Categories: OLD Media Moves

How the Musk interview was different than other CEO interviews

David Gelles of The New York Times writes about how the paper’s interview with Tesla Inc. chief executive officer Elon Musk last week was different than other CEO interviews.

Gelles writes, “While each of those articles was different, my interactions with the executives were more or less the same. There was almost always a public relations representative for the company in the room, hovering nearby to make sure the boss didn’t say something inappropriate. The C.E.O.s usually stuck to talking points that portrayed their companies, and themselves, in a flattering light. And the executives — all of whom have had hours of media training — usually delivered crisp, if dry, answers to just about any question I threw at them. They were programmed not to say anything that might make them appear vulnerable, and certainly not anything that might raise suspicions about their ability to lead a company.

“My most recent role at The Times, as the new Corner Office columnist, has provided me with a forum to have somewhat more personal conversations with business leaders. Ken Frazier, the C.E.O. of Merck, was candid in his remarks about why he split with Mr. Trump last year. Stacy Brown-Philpot, the C.E.O. of TaskRabbit, spoke frankly about being a black woman in Silicon Valley. Paula Schneider, the C.E.O. of Komen, told a moving story about working through breast cancer treatment. Still, even the executives I speak with for Corner Office are careful not to leave themselves too exposed.

“But on Thursday with Mr. Musk, none of these rules seemed to apply. After a few awkward minutes of introductions, Mr. Musk began speaking in deeply personal terms, and went on for a full hour.”

Read more here.

Chris Roush

Chris Roush was the dean of the School of Communications at Quinnipiac University in Hamden, Connecticut. He was previously Walter E. Hussman Sr. Distinguished Professor in business journalism at UNC-Chapel Hill. He is a former business journalist for Bloomberg News, Businessweek, The Atlanta Journal-Constitution, The Tampa Tribune and the Sarasota Herald-Tribune. He is the author of the leading business reporting textbook "Show me the Money: Writing Business and Economics Stories for Mass Communication" and "Thinking Things Over," a biography of former Wall Street Journal editor Vermont Royster.

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