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A comment on Paul Graham spills: Why some companies get his cash and others don't. Parent comment

Re:Paul Graham spills: Why some companies get his cash and o... by alexophile on Wednesday March 23, 2011 @04:38PM (#2361335)
Surely, but if a journalist does even the slightest bit of homework on his past interviews they could very easily upgrade to something like "I know you've said you focus on the team rather than the idea when selecting applicants..." and go on to ask something more substantive or insightful - or not.

They could even follow up with something like "how do you know" or "were there some specific failures that lead to this policy" and then they could at least have a conversation. As it stands, I could do a comparable interview using b-roll.

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Re:Paul Graham spills: Why some companies get his cash and o... by jacques_chester on Wednesday March 23, 2011 @08:29PM (#2362179)
> if a journalist does even the slightest bit of homework

Well there's your problem.

Journalists need to get their 200 words and get out and on to the next job. There isn't enough time to study the subject of an interview. And often the assignment is at very short notice. "Jim, today you're interviewing Paul Graham. Jill, you're talking to Larry Ellison."

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Re:Paul Graham spills: Why some companies get his cash and o... by nethsix on Wednesday March 23, 2011 @08:59PM (#2362303)
That could be a good way but I guess it may the case of a journalist thinking about his audience; she wanted to put the "we look at the founder" mantra down in the interview piece because there may be still many people who have not heard that super punchline!
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