Why Terry Gross Is Great

NPR host's interview of Bill Ayers is absolutely textbook

By John Johnson, Newser Staff

Posted Nov 20, 2008 4:10 PM CST

(Newser) – Terry Gross is one of the best interviewers in the business, and her recent session with Bill Ayers proves why, writes James Fallows in the Atlantic. The host of NPR’s Fresh Air avoids common modern pitfalls: She’s neither attack dog nor lapdog, and doesn’t try to prove how smart she is. It’s what she does while her guest is speaking that elevates her: “She listens, and she thinks.”

The result, as in the Ayers interview, is smarter questions that draw out the interview subject without being confrontational. “If you have this standard in mind—is the interviewer really listening? and thinking?—you will be shocked to see how rarely broadcast and on-stage figures do very much of either,” writes Fallows. Gross is the exception.

[Images (1)]

[Videos (1)]

Radio host Terry Gross accepts the 2007 Literarian Award for Outstanding Service to the American Literary Community in New York. (AP Photo)

« Prev« Prev | Next »Next » Slideshow

Terry Gross's interview with Bill Maher and Larry Charles on NPR's Fresh Air. (YouTube)

View larger videos >>

« Prev« Prev | Next »Next »

To report an error on this story, notify our editors.

OTHER STORIES ON OUR RADAR

AP Photo

35 Brutally Honest Reasons Men Say No to Sex (The Stir)

Which Entertainer Pulled Out of 'Inappropriate' Whitney Tribute? (NewsOne)

The French Government Wants to Tone My Vagina (Slate)

Obama Photo on Facebook Helps Catch Drug Dealer (HuffPost)

Hottest Women to Ever Appear in the SI Swimsuit Issue (Bleacher Report)

Partner Links

A snapshot of the day's best news stories.

View Larger Grid

All Today Yesterday Pick a Date

COMMENTS

Read the comment policy

Showing 2 of 2 comments

Les

Nov 21, 2008 6:31 AM CST

That Ayers interview was excellent. In exposing the details of Ayers' motivations for actions of the past and present she provides an unspoken commentary on the sad reality of character-attack focused campaigns. But she does this without coming off as an apologist. She still lands the big question at the the end. Also she had an interview with Steve Colbert the other day, it was also great.

Guest

Nov 20, 2008 11:08 PM CST

Gee,you mean if you really listen and think during an interview,the person you are talking to responds positively and it results in a good interview. How novel. Who would have ever thought that would be the case?

What's Popular Now on Facebook

US Senate Bails Out Own Barbershop

Our No. 1 Gift to German Language in '11: 'Shitstorm'

The Atlantic (Source Grid »)

This time, Gross is the interviewee
Frugal Fun

Lifestyle

NPR • interview • Bill Ayers • Terry Gross

More Newser Stories

Breitbart: I Have ‘College Days’ Obama Videos

They will show the president's radical roots, he says

(NEWSER) - Conservative firebrand Andrew Breitbart says he has video of Barack Obama from the president's "college days," and he plans on using it in the coming election cycle to show "why racial division and class warfare are central to what hope and change was sold in 2008," reports Mediaite . In a speech at CPAC, Breitbart said the videos will show how Obama met "a bunch of silver ponytails" such as Bill Ayers and his wife, Bernadine Dohm, "and the rest of us slept as they plotted and plotted" a takeover of the presidency. More»

Gingrich's Ex-Wife Gives 'Explosive' Interview

Ahead of primary, Marianne Gingrich gives reminder of Newt's romantic past

(NEWSER) - Two days before South Carolina heads to the primary polls, ABC News will air a piece of Newt's past—an interview with his second wife, Marianne. The interview could remind the state's many religious conservatives of Gingrich's rocky romantic history, the AP notes. Gingrich, Marianne has said, proposed before finalizing his divorce from his first wife; he later acknowledged beginning a relationship with Callista Bisek before divorcing Marianne. So far, ABC is mum on what Marianne revealed in the interview, but the Drudge Report calls her revelations "explosive" ones that "are set to rock the trail." More»

Liberal Youth 'Decimated' in Egypt Vote: ElBaradei

Nobel Prize winner fears extremist control over country

(NEWSER) - The liberal youth behind Egypt’s protests were “decimated” in the elections , says reformist leader Mohamed ElBaradei, and now the country must work to avoid an extreme-right Islamist government. “The youth feel let down. They don't feel that any of the revolution's goals have been achieved,” he tells the AP . And it’s not just young people who are unhappy: The whole country is feeling “angst.” It’s up to the ruling military to ensure that the new constitution that is to be drafted reflects consensus, he said. More»

Cain Bails on NH Newspaper Interview

After refusing to allow it to be taped

(NEWSER) - An interview Herman Cain had scheduled with New Hampshire’s largest newspaper fell through today, in what the New Hampshire Union Leader dubbed a “no-show.” Cain’s camp blamed the newspaper. Scheduled a week in advance, the sit-down was originally supposed to be an hour long and aired on C-SPAN. But after Cain’s Libya flub in a similar interview in Milwaukee, the campaign said it didn’t want the interview taped. More»

NPR's Wait Wait ... Heading to Television

It's getting a one-hour special next month that could lead to more

(NEWSER) - NPR's popular Wait Wait ... Don't Tell Me is heading for the bright lights of television. The quiz show will get a one-hour special that will air Dec. 23 on the cable channel BBC America, reports AP . The New York Times sees it as a "try-out of sorts"—if it does well, expect to see more next year. Host Peter Sagal wasn't divulging much: "No comment. (I've always wanted to say that to the New York Times.)" The shows draws 3.2 million weekly listeners on the radio. More»

NEWS FROM OUR PARTNERS

What is Newser?

Face it: there's too much news. At Newser, we choose the most thought-provoking and entertaining stories from hundreds of US and international sources and reduce them to a headline, picture, and two paragraphs. And we do it 24/7—you can come back morning, noon, night (and in between) for something new that matters. Read less, know more.

Learn more »

Partnering with: Slate

View Newser on the mobile website

Why Terry Gross Is Great