Newsnight: Jeremy Paxman grills Tony Plair

Interviewer Approach

Jeremy Paxman approaches Tony Blair, at the time of the interview Blair was prime minister, in a very direct manner. Paxman sometimes even interrupts Mr Blair in order to withdraw a certain answer when he is avoiding giving a direct answer.
Paxman grills Tony Blair with a serious tone, and almost argues with Blair in some cases when it seems like Blair is trying to avoid the question.

Jeremy Paxman doesn’t start with lighter questions at the beginning of the interview with Tony Blair, usually this happens to build up trust between the interviewer and interviewee, because Paxman is well known for his direct and serious manner towards his interviewee in order to gain incisive answers. Jeremy Paxman is very tough in the interview, in order to back Tony Blair into a corner.

Question Types

Jeremy Paxman asks Tony Blair very tough questions on his thoughts and views about benefits, and what Tony Blair thinks about the Labour party being funded by a pornographer. The questions Paxman asks Blair are closed types of questions, with the intention of getting an answer only to the tough question.

The flow of the interview is rather fast paced because Paxman often interrupts Blair if he begins to avoid giving a direct answer to the question. Jeremy Paxman also asks his questions with a rather suggestive tone, which is a different approach to his usual direct and tough tone.

Interview Style

The interview type would be ‘hard-news’ because Jeremy Paxman is grilling Prime Minister Tony Blair on very sensitive topics which Mr Blair has to answer carefully in order not to damage his party or his own reputation. The show which the interview was broadcast on, ‘Newsnight’, always contained ‘hard-news’ types of interviews where Paxman would interview politicians or public figures.

Structuring

At the beginning of interviews usually the interviewer would ask very light questions in order to gain trust between himself/herself and the interviewee. This may entice the interviewee to share more information later in the interview when the tougher questions come along. However, when Paxman interviews Tony Blair the interview is started off on a serious note, which sets the tone for the rest of the interview.

At the very beginning of the interview, Paxman says “Prime Minister, there aren’t enough doctors or nurses. There aren’t enough teachers. There are more cars on the road than when you came to power. The train service doesn’t work. Violent crime is rising. Is this what you meant by the new Britain?“. This quote (not included in the clip) proves Paxman wants to set the tone for the interview, and it remains this intense and thorough throughout the full interview. The interview ends with Paxman saying ‘Prime Minister thank you’ and Tony Blair replying ‘Thank you’, after Paxman had tried to find out how long Blair wanted to remain as Prime Minister.

The purpose of the interview

The purpose of this interview is to question Tony Blair thoroughly with intensity about his manifesto, and his thoughts and views on other topics which affects his decision-making. Tony Blair doesn’t use the interview to promote his party or himself, but purely to answer the direct questions that Jeremy Paxman will throw at him.

Type of media and target audience

The interview was televised and broadcast on the BBC’s ‘Newsnight’ program, when Tony Blair was Prime Minister. The target audience is anyone who has an interest in politics, the Labour party, and obviously for the viewers of the ‘Newsnight’ program.

Jeffrey Dahmer interviewed by Stone Phillips, ‘Confessions of a Serial Killer’

Jeffrey Dahmer, a serial killer who had a number of seventeen victims between 1978 and 1991, is interviewed by Stone Phillips in 1994 for his programme, titled ‘Confessions of a Serial Killer’.

Interviewer Approach

Stone Phillips begins the interview asking, “How are things going for you here?”, referring to his time in prison. This builds the interviewee’s trust with Philips, starting off on a lighter note and later getting into the tougher questions. Stone then begins to talk about Jeffrey’s relationship with his father, easing into the tougher questions slowly.

Stone Phillips approaches Jeffrey Dahmer rather bluntly, but with a sense of caution. The questions were investigate, trying to understand Jeffrey’s thoughts before, and during, his killings. The questions Stone asked are direct, yet simple. Starting from the beginning of Jeffrey’s ‘compulsions’ from butchering cats and dogs, to killing humans.

Stone Phillips tries to understand how, and why, Jeffrey Dahmer became a serial killer. Stone keeps his emotion towards Jeffrey neutral throughout the interview, remaining investigative.

Question Types

The questions begin from the start of Jeffrey’s compulsions, to finally his butchering of humans. When Stone Phillips meets Jeffrey he asks “How are things going for you here?”, these lighter questions eases the tension between the interviewer and interviewee, and also builds trust.

The questions start to get tougher as the interview goes on, with Stone Phillips approaching Jeffrey in a direct manner, with investigate questions. There is a sense of caution when Stone Phillips asks Jeffrey his questions, but there is still a bluntness about how the questions were asked. The questions are simple, but they gain a lot of information about how Jeffrey’s mind was when he started killing humans.

Interview Style

The interview with Jeffrey Dahmer is an investigate one. Stone Phillips tries to understand why Jeffrey became a serial killer, where it began, and what was going through his head before and after. Stone also interviews Jeffrey’s parents, in order to find out if something happened in Jeffrey’s childhood that could have affected him later in life.

Structuring

The introduction is very short, with Stone Phillips making conversation with Jeffrey Dahmer before he sits down with Jeffrey and his father. Stone begins with where it began for Jeffrey, trying to uncover where his thoughts came from. There are multiple cut-away’s containing interviews with Jeffrey’s mother and father.

