01.20.06
Naomi Wolf gets a free ride
Sometimes you think (well, I think) the sooner I settle on my broadcasting career the better. I was so frustrated listening to Ryan Tubridy give Naomi Wolf a soft fluffy interview this morning and hear him fall right into several traps. He made loaded statements about feminism, value judgements, asked one closed question after another, never asked the real questions. It was all isn’t true? don’t you think? and not one Why? What? How? that might open her up a bit.
I actually rang in and asked that he ask her “What influence did your father’s 12 lessons have on your marriage?” He read out some comments at the end and started the question. Then he saw the word “marriage” at the end and you could hear the screech of brakes. He subsituted the phrase “whole life” for marriage. PR people must have given orders before hand. But there are very easy ways around those embargoes. Most frustrating experience. Anyway, I’ve emailed him.�
Ryan
I am raging you didn’t ask Naomi about her father’s influence on her marriage. Anyone who read the
extracts from her book and the accompanying interviews in which it is pointed out that her marriage ended at the same time ends up being really frustrated. She refuses to say why the marriage ended out of respect for her husband BUT after writing a book all about her father telling her to listen to herself and find solitude and be happy by being true to herself, it does lead one to assume that she walked out. And
therefore does she have the right to flog this book as the secret to happiness? She’s happy; but is the family she may or may not have left behind happy? Is it only rich people who can leave for their holiday
homes when the going gets rough be happy? Will she still be happy in 10 years when she’s 50 and can’t get dates any more?
Can she just come on the radio and sell a book about the secret to happiness without being challenged on any of it?
There was a mine there, to be, well mined, by you. Very very frustrating not to hear the questions being asked, never mind answered.
sigh.
Sarah Carey
� Update: A response.
Thank you for contacting The Tubridy Show.� As you can appreciate, we receive a huge volume of correspondence and it’s not always possible to answer each one individually.If you want to find out more about the programme or are inquiring about items featured on the show you may like to visit our website at www.rte.ie/radio1/thetubridyshow
This is not very promising. How about something like:
“Dear Sarah, Thank you so much for your email. You are absolutely right. I am a terrible interviewer. It is clear that you have more talent in your right finger nail than I do despite my 10 years of grooming in RTE. I will offer my resignation today on the condition that you are offered my job.
Yours in shame
� Ryan.
auds said,
January 20, 2006 at 11:16 am
Tried to listen online in the archive thingie but couldn’t find it .
Is her book trying to make an inroad to her father’s 12 lessons as a new Dr Phil type solution for all our problems?
Sarah said,
January 20, 2006 at 11:52 am
it’s not up yet. I’ll put in a link as soon as its live.
Tom said,
January 22, 2006 at 10:26 am
It seemed that there was a “full-court press” being waged by Naomi Wolf, Inc. yesterday in Ireland. I was unfortunate enough to see her on TV3’s early morning program and hear her “Hyuhh, hyuuh, hyuuh” laugh and her many “Omigods”. Then I heard Ryan Tubridy interview her and thought at least he got her a little ruffled, but not much. I liked him talking about Bill Clinton with his trousers around his ankles in the Oval Office with a young intern. I’d say, all in all, that Naomi is just another JAP, as the term is used in New York City and along the Atlantic coast of Florida.
eoin said,
January 22, 2006 at 5:23 pm
Naomi Wolf may well have got a closed minded, fluffy interview from Ryan Tubridy. I haven’t read her book: but what came out from the interview is that she still persists in trying to find new ways of overthrowing old (patricarchal) orders and myths. In Ireland we seem to have forgotten that women are so under-represented politically, in equal pay terms and in respect of control over their reproductive rights – instead of engaging on any of these issues (above) Naomi gets the blame for Ryan’s shoddy interviewing and is the victim of an ad hominum attack for how she laughs. Wow!! Progressive stuff. Who needs a feminist revolution after all?
Sarah said,
January 22, 2006 at 6:54 pm
The funny thing about Tom’s comment is that having only read her books before and never hearing her voice, I must confess I was a bit taken aback by it. It is very girlish, both in pitch and tone, and some of phrases are on the adolscent side. It actually did undermine the content of what she was saying. I suppose this is why she drives people like Camille Paglia bonkers. On the other hand tho she did slap Ryan around the place a little for using “reductive” terms and made it clear that men, as well as women, were besotted with Clinton.
auds said,
February 1, 2006 at 11:14 pm
Did you hear that she’s found Jesus/God too?
“What would Jesus have done?” is hardly a question I would have ever imagined Naomi taking too seriously, but apparently she is now!
Sarah said,
February 2, 2006 at 12:55 pm
what?? oh for f*ck’s sake. Now I’ve heard it all….must check this out. How can feminist believe in God. He’s a man!