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October 13, 2021 1:05 pm  #1


Evan Solomon Goes On Rant After Being Told What Questions To Ask

A great moment on the Evan Solomon show Wednesday, after the host interviewed a federal minister about the deteriorating situation in Afghanistan. Not long after, the MP's communication person issued an indignant tweet, tearing a shred off the long-time journalist for "not asking the right questions." (I.E. the queries that would have made his boss look good to a national audience.)

Solomon then went on a near-15-minute rant about how it wasn't the assistant's job to suggest what a journalist in a free society could or couldn't ask, while pointing out the incredible irony that the Taliban would never allow such questions to be asked in their besieged country in the first place. 

I'm a fan of Solomon's overall, and I don't think I've ever heard him get quite so worked up about anything in the past few months. It was quite refreshing to hear him let loose on a bureaucratic idiot, who thinks he can control what anyone in the media should or shouldn't say.

Good for Solomon. We need more of that moxie these days. 

 

October 13, 2021 1:30 pm  #2


Re: Evan Solomon Goes On Rant After Being Told What Questions To Ask

So long as Evan Solomon isn't unduly pressured to ask the "right questions", I don't see the big deal (caveat: I didn't see the show, so I'm not sure how the comms rep worded the comment). I would think it's fair game for the MP and/or his team to respond. If anything, the response would potentially offer viewers a window into the MP's official line and/or what they want conveyed. It can be important to know what the key talking points are in order to optimally judge the entire exchange. While the MP has considerable power, so does a host of Solomon's stature. If there's more to this story, I'd be curious...

 

October 13, 2021 2:01 pm  #3


Re: Evan Solomon Goes On Rant After Being Told What Questions To Ask

The Communications Manager apparently issued his criticism only in a Tweet. He never actually talked to Solomon. Evan was referring to the interview in which the politician didn't like all the questions he asked, especially when he pointed out discrepancies and hypocritical statements made by the minister. 

So Solomon never got the chance to actually question the man who chastised him, which only made it worse. 

It was tough, though, to deny the comparison between the way a dictatorship like the Taliban might have handled a "press conference" (if they ever held one at all) and a Canadian politico attempting to control a narrative because of questions she didn't find it easy or convenient to answer. Not the way our system works and thank God for that!

     Thread Starter
 

October 13, 2021 4:34 pm  #4


Re: Evan Solomon Goes On Rant After Being Told What Questions To Ask

Solomon is right, I would have told them fack off too...instead of criticizing the journo's queries perhaps they could have helped the minister pivot to what they wanted to say....it's classic media relations 101...acknowledge the question then give the answer you like....it's been going on like this since the dawn of reporters questioning politicians...

 

October 13, 2021 7:12 pm  #5


Re: Evan Solomon Goes On Rant After Being Told What Questions To Ask

We need more journos / interviewers like Jeremy Paxman from the BBC...

(i know this has been posted here before, but I think it is on point...)




 

Last edited by Glen Warren (October 13, 2021 7:13 pm)

 

October 13, 2021 8:57 pm  #6


Re: Evan Solomon Goes On Rant After Being Told What Questions To Ask

Generally I like Evan, and he is right about how it is not the job of the minister's assistant to try and direct the questions in the interview, or later complain about it.  However, many of our news media types also need to get over themselves.  In my opinion many of our journalists on CTV, CBC and Global do a poor job holding politicians to account and don't press them nearly hard enough, especially those in government.

I prefer Solomon on radio rather than TV.  On his Question Period show he is still going on EVERYDAY way too much about COVID, and still focusing on Ontario for some reason. Why?   Please move on, this hasn't been a lead story for quite a while now.  But me thinks our media covers it on and on because it is an easy story...

 

October 13, 2021 9:56 pm  #7


Re: Evan Solomon Goes On Rant After Being Told What Questions To Ask

paterson1 wrote:

In my opinion many of our journalists on CTV, CBC and Global do a poor job holding politicians to account and don't press them nearly hard enough, especially those in government

I agree paterson1.

Our journalists of today don't press the politicians nearly hard enough.  Is it because we have lost the smaller, privately owned news organizations that aren't afraid of political fallout?

Most "journalists" of today let them get away with their constant "pivots".  It seems the politicians are better trained at interview tactics than the journalists.

I also feel they miss opportunities to provide balanced reports.  I'm not talking politically, but rather factual.  They will often report "there have been a number of cases of  <insert problem or issue>" without doing some research to provide perspective on the actual impact of said issue.  It can leave an impression that the issue is a bigger problem than in reality.

In today’s world of "fake news" and opinionated social media, it’s a shame we can't get a better product from our broadcast journalists.

 

 

October 14, 2021 1:21 am  #8


Re: Evan Solomon Goes On Rant After Being Told What Questions To Ask

paterson1 wrote:

I prefer Solomon on radio rather than TV.  On his Question Period show he is still going on EVERYDAY way too much about COVID, and still focusing on Ontario for some reason. Why?   Please move on, this hasn't been a lead story for quite a while now.  But me thinks our media covers it on and on because it is an easy story...

I’m not sure this is so much an Evan Solomon issue as it is a CTV issue. I’ve found CTV to be a lot more fixated on Covid than either CBC or Global, and this is the case on national newscasts, local newscasts, and online. CTV for a long time was a lot more alarmist than the others.

 

October 14, 2021 9:54 am  #9


Re: Evan Solomon Goes On Rant After Being Told What Questions To Ask

As Glen implied earlier on this topic, the BBC does seem to give their interviewers free reign to go after their guests in a tough but professional manner. I particularly enjoy HardTalk on the BBC World radio service. Strong and long format interviews with key politicians from some more difficult regimes, including Pakistan, Iran and Myamar. With all of these seasoned interviewers one must assume that the subjects know the calibre of the interviewer and willingly put themselves in a challenging situation where they can fall into the largest of elephant traps.

 

October 14, 2021 10:48 pm  #10


Re: Evan Solomon Goes On Rant After Being Told What Questions To Ask

That's much better than schmoozing with guests and arranging art deals for them.  I'm glad he found integrity after spending some time in the wilderness.  I haven't watched or listened since the CBC sacked him because I don't trust him.

 

October 16, 2021 8:57 am  #11


Re: Evan Solomon Goes On Rant After Being Told What Questions To Ask

Was once cornered by a big city Mayor after a "live" on air interview.  He said he felt I had put him on the spot with a couple of questions (he obviously didn't care for} .
My response was " Mr Mayor....I don't tell you how to do your job...don't tell me how to do mine."
He replied " Fair enough ". It never affected our working relationship .