Josh Leesman · @RiotJatt
2nd Sep 2016 from TwitLonger
Who is a better caster, Jatt or Monte?
Wohoo! Click bait!
I wanted to talk a little bit about this quote as it refers to me personally: “when new casters were being interviewed, and this was back in early 2015, late 2014, they were asked a question: ‘who is the better analyst, Jatt or MonteCristo?’ If you answered Monte, Whalen stopped the interview to explain to you why you were wrong.”"
There’s a lot to unpack here, as this is generally trying to paint Whalen in a giant negative light - claiming that the question was being asked as a ‘right and wrong’ type of question, and that simply isn’t true.
Personally, I’ve given a ton of caster interviews and I ask similar questions all the time. Why? Because if you are applying to be a professional broadcaster, you better be able to articulate negative and positive points about casters, and you better be able to give feedback about casting. One of the things I value most in casters is their ability to give feedback about casting. That’s how we improve as a casting team.
By asking which caster a candidate likes more, you can test their ability to articulate and defend an opinion. The question could have just as easily been “Who do you like more as a caster, Kobe or Deficio?” Asking about Monte would have started a better conversation though, as he has a very different style than me. Asking to compare styles and asking which one you prefer is a very natural question.
As far as the claim that “Whalen stopped the interview to explain to you why you were wrong” I don’t buy that either. I talked to Whalen today to clarify his question. Generally, if the answer was “I like Jatt more” he would challenge them to defend that opinion. If the answer was “I like Monte more” he would challenge them to defend that opinion. It’s testing the ability to think critically about casting, and also articulate a view that you can stand behind.
I asked plenty of candidates what they thought of my casting while I was interviewing them. Believe me, I wasn’t hoping to hear “You’re great! Nothing you could possibly improve on!” I was hoping to hear some thoughtful feedback that I could use to improve and evaluate my casting with. Most importantly, I was hoping to hear someone who could come up with a well defending opinion.
Anyways, I wanted to chime in with my thoughts since I don’t think asking casters what they think about casters is a ridiculous question.