Select an Interview:
Find a recent interview with a U.S. elected official from any level of government (local, state, federal). Use a traditional news outlet as defined in your lectures, such as 60 Minutes (CBS), Meet the Press (NBC), Face the Nation (CBS), This Week (ABC), or Fox News Sunday with Chris Wallace (specifically interviews conducted by him), and The NewsHour (PBS). Press conferences with Q&A sessions, like those with a White House Press Secretary, are also appropriate.
Choose an interview that has not been discussed in your lectures or recitations.
Transcribe Question-Answer Sequences:
Identify and transcribe two question-answer sequences from the interview that you find particularly interesting. These sequences don’t need to be consecutive but should highlight notable exchanges.
You may use transcripts available from the news outlets if they are provided.
Analyze the Question-Answer Sequences:
Examine the design of each question, considering elements like agenda-setting, presuppositions, preferences, and prefaces used by the interviewer.
Analyze how the interviewee responds to the question’s design. Note whether they accept the presuppositions, resist, evade, or sidestep the question’s agenda, and describe how they do so.
Be specific in your analysis and illustrate with examples from your transcription.
Documentation and Submission:
Include the URL to both the recording of the interview and the published transcript (if available) to allow your TA to access the original content.
Prepare a 2-page, typed, double-spaced document summarizing your analysis.
