Tim Adelani and Matteo Violet Vianelli Press Officers, Michaelmas

Tim Adelani and Matteo Violet Vianelli
Press Officers, Michaelmas 2015
The Cambridge Union Society
9A Bridge Street
Cambridge, CB2 1UB
Email: press@cus.org
Press Release: 06 October 2015
EMILY MAITLIS SPEAKS AT THE CAMBRIDGE UNION
“My looks have been as helpful and damaging as each other.”
On the 5th October 2015, the Cambridge Union Society welcomed, journalist and newsreader for the BBC, Emily
Maitlis. The discussion focused around her interview style, the spin that surrounds politicians and the importance of
appearance in the media industry.
Speaker’s Officer Sachin Parathalingam started the discussion with the importance of television debates on voter’s
behaviour. Emily Maitlis said, “party conferences are like fashion week. They really matter if you’re there but they
don’t if you’re not”. The same stands with debates on the BBC which she said “will be appealing to people who
already watch the BBC”. She believes that when it comes to changing the outcome of an election “it would be a very
grandiose thing to say” that television debates can radically change voter’s behaviour. Having sat through countless
Presidential debates, she points out that people always remembers the “one liners, the little screw ups” when in fact
there is a much bigger picture and wider array of factors that influence how people vote. Most of the time people will
come to the debate with their minds made up so the debates rarely have a radical impact.
Emily Maitlis went on to say, “you have to go into an interview knowing what you want to find out”. You must have
a voice in your head constantly reminding you of hat you want to get out of your interviewee and not letting them
evade the questions or take you down other paths of discussion. Sometimes, however, you mustn’t have one narrative
when interviewing someone. For example, when she interviewed Jeremy Corbyn she “just wanted to find out about
him” because no-one really knew him that well. Sachin went on to inquire about Emily Maitlis’s view on Corbyn
being unelectable to which she jokingly responded, “I don’t have any views, I work for the BBC”. She then went on
to reflect that “what Corbyn has done, no one had done for a long time. There was a big wave of interest, which he
engendered. You have to start with the question: could they fight that? The answer was no”. Emily Maitlis attributes
part of the Corbyn phenomenon to the fact that “we love authenticity. I love an interviewee who doesn’t sound like
he’s practiced his question sixteen times”. For her, the strength of Corbyn as political figure is the fact that he is a mix
between “authenticity and affectiveness.”
When it comes to how aggressive one should be when interviewing a politician, Emily Maitlis said, “she wouldn’t use
the word aggressive. I would call it robust or tenacious”. For her, the interviewer has a duty to push the interviewee
to give genuine answers and break down the constant spin of politicians, which she says she hates. However, she also
“hated this idea of making our politicians apologise for things. Politicians apologise for things they didn’t do. They’re
very good at apologising for things they haven’t had a part in” rather than for things they did take a part in. For her,
this is part of the whole trend of politicians not giving truthful or straight answers.
The discussion then moved towards the impact of social media on press and if Emily Maitlis worries about how
traditional television can adapt. She said, “I can’t tell you how many meeting in and outside the BBC have been held
to tackle this question”. However, she isn’t worried about television fading away since the elements that go viral
“always start on the big screen”. She doesn’t think television is dead, on the contrary. It lives thanks to social media
that takes snippets from television and broadcasts them to large audiences who will then perhaps have the interest to
watch the whole segment from which the extract was taken.
THE CAMBRIDGE UNION SOCIETY, 9A Bridge Street, Cambridge, CB2 1UB, United Kingdom
Registered Charity, No. 1136030 Tim Adelani and Matteo Violet Vianelli
Press Officers, Michaelmas 2015
The Cambridge Union Society
9A Bridge Street
Cambridge, CB2 1UB
Email: press@cus.org
Addressing criticisms about her looks, Emily Maitlis said “my looks have been as helpful and damaging as each
other.” In one way, she feels maybe got noticed earlier for being more attractive than her colleagues, especially men.
On the other half, she has constantly been judged by people saying ‘Oh my god, I saw her at an opening, she can’t
have a brain, she was wearing a cocktail dress’. She believes that “for an intelligent industry we make fickle
judgements right away”. Sachin enquired about what she thought about the persistent scrutiny of what she wears,
especially by the tabloids such as the Daily Mail. She responded that she was quite amused by it since now her male
colleagues on News Night have even more scrutiny from the viewers from looking scruffy. As for the tabloids, Emily
Maitlis said she didn’t let it get to her too much since “it’s one tabloid and that’s how they generate a lot of money.
It’s a great marketing ploy”. She understands that that’s how they sell their papers and how they make money. TO
her, that it all it is and she doesn’t let it affect her.
--END—
For footage of the event go to https://www.youtube.com/user/cambridgeunionsoc
THE CAMBRIDGE UNION SOCIETY, 9A Bridge Street, Cambridge, CB2 1UB, United Kingdom
Registered Charity, No. 1136030