Ask A Damn Question (Continued)

Bubbler laid it out very well. That's always been my philosophy.

There's nothing wrong with talk about, especially on the news side when I run into a witness who is explaining how something happened. I want to hear how they saw it and then I'll ask follow up questions.

I would think it's also very useful on the sports side since you have to deal with so many prickly coaches who are still wound up emotionally from a win or a loss. Asking a pointed question, "Why did you pull Pedro in the eighth?" or "Why didn't you call a run play with 10 seconds left" can put them on the defensive pretty quick.

I once had to deal with a trial-loving prosecutor who hated being second-guessed by the media, especially after a loss. He always answered my questions with a very sarcastic question of his own, "What the hell should I have done? Are you saying I fucked up? How many law degrees do you have?"

I found that "talk about" or similar approaches allowed him to set up the situation as he saw it and made it easier to explain why he made the decisions he did. And he couldn't say I was accusing him of fucking up.

If you're going to rule out the "Talk about" method altogether then you're really doing yourself a disservice.

 

You have described my world pretty well. Better to let them vent for a moment before asking about specifics. They aren't in a place to answer pointed questions just yet.

 

I'm glad we've "Talked About" this.

 

Anyone care to "Talk About" why this thread died?

 

Can't you talk about anything else?

 

Nope.

 

Well there's your answer.

 

Dang it Write-Brained, this thread was making a comeback and you killed it.

 

Pam Shriver used a "Talk about" question with Maria Sharapova yesterday. I didn't have a problem with it.

 

You see it everywhere. It's generally accepted but not exactly a thoughtful question or way to start an interview.