Author: Steve Johnson
Link: http://www.chicagotribune.com/business/columnists/chi-0309-talkshow-guestsmar09,0,4552274.column
This article was sort of an explanatory piece on how to be a good talk show guest. It started out with an anecdote lead, describing a recent appearance by Steve Martin on the Colbert Report that the reporter thought was particularly entertaining. I think this lead worked well with this kind of piece. It definitely drew me in and made me want to read more about how to perfect the "art" of being a guest. My only problem with the article is that it seemed kind of disjointed. It went on to give more examples of guests who got it right, and then guests who got it wrong, including Joaquin Phoenix's recent Letterman appearance. Then it went into more guests who got it right. Only towards the end of the article did it say that the best guests are the ones who come prepared with something extra to entertain with. And the end seemed very random; it mentioned that on shows like the Colbert Report and The Daily Show, it's best to just let the host do all the entertaining. This seemed kind of irrelevant to the author's main point. Overall the article was an entertaining read and it was a good idea, I just wish it had more structure to it.
Subscribe to:
Post Comments (Atom)
That does seem contradictory! First the author says that prepared guests are better, then he says to let the host do all the entertaining? Odd.
ReplyDeleteAlso, I completely disagree; I'm an avid watched of both Stewart and Colbert, and the best, funniest interviews are definately the ones in which the host and the guest play off each other and make fun of each other. Of course, I suppose you have to be inherently funny as a person to be able to do that...
This was a fun article that mixed explanatory writing with Johnson's opinion. I loved how he compared an awkward moment on a talk show to the moment at a dinner party when "the wife says something a little too cutting." He also didn't pull any punches with celebrities who get it wrong, especially when he said Kristen Stewart brought little more than her "carcass" to talk shows. I had to laugh at that.
ReplyDelete