Out of my Outbox

Boost: Vacations are a great way to get away from work and stress.
Downgrade: Away from internet and American (or any English-speaking) press, you lose complete grasp of what is going in the world.

Ash brought to my attention the exchange between AP's Ron Fouriner and Karl Rove, Bush's chief advisor, and wanted to know my take on the situation.

Here's the e-mail I sent her:

It's hard, being human and all, to completely de-attach from natural conversational inclinations as a journalist. I feel like the best interviewers are those who are able to conduct an interview in such a way that the interviewee feels as though they are talking to one of their closest friends. After all, any interview is basically just a conversation.

So, it's hard. You want to have some give-and-take. No one likes a conversation that's completely one-sided. Sure, people love to hear themselves talk but I personally like some feedback; it kind of affirm the person is listening to what I'm saying and that they understand.

In this situation, I feel like the journalist wasn't wrong in answering Rove's question, but he was wrong in how much he admitted. I think there's a range of what's appropriate and not, as there is with anything. There are somethings that are just TMI, and I think the journalist entered this realm.

Thoughts?