NTV’s interview with DP Ruto and the finer points of asking questions

Joe Ageyo’s NTV interview with Deputy President William Ruto last Sunday was, indeed, as billed, exclusive. It was a major coup in which NTV scooped the competition. The interview yielded information not in the public domain, despite criticisms of the interview by viewers. When I last checked, 1,231 viewers had posted comments. But I’m focusing only on comments concerning the conduct of the interview.

But before looking at those comments, let me put in my two cents. The purpose of an interview is to give information about an issue or person. Often, there’s no right or wrong way of interviewing. What matters is whether the purpose of the interview is achieved. Experience, however, shows that it’s helpful for the interviewer to think through his line of questioning, to have a battle plan, so as to extract as much information as possible.

The interview was one and a half hours long. The first five minutes were wasted. Viewers idly watched as technicians tried to fix something behind Mr Ageyo’s back while Dr Ruto waited, twiddling his thumbs. The interview was not wrapped up; it ended abruptly with Dr Ruto appearing like he didn’t finish what he was saying.

Journalistically, there was also a lot of noise. The interviewer and interviewee kept talking over each other. At one point, Dr Ruto pleaded: “Let me finish.” Viewers were treated to questions and arguments that didn’t seem to be relevant to the declared purpose of the interview, “The Ruto Agenda”.

No prior agreement

It appeared like there was no prior agreement on what the interview was going to be about. At one point, Dr Ruto said: “I would prefer, Joe, that we discuss my (presidential race) candidature but because you have asked, my candidature has nothing to do with Uhuru Kenyatta.” And Mr Ageyo protested that Dr Ruto was talking about his manifesto but he didn’t have a copy to enable him to interrogate the figures he was being given.

Unstructured and directionless

The interview appeared unstructured and directionless—something that didn’t escape the attention of many viewers.

“[Mr Ageyo’s] questions are not structured to get information [but] rather to pin down the DP,” said Samuel Julius. “Joe Ageyo [spent] a lot of time trying to pin down the DP rather than asking serious questions—the economy, policy development, the recent ICT bill, etc,” said Felix Felix.

Wateri Antony said: “[You] forgot to talk about real issues that Kenyans are really yearning to hear talked about. I mean, even DP was going out of his way to try and point you in the direction that he felt the interview should have taken.”

Ben Salome said: “Joe, when you interview someone, learn to give them time to reply; every time you interview people, you interrupt [them] too much.” Willies Kitur said: “Your questions are basically unnecessary. You could have taken time to frame your questions well rather than cooking them!”

That’s just a sample of the views. There were scores of similar negative comment.

Subtle and nice

Comparisons are odious; however, I can’t help but compare Mr Ageyo’s interview with the one of President Uhuru Kenyatta by Mutuma Mathiu on May 26, 2020. Mr Mathiu had a plan of attack: Establish rapport, then ask tough questions. That was the observation I made in my comment (“Burning questions readers would have wanted Head of State asked”—Daily Nation, June 4, 2020).

Mr Mathiu had his own take on the interview. “For powerful people, it pays to be subtle and nice,” he wrote. “A display of strength or courage is generally self-indulgent; such people never back down (“Mathiu: Walking in Uhuru's struggles”—Saturday Nation, May 30, 2020). “President Kenyatta is a nice guy, but you have to treat him like hot porridge—to be enjoyed with care. He manages people and crowds with flawless skill...I quickly learnt that when he goes ‘Uh? Uh? OK? Alright?’ it’s generally a good time to say something nice and change the topic.

“In my book, you never interrupt the President and you never push him. Let him finish; his time is more valuable than yours.”

Maybe Mr Ageyo could have benefited from Mutuma’s book. But there’s no doubt he’s an accomplished professional. Anybody who has followed his career and watched him chair the Citizen TV’s News Gang current affairs programme will attest to that. Maybe, he just had a bad day last Sunday.

The Public Editor is an independent news ombudsman who handles readers’ complaints on editorial matters including accuracy and journalistic standards. Email: [email protected]. Call or text 0721989264