It was a pretty unique event – two of Britain’s most combative and eloquent figures going head-to-head and arguing about the Iraq War, its results and the philosophy and theory behind it: Christopher Hitchens and George Galloway. Shame it was in New York rather than here, but there you go.
I have been learning about audio editing recently, having decided it was a skill I should have, especially since I record nearly my interviews these days. I wanted to apply my journalistic skills to something audio and then the Hitchens vs Galloway debate reared its head.
As such, here is an approximately 30-minute version of a two-hour debate, with nine minutes of background and commentary by myself at the beginning. The audio is not exactly perfect but I’ve learnt alot and next time it should be smoother, more professional.
Hitchens vs Galloway debate [mp3]Â
[https://www.kierenmccarthy.co.uk/mp3s/hitchens-galloway-debate.mp3]
At the same time though, I hope it becomes readily available because despite the huge media interest, there is very, very little in the way of real reporting of the debate – it is all “sketches” and objective viewpoints. Which somewhat undermines the whole point of old-school debating on a stage. I’ve read around and it’s incredible (read: pathetic) how the self-same event can have one person claiming an unambiguous win for one side; and another claiming exactly the same for the other.
This ludicrous ability of humans to override everything for pre-formed ideas is exactly why journalists exist.
Anyway, my version gives, I believe, a fair representation of the debate in an easily digestable chunk.
Further information?
Hitchens’ website: http://www.hitchensweb.com/
A site with MP3s of the whole debate: http://kpftx.org/
Galloway website: http://www.mrgallowaygoestowashington.com/
