A:
“Exclusive” is probably the most overused word in the news business. Journalists love to invoke it and do so liberally because it drives traffic to a story and confers prestige on the reporter and news outlet.
Here’s the rub: it’s supposed to be used only when a news outlet has a story or interview that no one else has. That’s becoming increasingly rare given how quickly information can be independently confirmed and how easily other reporters can connect with those “exclusive” sources. Once that happens, that “exclusive” becomes just another story in the journalism ether.
That said, there are many legit and praiseworthy “exclusives” such as Bob Woodward and Carl Bernstein’s stories about the Watergate break-in in the Washington Post (maybe the biggest exclusive of all time because those stories took down a president!) or Oprah Winfrey’s interview with Lance Armstrong in which he confessed to using performance-enhancing drugs to win all seven of his Tour de France titles.
More recently, Gayle King’s interview with R. Kelly was a genuine exclusive and real ratings bonanza for CBS. Kelly only did one interview and totally lost it on air when asked about charges that he sexually assaulted minors. King remained calm and unflappable, solidifying her reputation as a master interviewer.
VICE reporter Elle Reeve’s interview with white supremacist Christopher Cantwell also raised her profile and attracted more than 44 million views in one week—thanks to that exclusive interview.
