Comparative Analysis of the Interviewing Styles of Seun Okinbaloye of Channels Television on Politics Today and Rufai Oseni of ARISE News on The Morning Show

Background: Television interviews play an important role in shaping public discourse by determining how political issues, public officials, and competing viewpoints are presented to audiences. However, differences in interviewers’ questioning patterns, interactional techniques, tone, and ideological orientation may influence the quality, balance, and character of broadcast political discourse. Despite the prominence of Seun Okinbaloye and Rufai Oseni in Nigerian television journalism, limited empirical attention has been paid to comparing their interviewing styles using systematic content analysis. This study therefore addresses the need to examine the similarities and differences in the interviewing practices of the two prominent Nigerian television interviewers.

Objective: The study comparatively examined the interviewing styles of Seun Okinbaloye of Channels Television’s Politics Today and Rufai Oseni of ARISE News’ The Morning Show, with particular attention to question type, question length, interruptions and follow-ups, interviewer tone, interpersonal style, and ideological orientation.

Method: The study adopted a quantitative content analysis design. Eighty-six episodes of the two selected programmes broadcast over a 12-month period in 2025 were selected using the composite week sampling technique. Data were collected with a structured coding sheet developed to capture the identified interviewing characteristics. The coded data were analysed using descriptive statistics, including frequencies and percentages.

Result: The findings showed that both interviewers predominantly employed open-ended questions, although Oseni recorded a higher proportion (93.0%) than Okinbaloye (72.7%). Short questions of 0–2 minutes dominated the interviews of both presenters, accounting for 93.6% for Oseni and 91.4% for Okinbaloye. Oseni recorded more interruptions and follow-up questions, whereas Okinbaloye recorded a higher proportion of interactions without interruptions or follow-ups. Neutral tone and conversational interpersonal style were dominant among both interviewers. However, Oseni recorded a higher proportion of objective/balanced interviews (81.3%) than Okinbaloye (61.5%), while Okinbaloye recorded a higher proportion of advocacy-oriented interviews (38.5%) than Oseni (18.7%).

Conclusion: The study concludes that Seun Okinbaloye and Rufai Oseni share important core characteristics of television interviewing, particularly their preference for open-ended questions, short questions, neutral tone, and conversational interaction. Nevertheless, they differ noticeably in the frequency of follow-ups and interruptions and in their ideological orientation, suggesting distinctive approaches to managing political interviews and engaging interviewees.

Unique Contribution: The study contributes empirical evidence to the understanding of contemporary Nigerian television interviewing by providing a comparative assessment of the interviewing practices of two influential broadcast journalists. It demonstrates how specific interactional and questioning techniques distinguish their approaches to political television discourse and provides a basis for evaluating professional interviewing practices within the Nigerian broadcast environment.

Key Recommendation: The study recommends continuous professional development and training for television interviewers, particularly in effective questioning, follow-up techniques, interruption management, and interactional strategies, to strengthen balanced, ethical, and professionally responsible political interviewing.

Keyword: Interviewing styles, Seun Okinbaloye, Rufia Oseni, Discourse Ethics, Television