272: Behind the Broadcast: Expert Tips for a Memorable Media Interview

Anyone who has sat down for a broadcast news interview will tell you it's nerve wracking. Serving as a spokesperson, the face and voice of your company. Terrified. That's why you need to prepare. But when it's live, oh, and you're digging your brand out of a crisis, oh boy, you need to prep. Just like this guy who media prepped within an inch of his life when he sat down for an interview on CBS Morning. Here is the CEO of a company who went through one of the biggest crises of 2023. Can you guess where he works? Take a listen to this talking point and I bet you will.

I worked for PepsiCo for a number of years and I came here 10 years ago and I've been in this position for two years.

You still like this job?

I love this job and I love the company. And it really is, as I mentioned, an American institution. And it's really, to me, one degree of separation away from the United States. The American flag.

The American flag. Anheuser Busch is the American flag. Wow. Heavy, heavy on the talking points.

Woo.

Welcome to the Indestructible podcast. I'm Molly McPherson, your crisis communication strategist and your guide through the world of breaking news and popular culture. So join me as we analyze the juiciest moments and extract valuable lessons. Now, normally I like to go behind the headlines, but in this episode, join me as we go behind the scenes. This week, get ready to explore the art of media preparation. On this episode, we're going to talk about mastering the media prep, unveiling the secrets of getting ready for your time in the spotlight. The interview dance. Find out why so many people go on the defensive and how you can flip that script. And of course, learn how to dress for success. Have you ever wondered the different types of shows and networks requiring the different types of outfits? What do you wear particularly when you are crunched for time? I'm going to give you some of my tips, plus a special touch, how to take care of your host, the person interviewing you that could make or break your on air relationship. Now joining me on this episode is a former network news producer who will share the tricks of the trade. David McAlpin is the global head of external communication for Illumina. He oversees all media relations and social media efforts worldwide, including serving as the company's chief spokesperson, which is a huge, huge role. But he's here today because before that job he spent 10 years in TV news working as a producer. David went from the local markets to network news, so he has a deep Knowledge of what happens behind the scenes in local television and on some of the most high profile television news shows. So David is going to share how everything comes together to make live TV happen every day, especially during media interviews. Now hop on in to our conversation.

So I had a little bit of a weird past. I actually started at KTLA 5 in Los Angeles. I went to school at USC. I started interning there. And then the summer between my junior and senior year, they needed someone to fill in for someone on maternity leave. And I started working there and I just didn't stop. And I started as an entertainment producer for Sam Rubin, who. Who you might know. He's lovely and awesome. And I got to do the Oscars and the Golden Globes and the Emmys and I did all the LA stuff. And then ironically, I got tired of the 365 days of sunshine. Cause this is Chicago and I missed the seasons.

Yes.

So then I moved to Seattle, where I worked at the CBS affiliate. I did the morning show. I worked the overnight shift, which is tough, but I did it. And I was young and working in a big market, so I knew that that's what I had to do.

That was your first big, big person job?

My first big person job was.

Okay, so what market is Seattle? What number is that?

12 or 13. Thank you. It was very odd, but I had the experience at ktla and USC has a great journalism school. So, you know, it was a lot of sink or swim, though. I mean, the first six months there I was like, I don't really know if I can move fast enough. And I don't know what I'm doing. Because it was a very fast paced morning show, right?

Yeah.

And Seattle has a lot of news and there's always some kind of Pacific Northwest tie to everything. And then I moved to Philadelphia. I worked at Channel 6 Action News, which is one of the biggest.

Come on, give me the affiliate. It there.

Wpvi, abc.

Oh, okay. So you went for. I'm sorry, did you say 12?

No, I went from like 12 or 13 to 4.

You went 12 or 13 to 4. That doesn't typically happen unless it's in a movie.

Yeah.

How did. Are you just that spectacular of a person?

No, it's all timing. Right. Like we know that this about this whole career, it's all timing. So I was looking to leave Seattle because I wanted to move a little closer to home. I'd actually interviewed at every station in Chicago. Could not even find a freelance job because no one leaves those stations. And then an alum of USC was leaving WPVI in Philadelphia. I'd never been there. I didn't know anything about the Mid Atlantic, but I was like, sure, it's a huge station. Big number one station and a huge market. So I was like, let's give it a shot. And I was there. The Pope came, the DNC was there. We had some crazy snowstorms. It was a huge opportunity that I didn't. No. Until I got into it, because then also the 2016 election, it all came down in Pennsylvania. Right. Like, there was a lot of stuff going on there, so. And I loved it.

