What to do in a media interview when reporters go long
Bernie Sanders recently demonstrated one tactic, but it wasn’t the Democratic presidential candidate’s best option. Here are four to consider.
A reporter from NBC’s Phoenix affiliate recently interviewed Sen. Bernie Sanders regarding his chances in the Arizona Democratic presidential primary.
After answering one of the reporter’s several questions, Sanders stood, removed his microphone and made clear the interview was over. The resulting video was posted online with the headline, “Bernie Sanders Walks Out of Interview.”
That seems like a reasonable headline, but a few facts prove it’s not entirely accurate. It also prompts the question: What could Sanders have done better?
The video shows Sanders ending the interview, then telling the reporter that he had exceeded the four-minute interview window to which they had agreed. Sanders did the opposite of walking out—he sat back down, seemingly to prepare to speak to another reporter. What’s true is that Sanders ended the interview rather abruptly, although he offered a perfunctory “thank you” twice.
Here’s the key exchange at the end, as reported by BuzzFeed:
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