Art Unfound

New Zealand Listener, Volume 21, Issue 536, 30 September 1949, Page 10

Art Unfound

‘THE art of radio interviewing is yet to be discovered and perfected. The radio talk can be fascinating, the radio discussion can be exciting; but it is a rare radio interview that rises above flatness and \inanity-one that did, though lop-sidedly, was heard a few wesks ago from 2YA, a recording of John Davenport’s BBC interview with Aldous Huxley on his book Ape and Essence. Huxley was most frightening and John Davenport suitably pale and wan. And more recently there was a rare local product-an entertaining 2YA interview with Peter Dawson; but as in the Huxley case I think the success of this was largely thanks to the nature of the subject, to the geniality and exuberance of Mr. Dawson. Radio interviewers seem’ to me to have a rigid schedule of questions, perhaps, written on their cuffs, strictly and methodically asked in order. Thus we continually have those sudden changes of subject with the embarrassing and inadequate cushion remarks — o-really, well-that’s-really-most-interesting, now-can-you-tell-us-Sir Xremarks which sound at their best impatient and at their worst supercilious. It would perhaps be better if interviewers gave their subjects (and; of course, their listeners) an idea of the main questions they wanted answered and then allowed more elasticity and freedom to wander; this would perhaps do

away with much of the seeming incivility of sudden changes of subject in rapidly succeeding questions. It might perhaps be possible for an interviewer to find about two variations for the stock "O-really." And it would surely be a good idea for interviewers to avoid asking any artist such leading questions as "And are your audiences glad to see you again?" or "And is it true, Miss X, that you have been in radio since the

beginning?"

M.

M.