You're a Chicago boy. Did you start eating hoogies when you were.

Oh, Wawa is life. I love it. If I wasn't wearing this, I would be wearing my Wawa shirt. I love Wawa. And so, yes, I'm a big hoagie person. Cheese steaks are okay.

Did you go then to Philly, to National?

Yeah, I went to Washington, D.C. to be a producer at Fox News.

Oh, and then you went to D.C. and you.

And then I went to D.C. at the. @ the network, and then I went to CBS in New York. So I got a full taste of network life. You know, I did the White House pool. I did other pool travel. It's funny because I was hired to kind of be like the breaking news producer in the Mid Atlantic because they had everyone who could do White House stuff. But, like, what happens if there's flooding in Maryland? Like, you still cover region of the country. Right. And then I got sucked into White House pool because logistics are a strong point of mine, you know, and then I. You're just doing everything right. And it was the Trump administration and nothing ends. And, you know, I'm going to Singapore and Vietnam and Finland and all these crazy places, and it was so much fun. But, you know, I was also never home, so. Right. You know, that's the upside.

Down. Well, here you are at home.

And here I am at.

Home. And you're with me right now, which I appreciate. I am so. Well, people who know me and know me well know I love television news. I love television news scandal. But I mean, I am. I mean, I'm a Gen Xer, and I. You know, when I went to school, it was all about.

Broadcast.

I. Broadcast news. So this has never left.

Me. It's still the idea of putting together a story, knowing how to put a story together, knowing how to. How to get a sound bite out. Like, the skills that I learned in broadcast news have never left me. And the biggest one I use all the time is writing.

Fast.

Yes.

Okay. You have to be a good writer.

Right? And fast. You gotta like, you know, there's breaking news, like, you know, the amount of times I threw my show out the window, five minutes to air, and then you're like, you know, breaking news, da da da da da. You have to know how to be.

Adaptable. Yes. Well, and tell me. So last night I was speaking to someone who works in the news business and you were just talking about, you know, younger people getting into news and he was saying how important writing.

Is. So.

Important. It's all about the writing, isn't.

It?

Yes. Do you think it's a lost art now with people who you work with or are the up and coming students and journalists to be like, are they good.

Writers? No, no. I mean, I think that there are some people who are really important. You know, they've emphasized writing. But I was lucky enough in my career to have people who really emphasized writing. The teas. Why do people want to stick around? Right? You know, like the presentation of it all. And now, and I mean, listen, TV news now you look at local TV stations are producing 13, 14 hours of local news a day, right? Because it's cheaper than syndicated programming and you've already got the anchors there. So now who might just be doing the five and the six is doing the five, the six a half hour at 8:30 on the other channel, the 10 and the 11, the cut ins, all this. So and I saw that kind of when I was going through TV news because I started in Seattle in 2012 and then as I progressed through and we got closer to like 2016, 2018, you know, that's when digital really came in. We were doing digital cut ins specifically for, you know, the mobile app or online. And then when your attention gets spread out, no longer is it. The 11pm producer has a 30 minute window to care about. Right? Like everyone has to be feeding the news all the time 24 7. It's a brand, it's not just a station anymore. And writing can get lost in that. I mean, listen, we both know like sometimes writing falls to the wayside because you got to get something out. But there is an emphasis on speed and doing more with less. Not so much the quality of it anymore. And I watch local news. Like I still watch Channel seven here in New York. I watch Channel four. I still have friends who work all over the place and I love local news. But sometimes I'm like, I'll watch it. I'm like, Oh, I would have written that a little differently. Or like.

Yikes. Yeah. So now we're gonna get into three areas. But before we do that, I do wanna. I'm gonna have. I'm gonna ask you one more question about local news. But. So you and I are gonna talk about what it takes to be a good guest. You know, a good interview guest, when you are being interviewed. And then we're also gonna talk about some of the little PR moves that you've seen, because now you've been on both sides, as have I. And then we are going to spotlight an interview that you and I both had a fascination with, I believe. No, I think you DM me right after that.

Interview. I.

Did. You were giving me.

Insight. I did. I saw it and I saw your comments and I was like, yeah, I thought it was an interesting positioning of how they did it all.

Yeah. Yes. And I may or may not have said on a TikTok what you told me. I did not. I did not give.

Any. That's.

Okay. I just said, sources say yes, that this may or may not happen. But before we move off, like, in terms of news right now, what do you think is the relevance? So I worked in news, television news, back in the late 80s, early 90s, and then I did a quick stint in.

2008.

Yeah. Where do you see news from a national and local point of view? Its relevance, permanence.

Anything? Yeah, I think local news is actually more relevant than national news because you're seeing the trust kind of shift on all the networks. And when, like, I covered the presidential election in 2016, I covered it in 2020, I saw the trust of regular people erode. As, you know, you're trying to set up interviews with voters in Virginia or Ohio, and everyone's like, TV news is evil. You guys are just gonna spin what I'm gonna say. Local news still has the power to amplify, you know, your local city council people, the mayors, the governors and smart politicians engage local news stations because that's where they're actually going to get the platforms to talk and speak to the people who are, you know, their constituents. National news is great, and I think it's great for a variety of things, but, you know, it's also become like the CNNs and the MSNBCs of the world are more relevant because people are tuning in whenever. I don't think that there are a lot of people who are necessarily. It's a nice thing to have on in the background, but I don't have a point in Viewing where? Growing up, I watched the Today show every single day. Matt, Katie, Ann, every day. Now if I'm up at 7, yeah, I'll have something on in the background. But I'm not like waking up to see what the news is. I'm going to my phone first. Right. And seeing, okay, what are the push alerts I got? What are people saying? And so it's kind of like now TV news is a extension of the digital platform that is.

Online. Yes.

I. It's.

Hard. Absolutely agree with you. And I'm like you. I mean, I was a TV ophile. Like, I watched. I was a big Today show viewer myself constantly. Like, I think 2007, 2008, I knew all of it. But now it doesn't have relevance to me. Local is stronger to me than national and national has these messy storylines. And I don't know if you heard this, that the Today show is having some friction in there. There might be some people being let go.

Soon. Oh, I mean, I've heard that, like, the Today shows had friction for, you know, like, I mean, here's the thing. Every morning show has friction. Right. Apple TV would not have gotten Jennifer Aniston and Reese Witherspoon to do a story about that if it wasn't an interesting and dramatic business to be.

In. This is true. This is true. Though NBC, I do think they have a little. They have a little too many people on in the morning, but I think it's because they have a bunch of people with kind of pablum personalities all in there at.

Once.

Right. Kind of deal. But that's just my. That's just my opinion. Okay. You and I could go on and on and on. You and I could probably do an hour just on Matt.

Lauer. I know, I know. Let me ask you a very.

Quick question about Matt.

Lauer. Yeah.

Okay. You know, most people couldn't have this conversation for 30 seconds with.

Me.

Yeah. Matt Lauer. And we know, you know, what happened to him is that he was exposed for having a relationship with producers, slash s producers. One of the producers came forward, you know, with that information, and he was, you know, let go with them, you know, like that. They called him in and said, you're out the door. And we heard, you know, the rumors. He alleged to have, you know, a, you know, a lock, you know, on his.

Desk. Yeah, the.

Button. The button to show.

The. But close the door. Yeah, yeah.

Yeah. Could that even be.

True? I don't know. I mean, listen, I've had so many people at NBC Tell me that that's not okay and that that didn't happen. But, you know, it's also like their offices were so tucked away. Like, I don't think that a lot of people were, you know, over there. I don't know, you know how it works. Someone says something, it spirals out of control, and everyone wants to believe.

It. Exactly. I'm not believing the button.

Story.

No. I don't know what. NBC electrician comes in and they say someone had an order for a.

Button to shut a door when they're at the.

Desk. Oh, is that you, Lauer? Yeah, but I mean. But it was clear. I mean, there was a lot of, you know, blind items about Matt Lauer, of course, for years. But if the Matt LAUER Story happened.

2023.

Yeah. What would have happened to Matt.

