The Times summarized Charlie Gibson’s role in last night’s Round 1 of the Sarah Palin interview thusly: “The interview was hardly gentle, as Mr. Gibson pressed Ms. Palin for direct answers to some of the complicated foreign policy and national security issues facing the next administration.”
Now, here’s Howard Kurtz: “Anyone who said that Charlie Gibson might go easy on Sarah Palin might want to quickly delete those comments.”
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“What the ABC newsman conducted yesterday was a serious, professional interview that went right at the heart of what we want and need to know about the governor: Could she be president? Does she understand the nuances of international affairs? Does she have a world view?”
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“He was all business, respectful but persistent.”
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“No fancy footwork, no long-winded setups, no gotchas. Just a solid, straight-ahead interview.”
Megan Garber is an assistant editor at the Nieman Journalism Lab at Harvard University. She was formerly a CJR staff writer.