Who is your favorite interviewer on radio or TV?
I think Howard Stern is one of the best interviewers working today. Say what you want about his content and style, Howard delivers interviews time after time that his audience loves.
Many people say they won’t listen to Mr. Stern because of his content or style and I understand that. That said, I believe that if you are serious about learning how to conduct interviews better, you need to expose yourself to a variety of different styles, particularly those that are proven successes.
Now what makes Howard Stern a successful interviewer in my opinion? As I said before, his listeners are the final judges and the numbers say he has a loyal following, and I infer from that, that they like his interviews as well as the rest of the show. If you listen to his interviews, he approaches his interviewee head on and asks about subjects that would never be brought up on any other show. Now most of his guests do not want to talk about the subject he brings up, yet he uses every trick in the book to trip the guest up and get them to talk about the subject they are avoiding. One of his favorite tricks is to put an answer in the guests mouth that is so terrible, that the guest gives the real answer to show that the guest is not as bad as Howard paints them to be. And of course the listeners eat this up, it is great drama and suspense. All of his interviews bring in suspense, drama, comedy, suffering, and of course usually sex. You might think of it as a soap opera for 12-year-old boys, but people love it and listen and that is what it is all about.
You may not agree with me about Howard Stern being the best, so who do you think is the best interviewer on radio or TV?