Blah, blah, blah...Easter Bunny

So the Willamette Week in the Portland (Ore.) area interviewed five Republican Senate hopefuls. One didn't appreciate a reporter writing "blah blah blah" instead of what a candidate said. Fireworks ensued.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=m8OSi8M5YD0

I've actually dealt with the candidate in question. Always seemed nice enough, but a bit light on credentials. Seems like he applied for any race he could find. That being said, the actions of the one reporter in particular are pretty bad so I'll side with the candidate.

 

This basically happened to me a few months into my career. I would always write "blah blah blah" in my notepad as a signal to check the tape - i.e. that this was a lengthy quote that I wasn't going to get verbatim this time.

So it comes back to me a few days later from a former reporter at our paper - the guy I replaced - that this coach is pissed at me for it. Great source, too.

Never used it again. I think I would just put "etc." or "TAPE."

 

I hadn't seen the video but funny stuff.

I use blah blah blah to signal either, check the tape or the person is rambling and will mark down start and stop times.

But, really, what were the candidates expecting when they rolled into an alt-weekly newsroom? Lordy, they should have expected some of that and prepped for it.

 

Here is a link with the entire interview at the bottom.
http://www.wweek.com/portland/blog-31574-blahblahblahgate_watch_what_really_happened_when_we_kicked_a_us_senate_candidate_out_of_our_offices.html
The candidate speaking via phone wandered off track, hence the "blah blah blah" being written. Personally, I would have simply stopped writing or else kept writing just to tell readers how off track the answer was. Writing blah blah blah was bad enough; not apologizing at all made matters worse and asking about the Easter Bunny was over the top.
And really, if anything it helped Callahan. In the brief time I covered him, he truly ran for any race possible. I believe he ran for something like five races in the span of a year. County commissioner, school board, city council, state rep and U.S. president, IIRC. Had he said nothing in this video, he would have disappeared and been remembered once again by scant few people. Instead, he became a viral sensation people around the country have heard of.

 

Crimney ...
Why would you write that on a notepad in front of the subject?

Just stop writing.

Sorry, but the candidate had a right to be ticked.

 

The guy rambling was on the phone but if you stop taking notes, you signal you absolutely don't care about what they're saying. At the very least, you have to feign attention (brow furrowed, thoughtful look, occasional nod). Like, It's taking so much brainpower to process these complex ideas that I have none left over for my notes.

It's the real-world version of randomly hitting keys (or writing a letter) during the slow patches of a phone interview (Never let them see your notebook though.)

 

I think his reaction was a little over the top. I have never written anything like "blah, blah, blah" in front of an interview subject, but I get this weird feeling when I catch them glancing over at my notes.

 

The reporter in question was Gary Oldman.