One of my pet projects at work is giving some media training to stakeholders. I am presenting the course to people who are not professional communicators but they are really good at what they do. What they hate is the fact that when they get an interview they talk for about 10 minutes to 30 minutes and then only about 20 seconds ends up in the piece.
So here are some of their questions and some of my answers – you might find this useful if you are running a similar seminar or if you are talking to the press. Keep in mind that these are intended for non professional communicators who are there to provide a point of view or share their experience – not for corporate communications or selling or disaster management. The point when they are interviewed is not to get them maximum publicity but rather to give the journalist some understanding of the background and to build a relationship so that they get another call in the future.
Why do they ask me so many questions?
Journalists are not instant pundits. They need to understand the story and you can give them some background. So a lot of the questions are not there to actually end up in the report but to bring the journalist up to date and provide some context. Make sure you tell them the whole story and give them interesting little narratives that they might be able to use. At this point getting your face on TV or your voice on radio is not as important as sharing with the journalist your point of view. Basically, you are helping the journalist out. Even if it doesn’t get you maximum exposure today the journalist will remember you as a knowledgeable individual and call on you again in the future.
Why do they cut out most of what I said?
It’s a fact of media life that journalists have very little time in which to say what they want. Don’t forget that they are working on a report for days and they have to cram everything in. So really they are not just cutting out most of what you said. They are also cutting out most of their work as well. So don’t feel bad.
What should I do?
- Your first priority is for your industry to be portrayed in a positive light and for people to understand what you do. If you have given the journalist a good story then they will present the story for you even if they use other people to do it.
- Your second priority is to build a good relationship with the journalist. If you are giving them a good background you are actually helping them out. They will remember you for that and you will get another call in the future.
- When all is done and dusted and you have watched the final report why not give the journalist a call? Thank them for their attention and give them (brief) examples of other things you know about and can help them with in the future.
All in all when we are annoyed that we didn’t get more time on camera we are really being selfish. So we are asking the wrong questions like “why didn’t they put more of what I said in?”. Get out of that mindset and ask the right questions like “how can I make the journalist understand the story from my point of view” and “how do I make sure this journalist will call me again in the future”.
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Read on:
Jason Calacanis On How To Get PR For Your Startup: Fire Your PR Company by Sillicon Alley Insider (especially read section 5. How to bond with a journalist)
Dealing with the media – The interview stage by Damien Mulley
