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HOW LONG BEFORE PIERS MORGAN GOES LIVE, ADDS MULTIPLE GUESTS? START THE OFFICE POOL NOW
KING REPLACEMENT STILL LIKES HIS INTERVIEWS PRE-TAPED — NOT SHAKEN OR STIRRED
Whew, what a relief that Piers Morgan’s first week is over. We can both relax now. I don’t really know how he felt, but I certainly was full of anxiety watching. Imagine getting hired to replace an icon like Larry King. The set, the suspenders, open heart surgery (or as he awkwardly called it with Bill Clinton: the “zipper club.”) And all the wives we loved and lost.
Replacing a broadcast original, even if he’d acted like your embarrassing uncle some nights, is a daunting challenge. I just couldn’t wait for those first interviews to be over so we can all dig into reality.
YOU MIGHT AS WELL BURN THE FIRST WEEK…
No matter how strategic one tries to be, you might as well burn the first week anytime you’re stepping into big shoes, especially comfortable old ones. And you’ve got to know the size of the shoes into which you step — the American size, not the English size, which is smaller. (A man’s size 12 in the US is an 11 in the UK.)
Speaking of smaller, the total audience for Morgan’s show began to shrink throughout the first week, losing nearly a million viewers across all ages.
Among adults 25-54, the audience was nearly halved by Wednesday. But then again, anyone here could have warned in advance that Condoleeza Rice, while one of the most interesting women in the world, is not fascinating as an interviewee. Ricky Gervais, on the other hand, is — especially right after his Golden Globe controversy. But “right after,” in our world of 24/7 news, would have been Monday, not Thursday. Read the rest of this entry »
INTERVIEW IS TOUGHEST, BUT FOR WHOM?
WHEW, WHO ELSE BUT THE QUEEN OF TALK COULD EVER HANDLE QUESTIONS LIKE THESE…
It began at 9:00 p.m. just like this: after days of intensive CNN promotion where we see Oprah call it “one of the toughest interviews I’ve had in twenty years,” Piers Morgan opened the door, sat down and asked the first question on his highly anticipated new talk show. I turned up the volume, shushed my husband and leaned forward.
"one of the toughest interviews Ive had in twenty years"
PIERS: Tell me this, do you ever get surreal moments when, I’m trying to picture what it’s like being you, when you wake up in the morning and you go, ‘Bloody hell, I’m Oprah Winfrey.’
OPRAH: Well I don’t say, “bloody hell,” but I did have a surreal moment, January 1st, when I launched my new network.
It had been only a matter of seconds before Oprah was pitching her heart out about her new cable network, OWN. Watching the January 1st launch, she told Morgan, had moved her to tears when she finally “got it.” Groomed in the rough and tumble world of London’s Fleet Street, he was more than ready for his follow up.
PIERS: What does it really mean to have your own network?
With the words, “exclusive” written in the lower third of the screen*, Oprah revealed a story she had only shared with the few dozen reporters who attended her press conference at the Television Critics Association on January 7th. She said she never loved commercials as much as when she saw them on her OWN network. (*Full disclosure, I have over-used “exclusive” myself plenty over the years.)
Okay, to be fair, Morgan wants Oprah to get a little something out of the interview, so perhaps it’s good to get a few warm up questions out of the way. Let’s dig in now.
PIERS: How many people do you trust?
Oprah says about 5 or 6, but she’s not going to say who they are. Oprah’s on to him now and lets him know she’s not going to discuss what she told Barbara Walters about Gayle.
PIERS: Typical Oprah, you nailed the lie!
Oprah makes it very clear that she will never address those “rumors” again. And Morgan backs off, but not before Oprah explains why she cried in the Walters interview while discussing her friendship with Gayle.
Having been warned by Oprah not to tread on “rumor” territory, or to expect her to cry again, Morgan deftly backs her in a corner with this follow up:
PIERS: How did Gayle react to your reaction?
OPRAH: She said, ‘that’s so nice.’
It turns out, Gayle didn’t have a chance to see the Barbara Walters interview until they were in Australia, something which made Morgan absolutely collapse in laughter. But then he composed himself in order to continue Oprah’s toughest interview. Read the rest of this entry »
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