As John McCain's campaign carefully orchestrates a tightly held press unveiling of Sarah Palin to the media, the interviewers allowed to ask Palin questions are carefully vetted not for their journalistic integrity, but by how well they will shape Palin's image with viewers.

McCain first chose ABC News' Charlie Gibson because he's known for not exactly asking hard (or relevant) questions. Then they pushed Palin to Fox News' Sean Hannity, where, following MSNBC's tactic with Barack Obama, the network offered to fluff her seat cushions before beginning the softball Q&A. And then came Katie Couric, whose womanhood was intended to lend a softness to Palin's ball-busting image.

So, in the eyes of media on-lookers, who came out on top? So far, just Gibson and Couric. While Hannity put out the tea and biscuits for Palin, Gibson and Couric completed friendly tete-a-tetes — complete with walk-and-talk segments — that earned them the respect of their peers by doing one simple thing:

Asking a follow-up question.

When Gibson caught the first Palin interview, he launched into what he thought would be a lead-in question: Do you agree with the Bush Doctrine? But then Palin made it clear she didn't even know what that was, so Gibson followed up — by asking her what she thought it referred to. Remember when Gibson was torn to shreds by his colleagues for that crappy Democratic debate? Now he's a hero!

And with Couric, it was asking not once, not twice, but three times whether Palin could come up with any other concrete examples of Maverick McCain participating in financial reform other than getting involved in Freddie Mac and Fannie Mae (beside the Rick Davis factor). Remember when Couric was branded a has-been by media reporters and blogs? Suddenly she's allstars!

In the end, Gibson and Couric are now media heroes, ASKING THE TOUGH QUESTIONS of America's potential future second-then-first in command. So whenever John McCain un-suspends his campaign, and the next Palin interview prize gets awarded, keep the Follow-Up Question Secret in mind, and you too could be America's Next Top Journalist.