Lauer? Oh, that's a good question. I actually think he would have been canceled faster. It happened pretty fast. Although, you know what, it's interesting because no one saw the opportunity to pick him up. You know, like he, Brian Williams kind of had a second round of. And now, granted, he did not do what Matt Lauer did, so let me be clear about that.

But. But in journalistic ethics, it's almost what he did was.

Worse. Yeah. And it's also like, it's a ratings game. So I was, you know, it was kind of surprising that no one tried to give Matt a second chance on even like a show or like a documentary or anything. And maybe he was also just done with it. I mean, I think now people would have less tolerance for it. I also don't think that in 2023 there would be the environment for anything like that to happen anymore because people are so protective. They are so HR forward. And I think that people would have spoken up about something much sooner than it ever happened. You know, like, we heard that there were things happened for years and years and whatever. And I don't think that would be the case these days because people talk and people would report.

It. Yeah, I mean, that's true, but I think. Which part of me would say that? But the other part of me says because Matt Lauer was so valued, you know, at that network, and not necessarily bel beloved, but.

Valued. Yeah.

Good. He was good. And I think the reason why Brian Williams stuck around, even though the egregious sin of just embellishing his war coverage, which, oh, my gosh, I mean, that was awful that that happened, but I think he would have pushed back a little because it was he said, she said. I think NBC would have done something to make it go away. Because back then, we were still in the MeToo.

Realm. Yes, you're right. You're.

Right. I think they would have done something. That's just my.

Opinion. Because it happened right after. No. Cause it happened right after Charlie Rose. I think Charlie Rose was.

First.

Yes. And then Matt was shortly after. And I remember because it's around this time, because I was watching the Thanksgiving Day parade with my friend, and Matt wasn't on the Thanksgiving Day parade. And everyone was like, oh. Or he was on the Thanksgiving Day parade, but the energy was off between him and Savannah. And then that following Monday is when he got.

Fired. Oh, no kidding. Oh.

Wow. I remember.

That. See, I could talk about this for an hour. All right, so let's talk now. So you've been local, you've been.

National.

Yes. Now, first, let's just talk about what are some of the things. So first, just as a producer, what is your job in a sentence or less? What does a producer.

Do? You make TV happen. You know, you make sure that everything happens from beginning to end. You're prepping the correspondent, you're helping write scripts. You know, you're finding all the visuals that go with the. The story. Because TV is a visual medium. You have to have the visuals that go with what's going on. You're there to keep the train on the tracks and make the world go.

Round. Oh, okay. Oh, train on the tracks. World go round. What's the difference between a producer and a.

Booker? So a booker is focused on actually calling people, and it could be anything. It could be like a hurricane happened in Florida, and you're trying to find families for your crew in Florida to go talk to. You're scouring social media, you're finding the videos. You're trying to track down people. It could also be trying to book celebrities. You know, you're trying to book someone about either like a scandal or, you know, you're trying to book that celebrity who's got that big thing, you know, or someone's got new music, you're trying to book them. A producer can be a booker or can help in the booking process. And I think bookers are producers, and producers are bookers, but it's just that a lot of people now call them editorial producers as bookers, because you are producing something. And so I don't want to minimize that one work. But, you know, a producer is thinking more of like, how are we going to make this happen? How's this going to look on tv? What questions are you going to ask, where are we going to do it? Like, a booker would call me and say, hey, we booked so and so as an exclusive. And then I'd have to figure out, like, what hotel room are we doing at New York. Call the crew, get the time, you know, book everything, like, and then, you know, run the tape back to the station, figure everything out. So it's a lot of work. It's all symbiotic. But, yes, it is astounding how many people it takes to make TV happen every.

Day. Yes. And I can say this from a PR point of view. When a booker has you and a booker knows you, and a booker has your phone number, you're gonna be booked. And if you work with that booker, one of my favorite bookers is Jake at NBC. And what's great about him is he knows a tiktoky news story because he gets where I bridge, because even though I'm on TikTok and I talk like, celebrity celebrities, people know, though, I'm really a newsy, right? And I can make that. You know, I can translate that. He is one of my. And that guy hustles. Hustle, hustle, hustle. But he's following. And that's why, I mean, I love the news business. And there's so many, you know, I still think it's a very vibrant area to go into with journalism. I mean, I'm telling, you know, my daughter to go into it as well. Okay, so now in your role, though, as a producer, you've interviewed, you know, lawmakers, presidents, secretary of state, heads of states, celebrities, athletes, people in crisis. Give me the best person you interviewed and.

