Jeremy Paxman, a well-known BBC broadcaster, interviewed Russell Brand who had recently joined the New Statesman newspaper as a guest editor. Paxman opened aggressively by questioning Brand's qualifications to edit a political magazine. Though Paxman maintained a formal interviewing style, Brand was relaxed and jovial in his responses. By the end of the interview, the dynamic had shifted and Brand was in control, able to promote his views on political change through revolution despite Paxman's attempts to undermine him.

1. JeremyPaxmanvsRussell BrandNewsnight
AdamGrundy
JeremyPaxmanisa well-recognisedBroadcasterandjournalistwithhelpfromthe show Newsnight
whichincludescomprehensive coverage of the daysimportantnational andInternationalnews
stories,thistellsusthatthe followinginterview will be situatedaroundthe Topicof Hard News
rather thanentertainment.Thisinterview featuredRussel Brandwhohadrecentlyjoinedthe
Political basednewspaperNew Statesmenasone of theirguesteditors,thisiswhatthe show
openedwithwhichsuggeststhat the interview willbe basedaroundthe topicof politics. The
interview fromthe showBBCNewsnightisacurrentaffairsTelevisionbroadcastoneverydayof the
weekfrom22:30 until 23:20 on BBC Two,the show itself ispre-recordedmeaningitisnot
broadcastedlive,thiscanprovedonhow well structuredthe show is. Duringthe beginningof the
interview,Paxman opensthe interviewwithanintroduction andseemsconfidentenoughtoopen
witha leadingrhetorical questionbysaying“Whoare youto edita Political Magazine”whichhe
usedto degrade Russell Brandintothinkinghe doesn’tknow anythingaboutpolitics,whichhe
backedup more whenhe askedBrandif he doesn’tvote,thisgivesPaxmanthe upperhandover
Brand as it triesto demeanhisviewsby showingtryingtoshow he doesn’tknow whathe ison
about. Paxman’sinterviewingstyle isstructuredformallywithhisstructuredquestionsthoughuses
active listeningtoadjustthe questionstofitthe situation,he knowshisquestionbefore the
interviewee finishestheiranswer,thisdistinguishesPaxmanasa professional intervieweras
opposedtootherinterviewers.Hisstyle isverycompetitiveandinvestigationalwithhow he askshis
questionsashe interrogatesBrandforhisunusual politicalviews.Itiseasytonotice thisinhisvoice
as opposedtoBrand as Paxmansoundsstrictand formal unlike Brandwho jokesaboutbeinga
“Drug Addict”.Thoughof the questionsthatPaxmanasksare strictlyagainstBrand,there are
questionsandresponsesthat doside withbrandwhere theyshare a laugh.Forexample,mid-way
intothe interview PaxmanrespondstoBrandsclaimswith“You’renotgoing to solve world problems
by facetiousness”inwhichBrandrespondswith“You’renotgoing to solve themwith the current
system, atleast facetiousnessisfunny” withPaxmanrespondinghumorouslywith“Sometimes”as
theybothsilentlylaugh. Thisshowsthereis some informality withininthe shot,unlikethe show
itself whichfollowsaformal structure;Paxman’sstructure isformal thoughunlikeBrandashe is
constantlylaughingandmakingjokessuchasthe joke aboutBorisJohnson“Both havecrazy hair,
quite good senseof humour,don’tknow much aboutpolitics,I’mideal” whichcontradictshis
argumentaboutpolitical systemsashe statedhe doesn’tknow muchaboutpolitics.Bythe endof
the interview the tableshadcompletelyturnedwithRussell Brandbeingincontrol of the interview
insteadof Paxmanwhostartedoff strong,thiscan be provenas Brand isaskingrhetorical questions
towardsPaxmansimilartohow startedthe interview,Russell Brandhadalsodone hisresearchon
the interviewerashe providesasoundbite onPaxmanbysayinghe wasonthe show “Who do you
thinkyou are?” The problemforPaxmanwasthat he usedtoomany openendedquestionswhich
allowedRussell Brandtoopenlydiscusshisviewsforenoughtime forhimtotake overthe interview.
The interviewbecomesmore likeadebate forRussel Brandsohe can getacross hispolitical agenda
on whathe believeswouldbe the perfectleadingstyle of government,thisbeingarevolution
comparedto the style of governmentthatwe use today.Thisiswhat Russell Brandcame onthe
showfor,so he is able to getacross hispointacross to the viewers,he alsodescribeditas“a laugh.”