The Media Interview

Being the first standing US president to appear on a TV talk show has its rewards and its dangers.  The danger came in the form of an inappropriate remark about the Special Oympics which drew immediate criticism.  The reward came in the form of a lengthy, often substantive interview worthy of the Newshour watched by [...]

In the final hours of the 2008 presidential election, third-party candidate Ralph Nader held a press conference at which he would only reply to questions with single-word answers. MSNBC.com’s Bob Sullivan reported the encounter at Washington’s National Press Club this way: The stilted question-and-answer session felt at times like a bad game of “Jeopardy.” Reporters [...]

There are three possible explanations for GOP Vice-Presidential candidate Sarah Palin’s poor showing in her first two major media interviews: 1) she is receiving no media coaching 2) she’s receiving very poor media coaching or 3) she’s receiving good media coaching and is not yet able to implement it. What is even more startling than [...]

Fascinating issue brewing in Hamilton, Ontario, where a recording and transcript of an “off the record” media interview with the city’s mayor have been released to some media outlets. In that interview with Hamilton Spectator columnist Andrew Dreschel, Mayor Fred Eisenberger apparently reveals some sensitive information from an in-camera council meeting. Dreschel won’t confirm or [...]

A comment by one of presidential candidate John McCain’s advisors, quoted in a Fortune magazine article, has created quite a stir and raises an interesting issue about the transparency of media interviews. Here’s part of the LA Times story on the comments by Charlie Black: Then, the longtime political pro got a bit too honest. [...]

The worlds of US politics and journalism are still reeling from the sudden death on Friday of Meet the Press host Tim Russert. The 58 year old Washington bureau chief for NBC news had just finished taping The Tim Russert Show for CNBC and was working on voice-overs for Sunday’s Meet the Press when he [...]

A fascinating new trend in interviewing has emerged during the course of the US presidential primaries: the live-to-web editorial board interview. Sitting around the table with editors of a media outlet is a long-standing tradition, but the idea of streaming it live over the internet adds some interesting new dimensions. Take the editorial board meeting [...]

Answer: carry on as if they did and have your own people pose questions to you. That’s what FEMA did back on October 23rd. Having informed the media of a briefing on the California wildfires 15 minutes before it was to start, it’s not surprising that no one turned up. A couple of reporters listened [...]

A public relations firm out of Florida recently offered to media coach President George Bush, for free. An article in the South Florida Daily Business News says that O’Connell & Goldberg Public Relations made the offer back in August. According to the article, the firm feels there’s plenty that could be done to help polish [...]

The days of hiding behind the microphone in a radio studio are long gone, at least for anyone in the public eye. Either the video media is covering the interview, or the station itself is making a video, or it’s even being simulcast over the web or some TV channel. Just look at the number [...]