a “genuine attempt to explore and illuminate the dilemmas politicians face”.Advocating a less adversarial approach in the month that Evan Davis will succeed Paxman as Newsnight’s lead presenter, Katz said there needed to be a “genuine attempt to explore and illuminate the dilemmas politicians face”.
“We broadcasters need to give interviewers – at least some of them – the time to breathe, even if that means putting up with more boring, snoring bits,” he added. “We broadcasters need to give interviews – at least some of them – the time to breathe, even if that means putting up with more boring, snoring bits,” he added.
He admitted there were risks – that politicians would be just as boring as before, or viewers would vote with their remote controls and change channels, but “to break the stand-off, both sides have to jump at once”.He admitted there were risks – that politicians would be just as boring as before, or viewers would vote with their remote controls and change channels, but “to break the stand-off, both sides have to jump at once”.
“So here’s a challenge to politicians: if you will dare to be a little more candid, to come to the crease a little less padded up, answer questions rather than avoid them, we will give you the space to explain your politics and yourself, to show the public that you are a well intentioned and (in some cases) rounded human being, to earn that most precious – and scarce – of political commodities – authenticity.”“So here’s a challenge to politicians: if you will dare to be a little more candid, to come to the crease a little less padded up, answer questions rather than avoid them, we will give you the space to explain your politics and yourself, to show the public that you are a well intentioned and (in some cases) rounded human being, to earn that most precious – and scarce – of political commodities – authenticity.”
Katz added “That doesn’t mean we will give you an easy ride” but said something had to be done in an era when the broadcast political interview “is stuck” in a safety first, risk-averse ethos in which “even the most interesting political figures seem dull”.Katz added “That doesn’t mean we will give you an easy ride” but said something had to be done in an era when the broadcast political interview “is stuck” in a safety first, risk-averse ethos in which “even the most interesting political figures seem dull”.
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• This article was amended on 9 September 2014 to correct a word in a quote from Ian Katz. He said broadcasters need to give interviews, not interviewers, the time to breathe.