The Kamala CBS ’60 Minutes’ interview; the real issue nobody is talking about

So people are arguing about the interview. Did CBS deceptively edit it? I don’t care about that.

The underlying situation is: why did they edit it at all?

Here’s what’s going on. A mainstream network news show has control over production values. And they know exactly how to use them. The interviewee and the interviewer sit across from each other. The lighting is just right. Not too bright. Just a hint of darkness, perhaps in the background, to instill a dramatic undertone. As in: this is serious, folks. There are close-ups of the interviewee’s face—as if he’s being examined for flaws or mistakes or deceptive answers.

The overall effect? This interview is completely real, in the moment, with no editing. That’s what the audience is made to feel. The interviewer seems to be getting complete answers from the interviewee. These network people are pros. They intend to project that live feel.

The feel, of course, is often bullshit.

The interview actually took place a week ago. The producers then edited it.

The interviewee may have gotten the questions he’ll be asked in advance of the interview.

The solution to all this is: DO THE INTERVIEW LIVE AND BROADCAST IT LIVE, JUST AS IT’S TAKING PLACE. And no matter what happens, don’t cut the feed.

When the interview is MAJOR, such as the Kamala sit-down in the late stage of the Presidential campaign, and the network doesn’t want to risk embarrassing her, they won’t go live. Kamala’s handlers may have insisted on airing a pre-recorded interview for the same reason.

But again, CBS knows exactly how to make this pre-recorded interview SEEM live. They know how to work camera angles, cuts, lighting, sound quality, and their interviewer is an actor. He knows how to impart an in-the-moment feel.

A large part of the audience thinks, “Wow, this is happening right now. Kamala is on the hot seat. She’s being made to come up with spontaneous, raw, unplanned answers to tough questions.”

Wrong.

If CBS wanted to be honest (what a fantasy that is), they’d say, before starting to air the interview: “This conversation was recorded three days ago. It was then edited. Vice President Harris received the questions she would be asked a week ago.”

But that would take all the air out of the interview. It would bust the balloon. People would say, “This is just a long campaign ad.”

Trump declined an invitation to appear on ‘60 Minutes.’ I think that was a mistake. He should have said publicly, for his followers and for the press, and to put CBS on the spot: