journal of linguistic studies

(CBS, 60 Minutes, IR: Scott Pelley, IE: Mahmoud Ahmadinejad, 20.09.2007)
In American data, the interviews with prominent political figures (such as those
featuring McCain, Bush, Rice, and Ahmadinejad) are structured in such a way that the
whole show is dedicated to the interviewee in question. These interviews are commonly
longer than those with other politicians. This affects the structure of the interviews, in
which the openings are reduced to a minimum. As stated above, the interviewee
introduction is usually left implicit, having in mind that any additional information would
be unnecessary. Also, the topics of the interview are not projected, even though this move
(i.e. agenda projection) is mandatory in American shows featuring several interviews and
hybrid shows in which genres are mixed (the incidence of this move in these is 100%).
The headline is omitted as well, bearing in mind the fact that the agenda of the interview
is obvious with these prominent interviewees. For instance, an interview with a
presidential candidate during an election campaign strongly suggests that the topics will
be focused on elections. Due to the fact that interviews with such guests are difficult to
arrange, the journalist will usually take the opportunity to ask the interviewee about a
number of topics, which are then organised in topic cycles, each with its own headline.
Another pattern identified in our corpus is somewhat more elaborate and comprises
two moves:
Move 1: Headline,
Move 2: Interviewee introduction.
The pattern will be illustrated by example 12:
(12) (A 6) INTERVIEWER: Is the U.S. economy already in recession? We’ll
talk with Treasury secretary Henry Paulson.
The headline is introduced through a simple and riddle-like question, typical of
American data. In the move interviewee introduction, such means are not used, and an
appositive adjunction with data regarding the name and function of the politician is added
instead.
Headline – The headline is accomplished as the first move. The American journalists
tend to introduce the headlines in interesting ways, for instance, through yes/no questions,
very riddle-like in nature, with the aim of attracting the attention of the audience for the
given topic:
(13) (A 6) INTERVIEWER: Is the U.S. economy already in recession? We’ll
talk with Treasury secretary Henry Paulson.
(14) (A 5) INTERVIEWER: …Plus -- John Edwards in a primetime exclusive.
Why is he warning Hillary Clinton to be careful? And why is his presidential pick
top secret? We’re taking your calls next on LARRY KING LIVE.
In this way, the journalists motivate the audience to watch the interview, suggesting
that an answer to the question asked would come up in the interview.
Interviewee introduction – The interviewee introduction is mostly realised directly.
The imperative is to make the spectators see the legitimacy of the choice of the guest
within the context of the topic and to avoid the unnecessary. Therefore, this move is
rendered informatively, without riddles and methods which are used for headlines:
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