Why. Ooh. Like the one that sticks with me the.

Most.

Yes. Okay, so actually, this is gonna be slightly controversial, but I interviewed Donald Trump for the Celebrity Apprentice way, way, way back when, and it was possibly one of the most fun interviews I've ever.

Done. Okay, hold on, hold on. So were you at KTLA when you were doing this? Yes, and we did intern. And you were interviewing Donald.

Trump. I was a producer then, but it was one of those junkets that we did a setup, and he was so much fun. He loved the show. I loved the show. Right. I mean, it was wonderful.

Television. I watched the.

Show. The show was amazing. It was awesome television. Like, who doesn't want to see Brooke Burke selling hot dogs on the side of the street.

Right? Like, I know my daughter Kate and I. She's the one in Chicago. Yeah, we love that.

Show. It was so good. So, I mean. And then other Than that, I.

Think. But hold on one.

Second.

Yeah. You said Donald Trump and you said fun. Bridge those two.

Together. Yeah, Donald. So he knew. So he's a showman, first of all. Right. He's an entertainer, so he knew how to, like, comment on things and, you know, talk about the challenges. And there was a repartee in the interview that was very.

Comfortable. He could give you a sound.

Bite. All the sound bites. Right. And one of the things that I'm sure we'll talk about is, you know, he was able to give a good sound bite in 30 seconds or less. Yeah. At that point in time.

Right? Yeah, at that.

Point. Yeah. Now we know things. Things have changed a little.

Bit. Yeah. But he knows how to package it. Okay, so give me someone in the political realm who you admire that was easy to work with, a positive experience in the political.

Realm. John.

Kerry. John.

Kerry. John Kerry was actually really, really cool. He was like. It was. When he was. We interviewed him for Nick News when he was the climate envoy. He was super relaxed. I helped relaunch it in.

2021. Oh. I went to school with people when I was at bu. They went to Nick.

News. That's amazing. I love that.

Show. This is a great.

Show. Yes. And so we. The first show that we did was about climate, and so we booked him, and his team was lovely to work with. He was really great to work with. You know, I'm trying to think, oh, you know what? Who else was Pete Buttigieg? I. Oh.

Yeah. Oh, I just love.

Him. Just super relaxed. You know, I covered him. In 2020, CBS had the Democratic debate in South Carolina, the last one before COVID because it was at the very end of February 2020. Who moderated.

That if it was.

CBS? Oh, it was, like, six people. It was major. It was Nora, it was Gail. It was a lot of people. But it was one of those things where it was Gail and Nora, and then they brought in a bunch of people. Then it went back to Gail and Nora. But he just was like, his team was very. And in those situations, like, it is so high stress, Right. You've got, like, 10 people backstage. You're trying to make everyone happy. And his team was just super cool about everything. Pete was super nice, said thank you to everyone. Like, you remember that kind of thing where, like, someone who's really important is, like, thanking the producers who are there, like, making sure he has coffee and tea and.

Water. You know, like, he seems just like a chill guy. Okay, so before we go on, I have to ask you who's the worst out of all of them? Can I say worst person to deal.

With? Can I say Donald Trump when he was in the presidency? When he was in the White.

House? Well, that's is. I mean, that's kind of obvious. Yeah, that's something. People go, oh.

Really? I'm trying to think, come on, you should have this. No, I know this goes back to when I was in entertainment at ktla, but Avril Lavigne was not very.

Nice. That sounds surprising to me.

Though. No. And she was. Yeah, I was on the red carpet and I was asking her to kind of do something a little salesy anyway, but she just kind of said something really not nice to me and walked.

Away. Like, directed at you. Like, mean girl at.

You. Yeah, like F off. And then, you know, walked off on the red.

Carpet. Oh, and where is she.

Today? Well, I don't know.

Exactly. That's her point. If you're not nice to people, then they don't know who you are. You become irrelevant.

Okay. Yeah.

