You’re being interviewed by a magazine reporter who clearly doesn’t understand the topic, despite your best efforts to explain it over and over again. What do you do? That’s what a graduate of The Publicity Hound Mentor Program asked me just now. “A staffer recently did repeated interviews with a magazine writer, and sent follow-up emails… Read More
How to Interview
My #1 tip for getting onto ‘Oprah’ & other big TV shows
At least 7 out of 10 Publicity Hounds who beg me to help them get booked on “Oprah” or other big TV shows have no business being there. Either their topic isn’t a good fit for the show, or they can’t articulate a convincing pitch in 15 seconds or less. Yet they continue to flood… Read More
Why is ‘the mic is always on’ so difficult to understand?
It happened again—not to two starry-eyed, naive news sources who sat in front of the TV cameras for the first time—but to two political insiders who should have know better. I call it microphonitis—blabbering on and on about private matters and personal opinions and even uttering obscenities—while a microphone is pinned to your lapel. This time, it… Read More
Prepare for an interview with a reporter these 8 ways
If a reporter contacts you unexpectedly and asks for an interview in the next few days, and you don’t feel entirely ready, how do you prepare? That’s what Leilie McKinley of Soaring-Phoenix.com, one of my business coaches, just called to ask. A reporter from a major online business magazine found Leili’s blog post about how the credit crunch will affect small business.… Read More
Grade Edwards’ ‘Nightline’ interview: How did he do?
Put politics aside for a minute. If you saw the interview that ABC’s “Nightline” did with former Democratic presidential candidate John Edwards on Friday night, tell us how you think he did from a PR standpoint. If you missed the interview, you can watch it in two parts here and here. I don’t care if… Read More
8 interview mistakes you don’t want to make
Of all the possible mistakes you can make when interviewing with the media, the worst one in my book is lying. Bend the truth, even just a little, and that little white lie can suddenly become the story and have far more traction than the original story you were being interviewed for. Remember Watergate? And… Read More
Learn killer sound bites at media training Aug. 1 in New York
If Oprah called tomorrow, or Larry King, or the “Today” Show, and wanted to book you for an appearance later this week, would you be scurrying around at the last minute trying to find a media trainer? What about that New York Times reporter you’ve been pitching for two years? If he called to interview you,… Read More
Did Jesse Jackson know the mic was on?
How could the Rev. Jesse Jackson, a master at playing the media like a fiddle, not know the mic was on last week when he made that repulsive comment about castrating Barack Obama? One of the very first things you learn in Media Training 101 is that if you’re mic’d, always assume it’s on and never… Read More
What Tim Russert taught us about how to interview
After almost five days of non-stop tributes to Tim Russert, none was as fascinating as the five-year-old article I found last night titled “How to Beat Tim Russert.” Jack Shafer, who writes the press column for the online magazine Slate, dissected in step-by-step detail the strategy that any guest can use to disarm Russert, the toughest… Read More
TV interview tip: Don’t use the anchor’s name
The next time you do a TV interview, follow this tip from TV producer Shawne Duperon’s newsletter. Only use the anchor’s or reporter’s name when you’re saying hello. Never repeat it when you’re answering a question. “Your goal, as an interviewee, is to have the audience feel like you’re talking to them. Repeating the anchor’s name can make… Read More