Q & A
“Welcome to Q & A!” Tony Jones announced, “You’ve all been very lucky to be in the studio audience for this show. Tonight we’ve set the record for most questions received and most studio audience member submissions. It’s going to be a great show tonight!” Tony Jones is the host of Q & A, a live show where prominent media figures, such as politicians, writers and entertainers, are brought on as the panel and asked questions by a live audience. As part of my communications class here, our professor gave us the opportunity to get seats in the audience. It was so exciting - I was sitting in the bleachers right behind the panel and got to see everything up close. Instead of the usual five panelists, they only brought on two guests – Cardinal George Pell and a noted liberal atheist/author, Richard Dawkins – two opposite ends of the religious spectrum. Naturally, the topic of conversation was religious debate and the existence of God, which I found particularly intriguing. I can’t say I agreed with or cared for either panelist - they both were too stuck in their ways and unlikeable. However, the audience posed some excellent questions and outside viewers were also allowed to ask questions through video. I was amazed to see how interfering the audience was - even though they asked us before the show not to, people were raising their hands, shouting out comments and jeering the panelists. America would greatly benefit from a show like Q & A, where we could question politicians and celebrities first hand.
