Analysis by Luke Kaulius in SRM 334
Bode Miller, an Olympic alpine ski racer from the United States won his sixth Olympic metal this February at the 2014 Winter Olympics in Sochi. Miller placed bronze in the Super-G downhill event. For Bode, these Olympic games were far different from any of the others that he competed in. This is because of the recent death of his younger brother Chelone “Chilly” Miller, who passed away in April of 2013 due to an apparent seizure. Chelone Miller was a professional snowboarder who had planned to compete in the 2014 Sochi Olympics alongside his older brother.
After placing bronze in the Super-G event, Bode Miller agreed to do an interview with NBC reporter, Christin Cooper. During the interview, Miller was asked multiple questions regarding the death of his brother, Chelone. These questions eventually brought Bode to tears and he was unable to complete the interview. This raised much controversy regarding the intention of the interview and the morality of NBC. Many media outlets such as The New York Times believed that this interview crossed a very fine line and was unethical. People around the world posted their negative thoughts regarding this interview on social media sites such as Twitter or Facebook. However, Bode Miller believed that there was no one was to blame for the interview. He explained that it was a very emotional time for him and any reporter would have asked the same questions. Responding to the negative criticism, NBC came out with a statement justifying the interview and the intention behind it.
I believe that NBC and Christin Cooper did not do an adequate job preparing and conducting this interview. It was very obvious that they were trying to provoke Bode in an effort to get more media attention. NBC wanted to show the raw emotion of Bode Miller at a time like this, however they could have used better techniques. Rather than asking three out of the four questions in the interview about Bode’s brother, NBC should have eased into the topic and waited until the last question to bring up the death of his brother.
I believe that the perfect amount of emotion that would have been appropriate for NBC’s audience was after the first question regarding his brother. Once they asked two more questions about the Chelone Miller, it gave the audience the impression that they wanted Bode to break down and cry. Christin Cooper should have created a better atmosphere of trust by asking easier questions first and then finish with a question about the death of Bode’s brother. By doing this, Bode would become more comfortable answering the questions and not feel like he is being provoked the entire interview. I believe that if NBC and Christin Cooper had taken this approach, the interview would have portrayed the perfect amount of emotion and create a more content mood for their viewers.
This topic is very relevant to the course because it relates directly to the topic we discussed on interviewing. In class we discussed all components of an interview that occur prior to an interview and during an interview. These components are evident throughout the interview with Bode Miller, especially the method, audience, and agenda of the interview. After learning about how to develop interviewing skills, I am able to understand how the interview was conducted and where NBC might have gone wrong.
The areas that NBC struggled with this interview include the agenda of the interview and the particular way that Christin Cooper asked the questions. She did not create a good atmosphere of trust with Bode Miller because she jumped right into questions that were difficult to answer. NBC was not intentionally trying to provoke Bode Miller, but they did not do a sufficient job in creating a comfortable mood. After seeing this interview, I was able to examine a perfect example of a poorly constructed interview and understand why NBC and Christin Cooper received a great deal of negative scrutiny.
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