NOTE FORM JOHN: Let's not forget that it took an AMERICAblog reader approaching Palin in an Albuquerque restaurant yesterday, for anyone to get a "real" interview with her. Yes, the first real interview, with real questions, came from a blog reader. Chew on that.
As we learn the facts about Sarah Palin's first "interview," it's pretty clear that Charlie Gibson pretty much tossed aside whatever journalistic integrity he had. Seriously, the way this is playing out, Barbara Walters would have been a better choice. At least she doesn't pretend to be a real journalist. Josh Marshall explains:
it's pretty clear this farce is going to be close to unwatchable. Set aside that this comes just on the heels of McCain campaign manager Rick Davis saying Palin would not sit for any interviews "until the point in time when she'll be treated with respect and deference." The tell comes high up in the AP story by David Bauder. The second graf reads ...No tough questions or the McCain campaign will be really mad. And, that's enough to send networks executives running for cover. Fortunately for ABC, the network has Charlie Gibson, who will be the tool the McCain campaign needs him to be. This must be hard for the real reporter to watch. Will any of them critique Gibson?Palin will sit down for multiple interviews with Gibson in Alaska over two days, most likely Thursday and Friday, said McCain adviser Mark Salter.Political interviews are never done like this. Because it makes the questioning entirely at the discretion of the person being interviewed and their handlers. The interviewer has to be on their best behavior, at least until the last of the 'multiple interviews' because otherwise the subsequent sittings just won't happen. For a political journalist to agree to such terms amounts to a form of self-gelding. The only interviews that are done this way are lifestyle and celebrity interviews. And it's pretty clear that that is what this will be.
