In the famed Frost-Nixon interviews of 1977, which served as the basis of a 2006 play and 2008 feature film, British journalist David Frost did not masterfully extract an admission of guilt from disgraced ex-President Richard Nixon by quizzing him on his favorite breakfast cereals and which summer movies he most looked forward to.
For the interviews, Frost, who was then regarded as yet another television journalist mired in relative obscurity, collected hours of meticulous questioning regarding the Watergate scandal and distilled them into a succinct, yet gripping 90-minute television segment. He made a “firm point with Nixon that he would not know any of the questions in advance” and held no punches as he grilled Nixon on the scandal that led to his 1974 resignation.
Frost should be the standard-bearer for members of the press in interviewing public figures. Those seeking positions of great power and responsibility should be inexhaustibly pressed on subjects and forced to eloquently support their convictions.
Frost stands in stark juxtaposition with Jimmy Fallon, the host of NBC’s “Tonight Show,” who drew considerable ire last week regarding his interview with Republican presidential candidate Donald Trump.
There were no sweat-inducing questions, just inquiries on Trump’s fast food habits and fluff questions that received generic responses.
I’ll begin with a disclaimer. I don’t think it’s quite fair to hold the “Tonight Show,” whose regular segments include playing “Pictionary” with celebrity guests, to the same standards as “Meet The Press.”
Fallon himself defended the playful nature of the interview (“Have you seen my show?”), pointing to the fact that his show seeks to entertain, not necessarily to inform.
However, Matt Lauer, NBC mainstay and host of the first presidential forum between Trump and his opponent, Hillary Clinton, cannot fall back on entertainment to defend his unquestionably softer handling of Trump.
As Trump stretched the truth, Lauer neglected to contest his fallacious statements while Clinton’s answers were repeatedly interrupted.
In what has been the highest-profile event of the election season to this point, Lauer flubbed several opportunities to press Trump and Clinton, though perhaps to a lesser extent, with difficult questions to which his staff hasn’t already manufactured stock answers.
Instead, with every media appearance by the two candidates, we’re presented with the same series of topics and responses, albeit in a slightly different order.
Emails. Border walls. We get it.
During the primary election cycle, substantive issues such as “policy positions, leadership abilities or personal and professional histories” received merely 11 percent of media coverage.
For media outlets, it’s much more convenient and financially attractive to cover the most ridiculous promises and quotes simply because they garner clicks and reads.
The average American voter doesn’t know much about or concern themselves much with things of real global political significance, like the U.S.’ pending $1.15 billion arms deal with Saudi Arabia, which may be responsible for more than 10,000 civilian casualties in its ongoing war with Yemen.
Lauer and all future moderators and hosts of presidential debates and forums should emulate David Frost.
Just as boot camp’s central objective is to prepare soldiers for the horrors of war, members of the media should grill candidates with questions regarding real, pressing issues to test their preparedness to serve in what is arguably the most powerful position on the planet.
And I think it’s a little unfair to leave all that responsibility to Jimmy Fallon.