Stone Phillip’s begins with the interview with investigate questions, but as the interview continues he changes to a more direct approach. There is also a sense of caution when Stone asks Jeffrey his questions, as they are sensitive topics for the viewers to watch.

Purpose of the interview

The purpose of this interview is to get into the mind of Jeffrey Dahmer, who killed seventeen men and teenage boys between 1978 and 1991. Stone Phillips interviews Jeffrey’s parents in order to find out if the ‘origin of his madness’ came from his childhood somehow. Throughout the interview Stone Phillips tries to find out how Jeffrey’s parents felt about what Jeffrey did, and how they reacted when Jeffrey was arrested.

Type of media and target audience

The interview was televised and named, ‘Confessions of a Serial Killer’. The target audience is adults who have an interest in the case, or about serial killers.

Adolf Hitler’s interview by George Sylvester Viereck, in 1923 but only published in Liberty magazine in 1932.

In Germany 1923, the government was in an extremely poor state. French and Belgian troops had entered the Ruhr, the beating heart of production in Germany, which caused strikes and had a catastrophic effect on Germany’s economy. Germany entered hyperinflation this year, and began to spiral out of control economically.

Adolf Hitler was seen as a beacon of hope by the German people, with Hitler promising a fresh start for the German people, and let the public be known to the fact that he would let Germany play second fiddle to no-one.

You can read the interview here: http://www.theguardian.com/theguardian/2007/sep/17/greatinterviews1

Analysis – George Sylvester Viereck interviews Adolf Hitler in 1923

Format (e.g: Print/ Audio/Moving Image)	The interview was print, published in the Liberty magazine in 1932.
Title of Product	‘No room for the alien, no use for the wastrel’.
Interviewer Approach	George Sylvester Viereck approaches Adolf Hitler with his questions in a very cautious manner, instead of being blunt and trying to pries the answer from Hitler. Although George seems to question Hitler about sensitive, or controversial topics about his ideas, he shows respect while asking the question.”Unlike some Germany militarists, you do not favour an alliance with Soviet Russia?”. This question shows that George is approaching Hitler rather cautiously, but he is still asking a very controversial question. Soviet Russia was a huge country in 1923, and could be a very useful ally for Hitler to have, but Hitler evaded the sensitive question time and time again, and this interview was to be no different. George Sylvester Viereck also seemed to be a little fearless in his interview with Adolf Hitler, at one stage he compared Hitler with Mussolini, which Hitler ‘beamed’ about.
Tone and Style	The tone of the interview with Adolf Hitler is a serious one, finding out about Hitler’s controversial opinions in a time where Germany was in desperate need of someone to provide them a fresh start, and Hitler was the favourite among the German people to do just that.The style of the interview seems to be George asking short questions, which Adolf Hitler ellaborates on and tries to share as much of his ideology as possible.
Interview Style	This interview is almost an investigate one. The purpose of the interviewer’s questions are to find out about Adolf Hitler’s ideology and his opinions on certain topics. Throughout the interview Hitler is in complete control of the pace and intensity of the interview.”Unlike some German militarists, you do not favour an alliance with Soviet Russia?”. George asked this question to Hitler in the interview, and Hitler evaded a direct answer. This proves that Hitler is in control of what he wants to answer and what he doesn’t. Adolf Hitler used this interview purely to get his ideology across to the readers, reinstating the idea of a united Germany. “Ten million free Germans, ready to perish so that their country may live..”. This extract from Hitler shows his ideology, and almost tries to promote himself by saying to the readers that he will unite Germany and make her great once again. Adolf Hitler is trying reinforce himself as the beacon of hope Germany desperately needed in 1923. So, the interview could almost be seen as a promotional interview.
Question Types	George Sylvester Viereck asked short and simple questions to Adolf Hitler cautiously, only once trying to force Hitler to answer a question directly. “But suppose France retaliates you by once more invading your soild? She invaded the Ruhr once before. She may invade it again”. Although this is not actually a ‘direct’ question as such, George is trying to get a direct answer from Adolf Hitler which he had previously evaded. George may have restructured his question, but Adolf Hitler was still not answering the question, only answering with long remarks about uniting Germany.
Interview Structure	The structure of this interview from Adolf Hitler’s point of view is simple, to evade questions he will not answer and to reinforce himself as a beacon of hope for Germany. The interview starts with Adolf Hitler stating, “When I take charge of Germany, I shall end tribute abroad and Bolshevism at home”. Adolf Hitler stated this to ensure the interview could only go in one direction, his way.Usually at the beginning of interviews it is friendly, which builds trust, and then you ask tougher questions near the middle and at the end you will finish with the lighter questions again. But Adolf Hitler immediately stated that he would take charge of Germany, and stated ‘We must decapitate both’, whilst talking about the Treaty of Versailles and the Treaty of St Germain. This ensures that the interview will be serious throughout, with Hitler almost using it as a promotional interview for his ideology and vision for Germany.
Target Audience	The target audience for this interview is for the people of Germany, and anyone else who has an interest in the politics of Germany.
Interview Purpose	At the time of this interview, Adolf Hitler was viewed as the only candidate to succeed Hindenburg as President. So, from Adolf Hitler’s point of view, he used this interview to promote his ideology and vision for Germany, which reinforced him as a beacon of hope for the German people, because in 1923 the country was experiencing hyperinflation, which very nearly crippled them economically.