International Journal of Sub-Saharan African Research (IJSSAR)

Background: Television interviews shape public discourse through questioning patterns, interactional techniques, tone, and ideological orientation. Despite the prominence of Seun Okinbaloye and Rufai Oseni in Nigerian television journalism, limited empirical research has comparatively examined their interviewing styles.
Objective: The study compared the interviewing styles of Seun Okinbaloye of Channels Television’s Politics Today and Rufai Oseni of ARISE News’ The Morning Show, focusing on question type and length, interruptions and follow-ups, tone, interpersonal style, and ideological orientation.
Method: The study adopted quantitative content analysis. Eighty-six episodes broadcast in 2025 were selected using composite-week sampling over a 12-month period. Data were collected using a structured coding sheet and analysed with frequencies and percentages. Results: Both interviewers predominantly used open-ended questions, with Oseni recording a higher proportion (93.0%) than Okinbaloye (72.7%). Questions lasting 0–2 minutes accounted for 93.6% of Oseni’s and 91.4% of Okinbaloye’s questions. Oseni recorded more interruptions and follow-up questions, while Okinbaloye more frequently conducted interviews without them. Neutral tone and conversational interaction predominated among both interviewers. However, Oseni recorded a higher proportion of objective/balanced interviews (81.3%) than Okinbaloye (61.5%), while Okinbaloye recorded more advocacy-oriented interviews (38.5%) than Oseni (18.7%).
Conclusion: Although both interviewers shared similar questioning, tonal, and interpersonal characteristics, they differed in their use of interruptions and follow-ups and their orientation towards political interviewing.
Unique Contribution: The study provides comparative empirical evidence on the interviewing practices of two prominent Nigerian television journalists, highlighting differences in their approaches to political discourse.
Key Recommendation: Television interviewers should receive continuous professional training in questioning, follow-up techniques, interruption management, and balanced, ethical political interviewing.