Posted on 09/12/2008 9:02:59 PM PDT by MindBender26
Did ABC cheat in Palin interview? Perhaps.
It’s not unusual for news anchors to wear almost hidden earpieces during their live anchoring. It allows the producers to clandestinely talk to the anchors during the newscast and anchors to hear reporters in the field, receive time cues and other important audio. It’s not unusual to see anchors holding their earpiece a little tighter into their ear if they are having trouble hearing what is being fed and said to them.
But an earpiece during a supposedly one-on-one interview would be very unusual. Why would the interviewer need support from producers or others DURING the interview, unless they were all “ganging up” on the interview subject.
Tonight’s Gibson-Palin interview was billed as an exclusive one-on-one, but was it really Sarah Palin vs. Charlie Gibson aided by a lot of co-conspirator news producers sitting off-set, feeding him supposedly spontaneous questions and quips?
If you have a copy of the interview, watch what happens at 10:36 (EDT). Gibson is aggressively questioning Governor Palin, but his right hand is back near his ear, in a very unflattering pose. It’s a picture all of us who have worked in TV news are very familiar with. It’s an anchor having trouble hearing what’s being said to him in his earpiece.
Was Charlie being coached? If so, why, and why weren’t we told it was a one vs three or four attempted ambush, not one-on-one interview as it was advertised. If he wasn’t being coached by off-screen producers, then why the all too familiar “fingers in ear” pose.
This is all very much like the Steve Martin tent revival minister character in the movie “Leap Of Faith,” who received supposedly divine messages radioed into his ear from an off-stage Debra Winger. By the way, that movie was inspired by an actual fraudulent Texas TV minister who used the very same technique…. and was exposed on ABC’s 20/20… the same show Governor Palin was on tonight/
What’s the truth? We may never know. I’ll accept whatever Charlie Gibson tells us is the truth about this issue, but after an hour of demanding answers from Sarah Palin, don’t Mr. Gibson and ABC owe us an honest answer too?
I have lost alot of respect for Charlie Gibson. If Gibson ever interviews Obama he better be pretty tough on him given the hachet job they tried to do on Palin. I was just watching a part of the Obama interview and Gibson sounded like an Obama campaign staffer. Just pathetic.
He looked like a pompus A@@, earpiece or not.
Pathetic the way he treated her. My wife and I just watched “Back to School”, where Rodney Dangerfield gets grilled by college professors who are trying to kick him out. That’s what the Gibson interview reminded us both of.
Gibson’s primary problem is that it was obvious what ABC was trying to do... and Palin handled him very well.
I’ve never seen such a patronizing interview outside of maybe Oreilly.. He spoke in this quiet, creepy child molestor voice.
He appeared to be in her space...and they did a lot of close shots of her...Very intimidating, very sneaky, very lousy. But what's new with the media.
Personally, I thought they had more fun in the editing room than they did with any (alleged) earpiece. I couldn’t believe the hard cuts. They were very carefully not to cut her off mid sentence, but they would immediately cut her off after her sentence.
Interesting question. I can’t stand watching this kind of stuff, so I didn’t see it. But it should be asked.
I think Obama uses an ear plug. That’s why he stumbles and stutters when something goes wrong with the technology. No doubt it’s teleprompter trouble in the speeches, but when he’s answering audience questions, I think it’s the earplug.
does anyone have a list of questions that were asked B.O.? it would be interesting to compare the two interviews...
Gibson interviewed Obama in June. It was a very different interview.
If the phrase ‘mischaracterization run amok’ means anything, yes, ABC screwed the pooch, took a dump on a Lady, set their lipsticked lips squarely in the DNC nasty behind. The more than seven minute lie-filled pre-interview piece of assassination aimed at Governor Sarah Palin is the most blatant network effort to serve the sycophancy for one political candidate that I have ever witnessed in forty-plus years following politics. If ABC had any credibility before, they spent it all and went in the red tonight with their whoring spectacle to try and dstroy the Sarah Palin VP image. ABC used lies and partial facts to mischaracterize this LADY. Damn them. They are demonspwan in need of eradication.
I know I should be serious, but you made me burst out laughing.....and I'm STILL laughing!.
Leni
I would have only agreed to a live, real-time interview if I was Palin. No edits. No earpieces. You know, like, reality TV (not).
Oh my, did I write that? ... Time for another double Magarita, obviously.
WHO’S GOING TO CHECK OUT B.O. BEFORE THE DEBATES? I have no doubt he’ll be using a plug. No doubt whatsoever. He’s utterly lacking integrity and character...he’ll do anything to win.
The IFB is a special intercom circuit that consists of a program feed sent to an earpiece worn by talent via a wire, telephone, or radio receiver (audio that is being "fed back" to talent) that can be interrupted and replaced by a television producer's or director's intercom microphone. On a television news program for example, a producer can talk to the news anchors, to tell them when they are live on the air and when to begin reading off the script on the teleprompter or cue cards.
I have it paused at precisely 10:36.
Camera is behind his head. He tells her time is running out so here comes some social issues.
When it swaps to the camera from behind her head, he has his right hand up to his right ear/jaw area. It appears his pinky is bent against his cheek. His thumb is against his cheek. They are forming a circle almost. And the other three fingers are extended straight and appear to be going inside his ear at an angle across his cheek.
It just looks weird. Almost like he is holding his ear and jaw to his head.
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