Parky: King of chat shows and the template for hosting industry events

Sir Michael Parkinson, who sadly passed away this week, was one of the UK's greatest broadcasters and journalists.?The format of his iconic talk show was perfection; and, as I discovered, was also a rather practical template for a series of annual events I was invited to host nearly 10 years ago.

The brief was to to interview a variety of personalities working behind the scenes and in front of camera in our changing media landscape. Guests included the inspirational Jamal Edwards (RIP), the legendary Kelvin MacKenzie and the governor of UK film & television studio management Roger Morris .?

In deciding the right format for the evening it was obvious there was only one format - 'the Parky' format.?Now clearly I was no Parkinson, but it was the structure of how the great man did it that we felt would hold these evenings together.?Three guests; first guest introduced with a video clip then a chat; then repeat with the next guest who would join the discussion and finally the third.

Although the Parkinson show was branded with his surname, people watched primarily to see and hear from his guests; not a host trying to impose their own ego all over the place. The objective, which Sir Michael was the master at, was to create a warm environment, make guests feel comfortable and then having extensively researched the guests in the days leading up to the events, ask them questions we all wanted to ask and then importantly listen along with the audience to their responses, the stories and their anecdotes, following up with further questions accordingly.

Having adopted this format, the positive response we got following these evenings from audiences comprising of brilliant broadcast and media executives was complimentary and humbling.?And our guests seemed to enjoy the experience too. The general view was this approach was far more engaging and entertaining than standard conference panel sessions or rather staid fireside sessions.?And thankfully there was no Meg Ryan or Emu moment…

I’ve often thought about reviving this special series of ‘changing media landscape’ evenings. Coincidentally, at Player+ we recently talked about those events and agreed we might do something on similar lines in the new year for partners, stakeholders and industry friends. ?

It now seems fitting to combine it with a special tribute to Sir Michael - someone who I would have dearly loved to have interviewed. ?

Watch this space for more details…

Thank you Parky.?