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What explains interruptions in TV interviews? This paper compares interruptions in two interviews on BBC HARDtalk with prominent Hong Kong political figures: Ronny Tong and Nathan Law.

What explains interruptions in TV interviews? Yingnian Tao compares interruptions

in two interviews on BBC HARDtalk with prominent Hong Kong political figures:

Ronny Tong and Nathan Law. Using conversational analysis, interruptions are

analysed in relation to their position and composition. Findings reveal that

interviewer and interviewee interrupt each other at similar frequency, while the

interviewees' responses to being interrupted vary significantly. Tong's responses

feature argumentation and resistance (e.g., claims of speaking rights violation,

personal attacks on the interviewer), whereas Law's responses exhibit deference

to interview norms. The interviewees’ differential responses contribute to social

media perceptions of media bias, further exacerbated by interviewer’s pursuit of

adversarial questioning.

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