PJ Vogt
PJ Vogt is a producer for On the Media. He's on Twitter here.
Walking Out
Friday, August 19, 2011 - 04:09 PM
A clip of Christine O’Donnell, former US Senate candidate and Tea Partier, walking out during an interview with Piers Morgan has been making the rounds online. Who wins when a guest walks out?
In the clip, O’Donnell abruptly leaves the studio after being repeatedly asked her views on gay marriage. Today, O’Donnell is saying that she left because of series of questions Morgan asked her before the clip, questions about her sex life.
"It was not about the questions of gay marriages, as the producer very dishonestly tried to portray it," said O'Donnell. "It was ... the very inappropriate, creepy line of questioning leading up to that... [Morgan asked] "Do you still think masturbation is wrong?" he asked, followed by "Have you committed lust in your heart?"
I don’t think the "he said/she said" stuff is actually that interesting here. Instead, I couldn’t help but watch it as a producer, which was a kind of excruciating experience.
From a producer's perspective, a walk-out is a production failure. If it happens, it feels like somewhere, something has gone wrong in the production process. For instance, on our show, producers like to interview the guests before they talk to Bob or Brooke, to get a sense of how they sound. And we want the host to feel prepared, and we don't want the guest to feel ambushed.
I’ve never worked in TV, but I feel pretty comfortable guessing that it works about the same way there. So today, I find myself wondering what happened with this O’Donnell interview. Specifically, I keep wondering if Morgan went into the interview expecting to provoke a walkout.
If so, it wasn’t a bad plan. This week was the first week in my life where I’ve overheard anyone talking about something they saw on The Piers Morgan Show. And less anecdotally, the show got a 7% ratings bump, and the clip went somewhat viral on YouTube. But as a viewer, I’m not sure how much I learned.
Before the clip, I knew that Christine O’Donnell was a failed politician who doesn’t want gay people to get married. Now I know that she’s a failed politician and author who probably still doesn’t want gay people to get married. And that she can be kind of thin-skinned and petulant if you ask her about it. I think I’m also supposed to have come away with a sense that Piers Morgan is a hard-nosed interviewer who isn’t afraid to ask the tough questions, but instead I just think he’s got a slightly icky savvyness for publicity.
I guess what I’m saying is, Piers Morgan should do a show that’s just people walking out of every interview in disgust.
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Comments [9]
Piers might have thought up a more creative and interesting question...he was working for ratings not information and that gets tiresome.
to be honest i don't like either of them
I don't like either of them. They both should have walked off at the same time.
The answer is nobody wins. Both parts should have more respect for everybody. I believe that you should have class and respect when in a interview. But i do agree that pier was trying to provoke o donnel. I guess he was taught when he is in a awkward situation he leaves.
Classic lack of intelligence and cowardice on the interviewee's part. If it is indeed in the book, then why be afraid to talk about it, and why act like a coward and leave an interview? If nothing else, this interview simply showed what a first-rate moron and buffoon O'Donnell really is, and that she clearly can't be taken seriously.
There are several things to be taken into account here. The first is that Piers Morgan Tonight is generally live-to-tape.
In this instance, the opening of the August 17 telecast previewed what was to follow by announcing the walkout and inviting viewers to watch how it unfolded..
Recounting what he regarded as O'Donnell's rebuff on the August 18th edition of the program Morgan said “What I found extraordinary was her statement today. She gave a few reasons for why she’d done this and the main one seemed to be that I was obsessed with talking about sex. Well, you could see the clip we just played. I wasn’t talking about sex.”
Of course, Morgan neglected on the 18th to show the exchange with O'Donnell of the previous evening, occurring prior to the clip he referenced, during which he very clearly tried to engage O'Donnell in a discussions of homosexuality and masturbation.
Stacy Harris
Publisher/Executive Editor
Stacy's Music Row Report
http://stacyharris.com
I believe both parts had a very poor way to direct and respond to this interview. Mr. Piers
should had a little more class asking questions. I am not at all into the tea party, or a fan at all of O'Donnell. But the interview was looks like a rehearsal of how not to approach a host.
Oh, I think it was a deliberate stunt -- like Bill O'Reily storming off in faux-outrage on Fresh Air a few years ago. Only this was clumsy and awkward and she didn't find a credible jumping-off point for it.
Of course Piers was trying to provoke O'Donnell! After he tries a couple of times it becomes clearly uncomfortable... including for the viewer.
I would say that O'Donnell lasted longer than I would have expected.
The weirdest thing is the person standing in front of the camera while O'Donnell continues to talk.
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