Lapdog interviewers: A critical discursive analysis of fattery towards political fgures on the air

This chapter discusses flattery in political interviews as a communicative practice indicative of the weakening of gatekeeping practices in the public sphere and, consequently, of the deterioration of the democratic process. We consider ‘flattery in political interviews’ as overly deferent interviews in which interviewers adopt ‘soft’ questioning strategies that allow political interviewees to project a favourable image of successful leadership, repair their image following a scandal, or collaboratively attack political opponents. In abandoning the critical stance expected in accountability interviews and avoiding ‘hard questions,’ interviewers deprive their audience of the political perspectives that are crucial to opinion shaping, normalise conspiracies, advance a cult of personality, and contribute to the fortification of an ideological echo chamber. Building on cases from Israeli media, we demonstrate a range of ingratiating questioning strategies, discuss the reasons for interviewers’ efforts to please their interviewees, and evaluate the perils that this authoritarian phenomenon poses to decision-making processes in democracies.