"I THOUGHT SHE WAS GOING TO EAT ME ALIVE": Student Journalist vs Katie Hopkins
Daniyal Khan thought he was turning up to host an average student radio show on Monday 13th April. Instead he found himself interviewing controversial media personality Katie Hopkins.
Khan, 22, was expecting to interview fellow student Josh Barlow, whose open letter to Hopkins had gone viral and gained over half a million views, for SHURadio at Sheffield Hallam University. The idea was mooted: "imagine if we could get Katie herself on the show," and, after realising that lecturer Philo Holland had the contact, a passing comment became an actuality.
"I asked and then left the room not expecting any response from her - But she got back to us within 5 minutes! I was actually on my way out to get some sound clips of students for our Varsity coverage when I got a text from Philo saying "She's ready to do it now!" - I turned and ran straight back to the room."
It's standard for a journalist to do a bit of research and prep before going into an interview, but the biggest interview of Daniyal's fledgling career was very short notice: "It was really exciting, but we had literally no time to prepare, so I rustled up some questions a few seconds before she came on air. I was even writing down questions while she was speaking! Sorry Katie!"
All he had to go on going into the interview were his pre-conceptions of her, which he describes: "I had a very dim opinion of her. I've seen a lot of her videos and articles where some of the things she says are not only outrageous but in my opinion intended only for causing controversy and making money. But I understood that she was a well-known public figure that created conversation everywhere she went, so I had to put my opinion to one side and make sure I asked all the right questions."
However, the interview didn't necessarily go the way he expected it to go, "I felt like she made some valid points to be honest, amongst some of her shocking comments there was some validity, but I feel the way she says it is worse than what she actually says." Dan puts extra emphasis on the word 'way', as if stumbling upon the secret to the image she's ended up with.
He describes how he gained respect for her following the interview, as she highlighted the ways she gives out internships and tries to help young, ambitious people succeed (for example by coming on their radio shows), however this respect quickly slipped away when a week later she referred to immigrants coming into the country as "cockroaches".
"She text my lecturer after the show saying I spend too much time trying to prove I have a penis which was really cool. I take it as a big compliment"
On being asked if he found the task daunting, Daniyal said, "I am generally quite confident so I am not too fazed by much, but when I heard her voice for the first time I thought to my self "Oh no, this woman has been in some really high profile interviews across the world - She will eat me alive!""
However, he is pleased with the job he did, saying, "I kept it together and carried through despite her attacking me in some parts of the interview! I took it with a pinch of salt and actually believe she did so because I ruffled her feathers! She text my lecturer after the show saying I spend too much time trying to prove I have a penis which was really cool. I take it as a big compliment"
You can listen to clips of the interview on this page, and find the rest of The A Team on SHU Radio's broadcasts here.