The man flaunts a pretty impressive list of accomplishments, and his contact with various presidents over the years makes for some pretty intimidating name-dropping capabilities. He got to interview Prez Clinton the day the Lewinski scandal became public, and defied common etiquette by shouting at George W. Bush in an interview at the Rose Gardens. His most recent accomplishment was a brief one-on-one strategically-maneuvered quasi-interview with Obama during the past month.
However, of all these prestigious sounding experiences, I found it interesting that his self-proclaimed most enjoyable memory was of a story he got to do on Jackie Robinson, because it was "interesting and different".
And admittedly, I can imagine that after the first one or two times brushing shoulders with a sitting president, the whole bowing to your majesty thing gets a little old. That being said, it sure makes for an intimidating autobiography, or intro to a college seminar, for that matter.
Ed started off his speech in a fairly colloquial manner, but as the hour or so progressed, he really became a surprisingly approachable, and I thought, likable, guy. He gave some good advice on interviewing - explaining that the strategy behind good questioning isn't "one size fits all", but rather a sort of skill that one learns to tweak for various personalities and situations.
I especially liked his one bit of advice to "listen to the answers". It hit home with me, because I know that when I'm nervous and all prepared to interview someone, I plan out my nicely typed little set of questions and then spend the rest of the interview thinking about idiotic things. What does my face look like? Should I cross my legs toward them or away from them? Do I look too eager if I nod my head? Is my mouth hanging open a little too wide, or do I look engrossed if I leave it ajar just a tad?
I am not kidding. This is literally what's running through my head. So, thanks to Ed, I'm going to seriously listen to what the interviewee is saying next time, and tailor my questions based on their responses to get the most out of the little chat.
I also asked him if pushing an interviewee's buttons, or asking them a tough question (like he did with Obama and AIG, upsetting Obama and various other concerned citizens), makes them less likely to respond sincerely or candidly to future questions.
To this he responded that it depends on the person, but that most times they're understanding of the role of a journalist. (Except in GWB's case - when he blatantly ignored Ed in a press conference out of apparent spite at being asked a toughie earlier).
Finally, I liked Ed's outlook on journalists and opinions. His personal take was that "[he is] a citizen", and entitled to his own opinions - but that doesn't in any way hinder his ability to present a topic in an unbiased manner. ("unbiased", I know, is an iffy term in itself, but I'll leave that whole spiel for another time)
He stated that he doesn't like that journalism has to be so "robotic" - something with which I entirely agree.
Journalists are human, so let's accept it and move on with informing the public. Enough with this overly-obsessive self-analysis that journalists are so obnoxiously concerned with.
That's my opinion
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| Ed Henry speaking at the National Press Club (13 Sept. 2010) |
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