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Icarium View Drop Down
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    Posted: September 20 2019 at 14:59
Michael Parkinson is great, so was Letterman when he needed to. But John Stewart made sometimes hes guest surprised of how sharp and articulate he could be.
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I wonder how many here would get the Sammy Maudlin reference. I grew up with SCTV.

Originally posted by rogerthat rogerthat wrote:

Depends whether you're thinking of hard interviewing where the interviewer is looking to get a dishonest guest, usually an authority figure, to fess up.  Somebody like Jeremy Paxman would fit the bill in that case.  Or, if you're looking for an interviewer who gives his/her guest space to paint a well rounded picture of themselves for the audience.  For this category, the best I have seen/heard is Ernie Manouse.


A great interview can be like a good interrogation, someone's trust will be gained before getting them to reveal information which could incriminate them. That said, that will make future interviewees very wary, and might not lead to a long and fruitful career.

No idea about best, hardly know enough to come close to making such a call, but David Frost seemed a very good interviewer, and his interviews with Nixon are famous.

I do like various more light-hearted, witty interviewers as well. I tend to dislike those who come unprepared and ignorant, and can despise those who come across as pandering fanboys and girls. Generally, I do prefer the harder hitting ones.

He's come under major fire for sexual harassment, but I did enjoy Charlie Rose very much. Despite Hitchen's Iraq war stance and some other issues, I still wanted to listen to him most chances I got (I miss Hitch). Here he is being interviewed by Charlie Rose.



EDIT: Always make typos.


Edited by Logan - September 20 2019 at 14:51
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Originally posted by moshkito moshkito wrote:

Originally posted by dwill123 dwill123 wrote:

 
...
 One you've heard of, Howard Stern.  I'm shocked but he is a skilled interviewer.  Listen to his longer, serious interviews on his show.
...

My take is that he can only do well when he KNOWS the stuff about that person, and has done his homework ... but his list of folks that he has interviewed is not really that big a deal, although he has wanted to do some folks that he would like to interview strictly for the combative and difference in opinions.

I do find, and sometimes, it is funny, that some of his fascination with some of the porn star ladies is a bit off the top, but sometimes it is funny and entertaining, although some of that stuff is not likely to get repeated and showed on the tube or even recorded from the radio! But the visuals you can get from that ... yeah, it is nutZ!

Yeah, my idea of a great interview isn't asking someone "Did you f**k any black guys"
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Originally posted by dwill123 dwill123 wrote:

 
...
 One you've heard of, Howard Stern.  I'm shocked but he is a skilled interviewer.  Listen to his longer, serious interviews on his show.
...

My take is that he can only do well when he KNOWS the stuff about that person, and has done his homework ... but his list of folks that he has interviewed is not really that big a deal, although he has wanted to do some folks that he would like to interview strictly for the combative and difference in opinions.

I do find, and sometimes, it is funny, that some of his fascination with some of the porn star ladies is a bit off the top, but sometimes it is funny and entertaining, although some of that stuff is not likely to get repeated and showed on the tube or even recorded from the radio! But the visuals you can get from that ... yeah, it is nutZ!
Music is not just for listening ... it is for LIVING ... you got to feel it to know what's it about! Not being told!
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Phil Donahue
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Honorable Mention
 
One you've heard of, Howard Stern.  I'm shocked but he is a skilled interviewer.  Listen to his longer, serious interviews on his show.
One you probably not heard of, Alan Burke.  A syndicated television talk show host in NYC in the 60s.  He could cut right to the chase (and to the bone if provoked).


Edited by dwill123 - September 08 2019 at 06:35
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moshkito View Drop Down
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Hi,

It's a shame that you folks have not had the chance to hear SPACE PIRATE RADIO in its previous incarnation, when Guy Guden did so many interviews that really brought many of the folks some excitement and fun.

Guy's list is insane, and at least one of them I heard, Robin Williamson (Incredible String Band), made things so much fun that he even did an advert for one of Guy's fun bits ... and if you have not heard Edgar Froese or Bill Bruford do their bit ... you already know that they enjoyed being with Guy, and the conversation was fun.

Guy is unusual in that he is very knowledgeable, unlike many of the interviewers, and he is, unlike many others, a person that DOES LISTEN to the stuff and KNOWS IT ... unlike so many of the interviews where it's obvious that the folks asking the questions are strictly a fan of the band, and it's like they don't even know the history of the player. Guy could talk to Steve Hackett, going back to his high school days, to the latest bit on CD ... and that is not something that most interviewers are blessed with. 

Some others, that probably would also be interesting that I have never heard or have any idea about, would be someone like Bryan Ferry ... who apparently heard of SPR while driving down 101 in California and hearing some far out and weird stuff on the air ... on his blog site Guy used to have a few more jokes and bits, including Frank Zappa.

None of the guys mentioned are half as good and fun in these things as Guy has been! 
Music is not just for listening ... it is for LIVING ... you got to feel it to know what's it about! Not being told!
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Sammy Maudlin
Shake & bake.
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Depends whether you're thinking of hard interviewing where the interviewer is looking to get a dishonest guest, usually an authority figure, to fess up.  Somebody like Jeremy Paxman would fit the bill in that case.  Or, if you're looking for an interviewer who gives his/her guest space to paint a well rounded picture of themselves for the audience.  For this category, the best I have seen/heard is Ernie Manouse.
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Points: 34086 		Post Options Post Options   Thanks (0) Thanks(0)   Quote Icarium Quote  Post ReplyReply Direct Link To This Post Posted: September 07 2019 at 15:14
George Stroumbouloupolos
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Studs Terkel
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