Steve Adubato: Christie show to be no Barbara Walters 'gotcha' interview

David Chmiel/ By David Chmiel/ The Star-Ledger
on December 17, 2012 at 12:42 PM, updated December 18, 2012 at 5:23 PM
Christie-and-Steve-NJPAC.jpg Steve Adubato will interview New Jersey Governor Chris Christie for a special one-hour interview to air next month on NJTV.  

Steve Adubato is a New Jersey media fixture. He's found a way to reach us through his own politics-and-public-service TV shows, books, columns in The Star-Ledger and New Jersey Monthly and appearances on "Today."

It's been 25 years since Adubato launched Caucus Educational Corporation, the not-for-profit TV production company responsible for his broadcast programming. To mark the occasion, he's launching "Conversations at NJPAC," a new show that will bring top Garden State newsmakers from all walks of life to Newark's landmark theater for beyond-the-issues conversations. To kick off the show, Adubato will interview Governor Chris Christie Tuesday evening for a one-hour special to air on NJTV and WNET next month. Have a question you'd like to have Adubato ask tomorrow night? Leave your comment below and he will consider adding them to the show.

"This show will be different than anything else that we've done in the past," Adubato said. He said viewers will be surprised by the tone of this inaugural show because he will be talking to Christie about personal topics and not just the nuts-and-bolts of running the state. Adubato answered "Five Questions" about getting ready for the first in-depth interview with Christie since Hurricane Sandy changed life in New Jersey.

How did the idea for 'Conversations at NJPAC' come about?

A year and a half ago, Neal Shapiro, CEO of WNET (which operates NJTV) and I were talking. And we agreed that the key player in public television should partner with the key cultural centers and non-profits in the state. I started talking with John Schreiber, NJPAC President and CEO, and he agreed to be part of something that would allow us to show off the top and minds and talents in the state and to make NJPAC the home for the show.

So the goal is to make it the 92nd Street Y of New Jersey?

That's it. Why does something like that have to exist only in New York but not in New Jersey? We will make the program a Jersey-centric home for people in the arts, members of the cultural community, former Governors such as Tom Kean and Jim Florio and others who New Jerseyans can be proud of.

How are you preparing for the Christie interview?

The Governor agreed to sit down with me several months ago. The conversation at that time we were preparing to have was going to be very, very different than it will be tomorrow night. Now that we're living in the post-Sandy world, it's difficult to fathom what this state is going to face for years to come. Perhaps because he's done such an amazing job of handling this situation, I want to know how this has impacted him as Governor and as a politician. But I am more interested in what it's done to him a person, as a father and as a husband.

How will you do that?

On this show, I don't want to have the "Meet the Press" conversation where I grill him on issues and political rhetoric. We know what he thinks about abortion, unions and gay marriage. And I can tell you that this will be the anti-Barbara Walters interview. I am not asking gotcha questions to get headlines, I am asking questions that I want real answers to. Of course, now her question makes me wonder if I have to ask him about it. We have a different venue and a different feel and I want to see a different side of Chris Christie, not just Governor Christie. I want the audience to come away feeling they know him better. I want them to see how he thinks, not just on issues, but as a human being.

What do you want to dig in on specifically?

Obviously, his core personal beliefs are the same today as they were before Sandy hit. Politically, he's got no intention of changing parties. But has his basic view of federal, local and state government changed to where it has a greater role to play in a crisis like this?
A terrorist threat is a terrorist threat. It takes every level of government. But this is different and I wonder how he's handling it from a philosophical standpoint. I don't begin to understand the marathon we are in. It's going to require the endurance and commitment to helping our relatives, friends and neighbors. So I want to know three things: Do you feel overwhelmed? Is this too big for one person to be the lead? How do you handle these challenges emotionally?

What do you want audiences to see?

What is funny about politics is what is does to politicians. We rarely see who they really are. Unlike so many politicians who do everything they can to never let anyone see them get upset or being a real person, Chris Christie has none of that. He never holds back. When he says he won't answer a questions because he rejects the premise, he won't answer it — no matter how many different ways I ask it. Generally, that's fun for an interviewer, but this is not about the cat-and-mouse game. So preparing for this interview is interesting. I want to learn more about him, about how his parents shaped him. There is a part of me that wants to engage in where his faith informs him and how he deals with what he has seen so far. This is where we can do something that is different and I am looking forward to it.
