Hello.
The producers of Crossfire invite the audience members to write
questions on cards. The producers then review the 50 or so cards
submitted and select three or four questions for inclusion in the
show.
Source: Report from a Crossfire audience member (December 12, 2002):
"...At the end of the show there is a segment called 'Fire Back',
where the studio audience submits cards with questions on them. Wife
told me bluntly, if you get on national TV with ice in your hair, you
will be an embarrassment to me, our future children, and the country
as a whole. She knew any question I wrote would be good enough to be
chosen. I was not as sure because about fifty were submitted, and they
only pick three. Mine read as follows:
'Mr. Carlson, until now, North Korea has been the Ringo Starr of the
Axis of Evil, with all eyes on Iran and Iraq. Now, North Korea has
admitted to developing nuclear weapons and has even been caught
red-handed exporting scud missiles. Do you think the administration's
attention would start to focus on Pyonyang if they discovered oil
there?'
...It uses the expression "the Ringo Starr of the Axis Of Evil", which
I expect to see used in some Administration policy documents because
of it's sheer brilliance. And, also, it takes a swipe at oil.
Of course they picked me."
Source: Savethesnow.com web log, Thursday, December 12, 2002:
http://www.savethesnow.com/archives/2002_12_08_kidcongo_archive.html
Judging from that anecdote, it sounds like the trick to getting on the
air is to come up with a question that is not only relevant to the
important issues of the day but also original and clever. Also, it
would seem that injecting some humor into the question wouldn't hurt.
That person's question was probably selected because it highlighted
several important issues (i.e., North Korean nuclear weapons and
American oil dependence) while employing an element of humor (i.e.,
the funny comparison of North Korean to Ringo Starr, the Beatle who
wasn't taken seriously).
search strategy: cnn, crossfire, audience, submits, questions
I hope this helps. Best of luck getting your question on the air! |
