There’s something that’s been lost in News TV, and it’s not journalistic integrity, credibility, or even the public’s trust — those ships sailed long ago, you could argue.
What’s missing today is the one-on-one conversation. The genuine sit-down interview. The kind where two people actually talk to each other, not over one another. Somewhere along the line, news executives decided that the way to keep viewers engaged was to cram as many people as possible around a desk and let them go at it.
It’s not just one network guilty of it, either. Fox News, CNN, MSNBC, Newsmax, they all do it. Nearly every daypart is packed with “panels” of contributors, analysts, and pundits all competing to be the loudest person on screen. It’s a format that’s easy to produce, dependable in structure, and relatively predictable in tone.
The panel has become to cable news what the laugh track once was to sitcoms: a sign you’re watching something that’s been done before.
Even CBS News — under new leadership with Bari Weiss as editor-in-chief — leaned on that same model last week. One of Weiss’ first major programming moves was a live-streamed panel discussion that aired on CBS News’ 24/7 digital channel and YouTube. It was symbolic, maybe unintentionally, of how ingrained the panel discussion has become in modern TV news culture. If your first big swing is another “let’s gather some people and talk about the state of things” panel, it’s hard not to wonder if we’ve all run out of ideas.
Now, let’s be clear: panel shows can work. The Five on Fox News isn’t just the exception — it’s the king of cable news. It’s routinely the highest-rated show in the format, and one of the most popular in all of television. But here’s the problem: for every The Five, there are plenty of other shows that try to copy it, and none of them come close.
You can’t duplicate chemistry by copying structure. Viewers tune in to The Five not because there are five people, but because the people at that table actually have defined roles, personalities, and genuine interaction. Is it contentious at times? Certainly. But it’s lighthearted plenty of others. It’s lightning in a bottle, not a formula to be replicated.
If anything, the real growth opportunity in News TV isn’t finding new ways to repackage The Five. It’s by doing what nearly every other medium has figured out: audiences want conversations. They want interviews. Long-form, sit-down, one-on-one exchanges where the viewer gets to learn something about the subject —not the host, not the panelist across the table, not the network’s agenda.
Just look beyond television. Radio, podcasts, YouTube, and even digital print media all prove the point. The best-performing content, time and time again, isn’t a group of voices talking over one another. It’s one voice speaking directly to another. Whether it’s Joe Rogan sitting down with Elon Musk, Howard Stern interviewing Lady Gaga, or a respected journalist producing a one-on-one deep dive, the pattern is obvious. People crave depth, not noise.
Even social media engagement follows the same logic. Clips from genuine interviews — where a subject has space to expand, explain, or even contradict themselves — consistently outperform snippets from panel shows. Why? Because interviews feel human. Panels feel rehearsed. Viewers can sense when a show is more interested in scoring debate points than understanding the topic.
Of course, it’s not lost on anyone that landing those one-on-one interviews is harder than ever. High-profile figures don’t want to sit down and be questioned without control over the final product. Politicians, CEOs, entertainers — they all would prefer that roundtables stay en vogue or hope for a friendly segment where the message can be guided, if not outright scripted. The one-on-one interview feels dangerous in 2025, both for the interviewer and the interviewee. One wrong question, one awkward silence, and the clip is viral before the commercial break ends.
Still, that’s what made those interviews matter in the first place. The best ones weren’t polished or perfect —they were real. They revealed things about people. They captured moments that couldn’t be manufactured in a six-person shouting match.
So yes, it’s easier said than done. The days of Barbara Walters or Larry King-style interviews are long gone, and the industry has shifted toward production efficiency over storytelling. But the overreliance on panels —on just throwing as many voices at a table as possible and hoping the mix of opinions keeps things interesting — isn’t working nearly as well as feet-to-the-fire discussions.0
News TV needs to get back to the basics of conversation. It needs to value connection over contention. That’s why the networks that figure out how to make sit-down, one-on-one interviews compelling again will be the ones that ultimately separate themselves.
The audience isn’t asking for more panels. They’re asking for more substance. And maybe — just maybe — it’s time someone in News TV gave it to them.
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Garrett Searight is Barrett Media’s News Editor, which includes writing daily news stories, features, and opinion columns. He joined Barrett Media in 2022 after a decade leading several radio brands in several formats, as well as a 5-year stint working in local television. In addition to his work with Barrett Media, he is a radio and TV play-by-play broadcaster. Reach out to him at Garrett@BarrettMedia.com.
I would like to see News TV get BACK to news reporting, not conversation and not “both sides” which is generally set up by conversation. Report the true facts, regardless of “sides”, no need to discuss.