The secret of success
“It is fair to say that we are interested in such a delicate topic”, the hosts assured proudly. Wow yes. Last Week with John Oliver debuted in 2014 and since then has covered events such as the presidential election of Donald Trump and Jair Bolsonaro, Britain’s departure from the European Union, the first post-ISIS election in Iraq and the pandemic, coronavirus, among many others. Some of these, moreover, were followed by derivative events, such as the seizure of the Capitol by Trump supporters or a wave of denial and anti-vaccine.
Evidence that the world is becoming more and more complicated, but also how difficult and important it is to decipher which stories are most relevant to tell. Oliver believes the key is “finding the right moment and angle. With elections it can be as they approach and you want the audience to know that this is an event with important consequences.
It’s fair to say that we are interested in a complicated subject
His approach is also decisive, because even though he understands that the show is informative, the content presented is “not news like that. They’re a bit of a problem. We like to try to go the other way, to something that not everyone is focused on yet.
Equally important is the careful verification process, essential in journalism, but increasingly forgotten in the search for intimacy. This was not the case with Last Week with John Oliver, where “We worked on the main story for a long time and we wanted to make sure that everything in it was accurate. So we review the facts carefully because we don’t want to work on crumbling foundations.” He also assured that “there are many stories that if we do something wrong they will sue us”, and then correct it. “It’s not that they haven’t sued us, they have. do it on many occasions, the point is not that they don’t sue you, but when it happens you can win.”
And of course, humor. We’re talking about a show that invites all kinds of important reflections, to then play with a teddy bear or launch a balloon from above. It was clear to the presenter that, despite the unusual, even controversial formula, it was the key to the show’s success and differentiation. Or as he thought,it’s like giving people dessert after a plate of vegetables“
“Freelance bacon fanatic. Amateur internet scholar. Award-winning pop culture fan.”
