Tony Blair demonstrates proper interviewee techniques on The Daily Show

As many people know, I don’t have cable television in my apartment. I don’t watch Dancing with the Stars, and I’ve never seen True Blood. But, on occasion, I do watch two of my favourite shows via Internet.

And the two programs I make an effort to see are The Colbert Report and The Daily Show with Jon Stewart.

Tonight, I watched the September 14 episode of The Daily Show, and the interview between Jon Stewart and former Prime Minister Tony Blair affected me enough that I felt I needed to blog about it.

Why? I’ll tell you.

(Image taken from Google.)

In PR class in the not-too-distant future, we will be discussing proper interview techniques. I’ve also heard rumours that eventually we will have to go on camera and try to field a variety of questions we don’t want to answer (or are trying to avoid answering). It is for this reason that I paid particular attention to Stewart’s grilling of the former Prime Minister on the show.

I also felt that I needed to blog about this particular interview because the topic was one that I found fascinating. The Islamic community centre issue in New York City has resulted in a huge media circus. It has also raised larger issues about religious radicals throughout the world. This interview discussed Afghanistan, Iraq, and the impending problems with Iran. It also focused on the debate of when American (and British) forces should become personally involved in a situation instead of allowing a country to attempt to work through the problem on their own.

Throughout all of Stewart’s questioning, Tony Blair held his ground. He spoke clearly, eloquently, and received applause from the audience on two occasions. He refused to concede points that he had justification for making, and didn’t allow Stewart to shake him in his beliefs. I really admire that, but would expect nothing less from the former leader of a country.

If you’re curious about the interview, check it out here.* A lot of important information was exchanged, and I think it’s definitely worth taking the time to watch. I hope that I can be as cool as Tony Blair when I’m in the hot seat, but the man sure has had a lot more practice.

*Note: Occasionally, the links to The Comedy Network are changed, so if the video doesn't work properly, click here to access the beginning of the episode. Watching the whole episode is worth it, I promise.