# How does The Daily Show do interviews? **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Created:** [November 12, 2010, 4:57pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-does-the-daily-show-do-interviews/560447 "2010-11-12T16:57:17Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 10\ **Page:** 3
**Author:** ![monkeylucifer](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/f05b48/32.png) [@monkeylucifer](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/monkeylucifer)\ **Post date:** [November 14, 2010, 11:16pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-does-the-daily-show-do-interviews/560447/41 "2010-11-14T23:16:21Z")
> [@Sampiro](#): > > Hijack, but does anybody know the scoop on why Mo Rocca either left or was let go? Unlike Colbert and Helms and Carrell it wasn’t for a major career opportunity (he does shows on animals, which is separated from porn only by ‘sitcoms about main characters who are secretly genies and or werewolves’) and unlike Rob Cordry (who does have a career in movies and TV, just not as lucrative as other alumni) he’s never been back, which makes me wonder if there is enmity. He on the CBS Morning Show sometimes from what I hear (from my Mom, of all people) and he’s a regular panelist on NPR’S Wait, Wait, Don’t Tell Me. Yeah, his career never really took off. He had a book several years back about Presidential Dogs that pretty much went straight to the clearance bin. ---
**Author:** ![etv78](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/d78d45/32.png) [@etv78](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/etv78)\ **Post date:** [November 14, 2010, 11:22pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-does-the-daily-show-do-interviews/560447/42 "2010-11-14T23:22:56Z")
Mo hosts Foodography on Cooking Channel. ---
**Author:** ![monkeylucifer](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/f05b48/32.png) [@monkeylucifer](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/monkeylucifer)\ **Post date:** [November 15, 2010, 12:05am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-does-the-daily-show-do-interviews/560447/43 "2010-11-15T00:05:23Z")
> [@etv78](#): > > Mo hosts Foodography on Cooking Channel. Not exactly anything to crow about when you look at how TDS helped to springboard the careers of people like Stephen Colbert, Stever Carell, Ed Helms, Lewis Black, John Hodgman, John Oliver, and Rob Corddry. I’m not saying he isn’t getting steady work…Rocca certainly is. However, when you consider how much a part of the show he was for so many years, it is rather surprising that he has had more success. ---
**Author:** ![VictorBean](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/v/ed655f/32.png) [@VictorBean](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/VictorBean)\ **Post date:** [November 15, 2010, 12:20am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-does-the-daily-show-do-interviews/560447/44 "2010-11-15T00:20:25Z")
Here is a [behind the scenes account](http://joelcomm.com/behind-the-scenes-of-the-daily-1.html) by one of the iPhone fart apps interviewees. He knew darn well he would look foolish, but subscribes to the any publicity is good publicity theory. ---
**Author:** ![Bosstone](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/22d042/32.png) [@Bosstone](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Bosstone)\ **Post date:** [November 15, 2010, 2:04am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-does-the-daily-show-do-interviews/560447/45 "2010-11-15T02:04:43Z")
> [@VictorBean](#): > > Here is a [behind the scenes account](http://joelcomm.com/behind-the-scenes-of-the-daily-1.html) by one of the iPhone fart apps interviewees. He knew darn well he would look foolish, but subscribes to the any publicity is good publicity theory. Thank you, I appreciate the link. They do edit the hell out of the interviews to make the interviewee look like they’re taking it seriously, which I’m not surprised about, but at least in this case it’s not a ‘fake’ interview where they didn’t even do the legwork. ---
**Author:** ![Red\_Barchetta](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/da6949/32.png) [@Red\_Barchetta](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Red_Barchetta)\ **Post date:** [November 15, 2010, 8:44am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-does-the-daily-show-do-interviews/560447/46 "2010-11-15T08:44:52Z")
> [@VictorBean](#): > > Here is a [behind the scenes account](http://joelcomm.com/behind-the-scenes-of-the-daily-1.html) by one of the iPhone fart apps interviewees. He knew darn well he would look foolish, but subscribes to the any publicity is good publicity theory. Awesome link; great find. That was a very interesting, but disappointing read. The interviews are much less disingenuous than I had hoped, but about the level of what I had thought. Surprising how heavily scripted they are. ---
**Author:** ![Irishman](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/i/b487fb/32.png) [@Irishman](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Irishman)\ **Post date:** [November 15, 2010, 5:09pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-does-the-daily-show-do-interviews/560447/47 "2010-11-15T17:09:28Z")
That pretty much supports what **DonLogan** said. So it’s not quite the level of manipulation that The Tonight Show uses, but it’s still highly edited. ---
**Author:** ![Hippy\_Hollow](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/hippy_hollow/32/4841_2.png) [@Hippy\_Hollow](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Hippy_Hollow)\ **Post date:** [October 9, 2013, 1:14pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-does-the-daily-show-do-interviews/560447/48 "2013-10-09T13:14:52Z")
This government shutdown has seen a rise in the number of idiots they have on the show. Some GOP operative nimrod was on last night interviewing with Jason Jones - it was clear it was her, not a stand-in. He even had a bullhorn on at one point. I suspect that the interviews are pretty much recorded as is. I figure they ask a series of straight questions, then a smart assed response or comment. Then they edit and splice in some of the smart ass answers. For some interviewees, like this dumbass from last night, I think they gauge how far they can go with them - so she was willing to have Jason Jones respond as he did and stay there, because she wanted to be on TV so badly. Anytime your tagline is “GOP Strategist,” it essentially means you are a media whore. She probably figures this will get her a slot on Fox News. ---
**Author:** ![panache45](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/panache45/32/64_2.png) [@panache45](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/panache45)\ **Post date:** [October 9, 2013, 9:12pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-does-the-daily-show-do-interviews/560447/49 "2013-10-09T21:12:40Z")
> [@Hippy\_Hollow](#): > > . . . she was willing to have Jason Jones respond as he did and stay there, because she wanted to be on TV so badly. Anytime your tagline is “GOP Strategist,” it essentially means you are a media whore. She probably figures this will get her a slot on Fox News. This pretty much describes the mindset of their typical interviewee. An up-and-coming player in a very competitive field, who otherwise would never have access to the media. The desire to yell “Look, Ma, I’m on TV!” can trump the desire to appear intelligent and sane. And apparently there’s no shortage of this type of person. ---
**Author:** ![RealityChuck](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/realitychuck/32/195_2.png) [@RealityChuck](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/RealityChuck)\ **Post date:** [October 9, 2013, 10:49pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-does-the-daily-show-do-interviews/560447/50 "2013-10-09T22:49:22Z")
> [@Hippy\_Hollow](#): > > This government shutdown has seen a rise in the number of idiots they have on the show. Some GOP operative nimrod was on last night interviewing with Jason Jones - it was clear it was her, not a stand-in. He even had a bullhorn on at one point. Yes, but if you watch carefully, she only is in the shot with the bullhorn once – when she tells him to put it down. The other shots are done with a stand in. Jones did the first part of the interview, walked off, came back with the vest and bullhorn, then asked a question or two. Footage from the earlier part of the interview was then shown and then cross-cut to showing Jones with the bullhorn. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-does-the-daily-show-do-interviews/560447.md?page=2)