The Media Interview

As I started to watch yesterday’s much talked about interview with Billy Bob Thornton and the Boxmasters on CBC Radio out of Toronto, I thought we were in for another Sigur Ros or Joaquin Phoenix stunt, when the interviewee simply clams up. Then, as host Jian Ghomeshi asked about Billy Bob’s musical influences growing up, [...]

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. [...]

Coldplay lead singer Chris Martin simply got up and left in the middle of an interview on BBC Radio 4′s Front Row program, leaving presenter John Wilson and the band’s drummer Will Champion to carry on: Wilson: Do you start with that idea, Chris… [sound in background] did you start with the song Viva La [...]

Jason McIntyre co-creator, writer, and editor, of the blog The Big Lead interviewed on Sports Media Guide: Q. Do you do your interviews by e-mail or phone? A. Kornheiser was over the phone – he doesn’t do e-mail. I prefer e-mail. I started doing it by e-mail because I was anonymous at the time and [...]

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 [...]

76 year-old country music star George Jones in an interview with the Wichita Falls Times Record News: Q: You don’t grant many interviews. Why not? A: I don’t do as many interviews as I used to because, frankly, what else is there to know about me?

English football manager Avram Grant gave a bizarre press conference after his Chelsea team’s win over Everton on April 17 – so bizarre that The Independent ran an almost complete transcript. I say ‘almost’ because it doesn’t give a full sense of the pauses and silences. Anyway, here’s part of the one-word wonder at work, [...]

Since taking office in 2006 Canadian Prime Minister Stephen Harper has been known for almost complete control of media access to his government. The Hill is the latest to run a story about these practices: When [national] reporters request interviews, the minister’s office passes on the request with its recommendations to the Prime Minister’s Office. [...]

This is a follow up to my original posting about NBC reportedly offering $1 million dollars for Paris Hilton’s first post-jail TV interview – some information I missed at the time. According to a June 21, 2007 report in the NY Post, “NBC Universal boss Jeff Zucker personally called Hilton’s father Rick and made the [...]

Detroit Lions wide receiver Roy Williams was out delivering pizzas for an afternoon recently – all because of a media interview. Back on September 24th, during his weekly chat on WDFN radio, Williams said he never tips the people who deliver pizza. Doh! Despite trying to clarify himself on a later broadcast, the outrage poured [...]