Definition of Combative - Showing an inclination to dispute or disagree, to willingly want to fight.
Most news stories are quite sophisticated and there is a limit as to what can be said, here in the UK. But there was one interview that became very combative between both the interviewer and the interviewee.
The interview was between Shirley Phelps- Roger and a Fox News reader. The newsreader firstly intorduces the story to the viewers and talks about the rights of people and how we all have free speech, but she goes on to ask us if we think pikiting dead soldiers funerals is going too far. And so she is making the audience get involved with the debate that is going on to make them feel like part of the argument. There is a sort of structure to the way she presents this news story. She introduces it first and then goes on to two different interviews, for and against. The subject that is being focused on are the people of a certain church who believe that all soldiers are gay and that God hates gay people and that we will all be going to hell because we worship the gay people and we worship Jews and we support soldiers going out to war. They believe that everything that happens in this world is God's will and we should just let it be rather than interferring with his work.
The first interview she does is to a father of a dead soldier, whose funeral was protested at by this cult of people. This interview firstly adds sadness to the story, the fact that they have a real witness from what they are doing, and it really sets the mood for what the story is actually about. It is actual evidence of how it is effecting people. In this interview, the newsreader is kind and expresses her condolences to the father who has lost their child. She makes it obvious that she is against the protestors and so it is obvious that it is already quite a bias interview that is going to happen. She also asks why they are going to sue this lady and her community for protesting at the funerals, even though it is obvious why they are doing it. It is an open question which allows them to elaborate on their answer and say more than one reason why they are doing this and to explain themselves clearly. There is also a lawyer present at this interview and so their are currently three people against one, another indication that this news report has already been decided who is on whose team. She also uses really suggestive questions in this interview, such as 'Tell us what lies they have said, because they have said lies haven't they?' This question lets the audiences know that lies have been told and that she wants the interviewees to elaborate on them and explain what these lies were.
There is also some promotional aspects in this interview because they talk about the website where people can go and donate funds for their sons charity, to support other soldiers in the war. There is also a serious approach to this story, there is no humour in anything that is being said and no one is laughing or smiling when they are talking, it is a very serious topic. As said before, there is already a biased view on the story, because the newsreader calls the Shirley a 'crazie'. The main purpose of this news story is to enhance the audiences understanding of the churches purpose and why they do the things that they do. Whether there is a valid reason for it or whether they are all just mentally challenged.
When the news reporter switches over to interview Shirley, she is already against her and her way of doing things, and so emotion is already showed when they are talking because her anger is slowly building by the things that Shirley is saying and she is willing to fight this lady in the things that she is saying and doing because she believes, like so many others, that this is wrong, and so she is allowing the audience to see her emotions clearly. The interview develops further until they are both throwing abuse at one another because they both have such different views. Their body languages are negative, they are both leaning forwards towards one another and both pointing their fingers and yelling. Not many questions are asked by the news reporter, she is mainly saying what she thinks about what Shirley and her family are doing.
At the end of the news report there is no final summary or round up. They are continously yelling and shouting at eachother and there is no way that she is able to summarise it up, so she simply says her last word and then cuts Shirley off. This means that there wasn't a proper structure to the interview. She had an introduction, two interviews for and against, but there was no conclusion to what they had learnt about Shirley and her family.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=b3PyoUPcobA
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