I mentioned earlier that we’re working on lining up interviews with the presidential candidates for TPMtv. And we’ve gotten a lot of great questions that you’ve sent in over the last few days. But I was having coffee with a friend this morning who proposed another idea — not to supplant the traditional sit-down interviews but as an addition, and one that might play more to the strengths of the medium. He suggested we come up with specific questions for the candidates, tape them, and then invite the candidates to answer.
If you want them to answer the question, tell them. If they respond, we’ll prominently broadcast their answer, unedited on TPMtv.
Sit-downs have a number of advantages — follow-up being the most obvious, but also to gauge some of the candidates’ ability to think on their feet, the ability to push them beyond the scripted and vetted answers. For these and other reasons we’re still going to schedule these interviews. But there’s something to be said too for putting a key question out there, giving them (and/or whoever else thinks on their behalf) time to come up with a considered answer and then go on the record. If it dodges the question or answers it only in platitudes I think that fact will speak for itself.
Tell us what you think and we’ll try to refine the idea.