Yeah. All right. Oh, my gosh, I could talk to you for hours. All right, so let's now talk. Let's just go into. Let's not go into the newsroom. Let's go into the studio. Okay, so let's say you're doing an interview. Now, I was someone. I did media training a lot. It was just something that I always did. But I've seen there's just kind of less relevance for it right now because I don't think there is as many opportunities out there to be interviewed nationally, you know, unless you're a part of some big incident or even locally. But I do think if you have a very proactive staff, you can get an interview. I mean, there is some value to that. Absolutely. And certainly too, what applies sometimes in television news with interviews, I think just applies even just in video content. You know, a lot of the same rules are there. But let's just talk about. Let's say someone does have the opportunity to sit down for an interview. And given the choice of doing taped or live, what would you tell a client to.

Do? Always live. Why live 100%? Because, you know, at the end of the day, what you're saying is going to make it on television. So if you do a taped interview, like we're doing a feature story on insert CEO here, right. You go to their headquarters, you walk around with them, you get the B roll shots is what they're called. Like when the reporter and the CEO will literally walk, and then when they're Introducing like, so and so is CEO of Blah, blah, blah. Then that's when you show the walking shot. And then they're sitting.

Down. David, can I tell you something? Can I tell you something horrible about this background video? So when I film something for ABC in New York for the network for their. For Nightline about.

Lizzo.

Yeah. And so the interview is just stressful enough where you have to prep for that.

Interview.

Right. But then she said, we need B roll. Okay. I am so out of context right now. Like, I don't work in NBC. I don't live in New York.

City.

Right. And they wanted B roll of me walking around.

Abc.

Yeah. Mortified. So it's one thing, you know, when I'm walking down the hallway, because it's bad enough, like, I already walk like a softball player. And, you know, I walk a thousand miles wherever, so I have to run slowly. I'm wearing.

Heels.

Right. But then they go behind.

Me. Oh.

Yeah. I'm like, no, no, no, no, no, no. I had a bag with me that moved around my body. I mean, I don't have body dysmorphia. But when you know you're going to be filmed on national television. Triumphant, casual.

Mortifying. The walk shot. The walk shot is always. And I always had to prep people for it as a producer. And I do it now on the PR side, too. I'm like, you're going to do this really awesome, awkward walk shot where you're gonna sit with the correspondent or you're gonna stand with the correspondent. You're gonna talk about nothing for 30 seconds as you walk past the camera, but you need it in the editing process. Like, it's a necessary evil. Oh, it really is. It just. It's. Yeah, it's awful. So my point is, like, when I've done sit downs with executives before, I've invited news outlets to come do that. And I've done it before as a producer, too. Those interviews go an hour, Right. Sometimes you have 30 minutes, but sometimes they have an hour. And the piece that airs on television from start to finish is four minutes, maybe three, maybe two. So think about how much you're saying in that 60 minutes of conversation and how much that gets edited down. And having someone who's been had to edit down that interview to almost nothing and still shaving seconds off of it up until when it airs because people are bumping around time in the show. I would always argue that if you have a message that you want to get out there, do it live. I mean, I know that live TV is scarier. Right? And that's the flip side though, is when you have a five, seven minute conversation on tv, you know what you're saying is going to be heard by everyone. It's not going to be edited, it's not going to be caught up. But the sound bites will air later, usually. Right? But that one interview will live online, it will live on social media, and it will be what people see on.

Tv. Yes, and it really cuts down any type of opportunity to edit or, you know, to change the content of an answer. Because the live interview, now you talk about that interview and you want it to move along. What is the ideal length of a.

Soundbite? 30.

Seconds. Okay, so when someone is prepping either with a media trainer or even someone on staff, how do you recommend that they get to those 30 seconds? Are you writing for time and making it work or are you writing for content and.

Quality? You know, like, I know it's.

Hard. What do you do.

