How to interview the Prime Minister
Oct 05, 2022, 05:00 AM
Last week all ears turned to BBC Local Radio, as Prime Minister Liz Truss faced a round of local interviews ahead of the Conservative Party conference.
Given the huge impact of the recent so-called "mini budget", and the PM's absence from the media circuit since it was announced, the interviews were closely followed by not just BBC local radio's loyal listeners, but by journalists in the lobbies of Westminster too.
The interviews were widely reported as very uncomfortable for the Prime Minister, and the journalists widely praised for their steadfast approach to challenging Truss on the issues affecting their listeners.
In this week's podcast, Christian speaks to three of the eight presenters who held those interviews - Sarah Julian (BBC Radio Nottingham), John Acres (BBC Radio Stoke) and Graham Liver (BBC Radio Lancashire). They explain:
Given the huge impact of the recent so-called "mini budget", and the PM's absence from the media circuit since it was announced, the interviews were closely followed by not just BBC local radio's loyal listeners, but by journalists in the lobbies of Westminster too.
The interviews were widely reported as very uncomfortable for the Prime Minister, and the journalists widely praised for their steadfast approach to challenging Truss on the issues affecting their listeners.
In this week's podcast, Christian speaks to three of the eight presenters who held those interviews - Sarah Julian (BBC Radio Nottingham), John Acres (BBC Radio Stoke) and Graham Liver (BBC Radio Lancashire). They explain:
- How the interviewers were arranged
- The preparation that the teams went through
- How they balanced national talking points with local issues
- How they handled the live split-second decisions when the PM stumbled
- How they handled difficult social media reactions