Kind of an of an odd question I’ll admit, but occasionally I’ll be listening to CSPAN on XM radio while traveling, and there will be some federal department or other testifying before Congress about this or that. Some questions will be insightful, and some will be asinine but it seems to follow a regular pattern of direct answers by the bureaucrats, polite “You’re an idiot for asking” answers, and “We’ll get back to you on that” tap dancing answers.
As far back as I’ve seen historical film on congressional hearings (say the McCarthy era) it appears to be approximately the same format. What was it like 100 or 200 years ago pre mass media. Same basic format or substantively different?
Pretty much. People are more media-savvy these days, but there are also dozens of congressional hearing each year where there are no cameras. Congressmen and women ask questions; the witnesses answer.
Stupid questions are part of the process. Going back, one of the Senator William Alden Smith – who chaired the committee inquiring into the sinking of the Titanic in 1912 asked one of the witnesses why the the passengers didn’t go into the watertight compartments of the ship. He was known thereafter as “Watertight” Smith.
Committee hearings have become much more of a showcase with the introduction of cameras into the hearing room. Woodrow Wilson once said, “Congress in session is Congress on public exhibition, whilst Congress in its committee rooms is Congress at work.” These days, a committee meeting or hearing is just as much of a public display as the speeches on the floor. The real work and horse trading gets done after hours by staff.