There? You have to straddle the line between clarity and conciseness. Right. Whenever I'm media training anyone, I have my iPhone timer out. Because the last thing you want is someone to go on live TV and ramble and ramble and ramble and ramble. It always looks bad. The anchors try to cut you off then to move on to the next thing and then it just, it doesn't look good for anyone. Right? So if you, again, like you've talked about, like you've got the one point and then the three points kind of below it, if you can get those points down to some pretty simple sentences, then you can get your soundbite down to 30 seconds. You don't have to add things. You don't have to get flowery with your words. Like you can be direct and easy and concise. And the other thing that journalists have at their disposal that they do all the time is silence, right? Like if you're interviewing someone and you sit there and you're silent, that people naturally fill that silence. So then they just keep talking. And every executive who I media train, I say when you hit that silence, you let them ask the next question. And it's going to be uncomfortable, but you just let it happen. Don't feel the pressure to fill that.

Silence. Yes, that is a great tip, but it's, I think it's very difficult for people sitting in those.

Interviews. They get very nervous and you're on live tv, you're under the lights. You know, you could have flown in from Insert City here the night before. You know, you're up early, there's hair and makeup in your face. All of a sudden you're like, wait, what? You know, when I work with male executives, sometimes they're like, what the hell is this makeup? And I'm like, well, it's so you don't look, look like a goblin on television. Trust me, you're gonna want me. You're gonna want it later.

Right? Shiny.

Goblin. A shiny goblin. Or, you know, like, you just, you have uneven skin. It's fine. It's just, it makes everything look, you know, just a little bit more matte and real. But, you know, there's a lot of stressors in live tv and if you can get past those, then you're good to.

Go. Yeah. So now when you prep someone for a media interview, so answer this as someone who preps someone, but also as a producer. What should someone walk in the door with in terms of preparation for an interview, in terms of how to prepare the language and what they're gonna say? What framework do you.

Advise? So a good producer who wants to have a good relationship with the PR people on the other side will give them. They won't give them the exact questions, but they'll give you a list of topics that the people want to talk about. Right. Anchors are naturally going to want to talk about specific things. Right. And you know, sometimes there's that elephant in the room that everyone has to get out, you know, but you want to have. Ideally, the producer will give the PR person a list of topics to so you can focus on. Right. And then the PR person should make sure that they have that. And then you kind of have your stories that go along with those talking points. Right. You kind of know what's going to be asked. You know, a lot of it isn't going to be out of left field. And then if there is something that's out of left field, then you teach people to pivot where, you know, they answer a little bit about that and then they pivot back to what they really, really know or that, you know, they get some specific statistic that's cited out of nowhere. But usually I can tell if a producer has prepared or talked to the correspondent, because if they're coming to me with specifics and, oh, they're interested in this, oh, they're interested in that, then I know that, you know, I can go back to my executive with confidence and say, hey, I think that they're going to talk about this, this, and this. If it's a little bit more of a wild conversation I prepare my executive a little differently, where I'm like, you got to be ready for. For anything. And when I was a producer, I tried really hard to be upfront about what we were doing so that everyone was more comfortable and it was a better piece.

Anyway. Yeah. Because I think, you know, I know this just in all my work, when people sit down for an interview, they immediately default to a position where they think someone's going to do a gotcha, no matter who they're sitting in front of. All of a sudden, in their mind, they become Tim Russert and they're going to be gotchaed to death. And that's not necessarily the case.

Correct? No, it's not. And people. You know, I've worked with people on the other side, the other side, who see media as evil or a necessary evil. And I'm like, no, journalists want to do their jobs just as much as the PR people want to do their jobs. And you and I both know this is an industry of relationships. Right. Relationships matter. And it's the relationship between the PR person and the producer. But then it's also, if you're talking at a higher level, you know, the anchor might know the executive or the celebrity or whatever, or they might have some kind of relationship outside of, you know, the news business, or they might have met before, you know, so you want to be able to. Everyone wants to do their job. Right. No one is there to be mean or to see someone go down. And that's why I think there's this inherent, like, oh, my gosh, I'm going to go on TV and they're going to ask me really hard questions. They might, but if you can answer them, they're not going to go in.

Harder. Yes. And I think also there's the context of an interview. I mean, there's people who are contributing as a source to a story to make the story better, you know, and, you know, more evolved. But then you have an incident and someone needs to speak up and they need an answer. That's like a different type. It's almost like an.

Interrogation.

Yes. And that's like a different type of interview altogether. But, you know, if you've given that opportunity and you're there, it's transparency, it's quotable quotes and being more transparent. Have you ever been in a dicey situation, one of those interviews where it was a live interview and it was getting heavy and hard and tense and where an anchor was just.

