Larry King Live

===Interview style===
Larry King mainly conducted interviews from the studio, but he also interviewed people on-site in the [[White House]], their [[prison]] cells, their homes, and other unique locations. Critics claimed that Larry King asked "soft" questions in comparison to other interviewers, which allowed him to reach guests who would be averse to interviewing on "tough" talk shows. His reputation for asking easy, open-ended questions made him attractive to important figures who wanted to state their position while avoiding being challenged on contentious topics.<ref name=NYT120110>{{cite news |last=Barry |first=Ellen |title=Blunt and Blustery, Putin Responds to State Department Cables on Russia |url=https://www.nytimes.com/2010/12/02/world/europe/02putin.html |newspaper=[[The New York Times]] |date=December 1, 2010 |access-date=December 3, 2010}}</ref> When interviewed on ''[[Late Night with Conan O'Brien]],<ref>''Late Night With Conan O'Brien''; February 20, 2009</ref>'' King said that the secret to a good interview is to get the guest to talk about him- or herself, and to put oneself in the background pool.

A 1996 interview in ''[[The Washington Post]]''<ref name=":0">{{Cite news|last=Powers|first=William|date=March 25, 1996|title=WINNING AT SOFTBALL|url=https://www.washingtonpost.com/archive/lifestyle/1996/03/25/winning-at-softball/4b5d8217-ee32-443b-a62b-a7095a83170e/|archive-url=|archive-date=|access-date=|newspaper=[[The Washington Post]]}}</ref> saw King note that he sometimes slips hard questions in between softballs. King prefers one-sentence questions. In interviews, King has also proclaimed that he prepares as little as possible for each program, does not read the books of the authors he interviews,<ref name=91int>{{cite web|url=http://articles.sun-sentinel.com/1991-06-30/features/9101230817_1_larry-king-radio-show-previous-show/2 |title=The Man Who Can't Stop Talking Starting In South Florida, Larry King Has Been Live And On The Air For More Than 30 Years. On Radio And Tv, When The King Of Talk Speaks, The World Listens.|work=Sun Sentinel |date=June 30, 1991 |first=Bernard |last=McCormick |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160303222855/http://articles.sun-sentinel.com/1991-06-30/features/9101230817_1_larry-king-radio-show-previous-show/2|archive-date=March 3, 2016}}</ref> and admitted that the show was not journalism but "[[infotainment]]". He said that he tries to project an image of earnestness and sincerity in each interview, and the format of the show (King in suspenders instead of suit and tie, sitting directly next to the guest) reinforces that.

In response to {{" '}}softball' questions" accusations, King says, "I've never understood that. All I've tried to do is ask the best questions I could think of, listen to the answers, and then follow up. I've never not followed up. I don't attack anybody – that's not my style – but I follow up. I've asked people who say this, 'What's a softball question?' They'll say, 'You say to some movie star, what's your next project?' To me, that's not a softball. To me, that's interesting – what are you doing next?"<ref name=":0" />