BBC Interview Tactics

     Those who know me well often always relate me to my extreme (but never embarrassing) obsession with Carrie Underwood. It's hard to explain on paper, but it's borderline unhealthy. Anyways, while on our excursion at BBC I was dying to get to Wifi and re-watch one of her interviews she did while promoting her Blown Away tour on the BBC Breakfast show. At first, there was no deeper meaning into what I was doing; I simply wanted to see if she had been in the same room where she gave her interview. However, after watching the interview tactics the British interviewers Charlie Sayt and Susanna Reid used against her, I was surprised with how blunt and gossip oriented they were.
     The main piece of the interview that caught me off guard was when they asked her to speak directly about other celebrities. Underwood mentioned how the entourage that travels with her on trips and other appearances is much smaller than other performers; they took this and ran with it. Sayt and Reit asked specifically if Eminem or Beyonce had a huge entourage that they bring to different award shows. I thought it was very odd that they would even say someone else's name, much less ask her to call someone out. You can tell how uncomfortable Underwood got with the question and wanted to avoid giving an answer.
     I feel like in the US, interviewers remain more cautious and don't always want to put people against each other for a news story. I can't think of one instance where Underwood has been asked on Good Morning America or the Today Show about someone else's image. I feel like the US sees her as sort of "America's sweetheart" so questions like this just wouldn't be acceptable.
Although this is a very small segment of the entire interview, you can get a sense of just how acceptable celebrity gossip and tabloid rumors are in the UK. No matter what, the British News wants to get an appealing story to make money. In the case of Underwood, her celebrity status uisn't as well known as it is back in the states, so coming up with an angle like this most likely made the interview more interesting to BBC's viewers.
     London is also where Underwood gave her stance on gay marriage. She does not like to talk about politics and in every interview where she has been asked for her particular views, she stays pretty neutral. However, during the same trip while having an interview with the London newspaper The Independent, Underwood finally gave the world a glimpse into her social beliefs saying, "As a married person myself, I don't know what it;s like to be told I can't marry somebody I love. I can't imagine how that must feel. I definitely think we should all have the right to love, and love publicly the people that we want to love."
     I remember when this interview was published thinking how bizarre it was that she gave her thoughts about this topic, considering it is such a debate these days. Once back in America, she told the Associated Press, "I was asked a difficult question in the last five minutes of an interview and I answered it the best way I knew how."
     I think here, she is admitting to how the London press tries to get the most news worthy an juicy stories out of their interviews, not considering the artist at hand, just like in the BBC interview. I don't belive Underwood would have ever been asked this question in an American interview, and if she would have been, I think she could have easily declined to comment and the conversation would have moved on. However, fro the tactics seen used by BBC, The independent probably would have continued asking questions until they got what they wanted out of her.
Here is the interview: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=he1BG03Do_A