Pounding? Yes. And it's. It's not fun to be watching.

From backstage can you shed any more light.

On. Yeah. So, I mean, without going into too much detail, you know, my company was involved in a rather brutal proxy fight earlier this year. And so when we reported earnings during the proxy fight, we did a whole media tour with our CEO in New York City. You know, we took him to cnbc, we took him to Bloomberg, we took him to the Times. Like, we did a full day of media. And there was one of the interviews where I was backstage. And what's scary is, you know, so I send out my schedule at the beginning of the day to the entire executive leadership team, to the comms team, and I'm like, here's where so and so is going to be live. So everyone knows to tune in. So you're not only watching yourself, but like, you're getting real time feedback from everyone else who's.

Watching. Oh.

Gosh. Right. And so that's like. And there's nothing you can do at that point. Right? Like, you've prepared them as best as you can, but, you know, they're getting asked some really relevant, hard questions, and they're not necessarily responding in the way that they should be. And so then the interview just continues to get harder. And then, you know, what's going to happen is their phone is also getting pinged. So once they get offset, then they're going to read what has been said to them that has already been said to you. And then, you know, you got to tell them, like, just pick up and keep going because it was in the middle of the day and we have more interviews to do in that.

Afternoon. Oh, my gosh. I know. Oh, my.

Gosh. It's hard.

Yeah. Oh, it is hard. So when people are doing interviews, what do you either from wearing your PR hat or your producer hat, what should people look like? What should be the wardrobe? How should they comport themselves? Like, how do they. How can they look best on.

Air? I think you need to think about your audience. So, you know, if you're on a morning show, that's more of your, like, I'm a big fan of the, like, you know, T shirt under a suit jacket. I mean, it depends on the industry you work in too, right? But you can have a little bit more fun if you're on a morning show. Especially now, the day and age of Today show, CBS Mornings, Good Morning America. Everything is like full body shot. So, you know, you can have your shirt open, you can wear high tops with your suit. Like, you can be a little bit more approachable, more color, jewel tones, things like that if you're going on, you know, a business network, then it's, you know, for men, it's, you know, just kind of a basic suit. No loud patterns on your tie. For women, you know, the standard rule is just a basic color, no patterns. Jewel tones are always the best for tv. You know, no weird, like, sleeves, fringe, anything like.

That. Yeah. Can I tell you the amount of stress that I have figuring out just the top to wear when I do the broadcast.

Interviews? Like, I.

Know. It's not even what I'm saying. It's, damn, what am I going to.

Wear? Well, so. And here's the thing. Every female reporter who I worked with mostly on the network side, they would find something flattering that looked good from the waist up, and they would buy it in 16 different colors and then just rotate through, you know, every. You know, they had other friends who had, like, capsule wardrobe. So it was always like the same kind of blouse with the jacket over it. Like, if you're doing it every day, then you have your, you know, your TV friendly.

Wardrobe. But if you're not. If you're someone scrambling and they call you and say, could you go on in 20 minutes? You're like, sure. And talking.

Points. I know. You're.

You're. You're upstairs in your closet looking for jewel.

Tones. I know, I know. And then. And then you're, yes, jewel tones. And then you're trying to throw on makeup and you're, you know, trying to fix your hair. It is a little bit of a. If you're not used to it. But that's why I recommend to people, both executives and then people who want to, you know, be on tv, more guests. You know, you build a TV wardrobe. And honestly, how I kind of found success in TV news and my own voice is like, you. I watch TV news all the time. I emulated what I heard on the Today shows in the Good Morning Americas of the world. And the best thing to do is to watch TV and see what people look good in, what people don't look good in. You know, I do that all the time. And I had reporters would constantly get DMS from people that were like, I love your top. Where did you get it? You know, I love this. Where did you get it? Like, they were constantly giving out fashion.

Advice.

Yes. For the dresses that they had and, you know, like, Rent the Runway is a huge thing in the TV news industry because then you're at least refreshing your wardrobe while getting things that look professional on.

Television. So that's a hack. That I do my TikTok hack. I rent.

Clothes. Rent the.

Runway. Yes. Well, I don't do rent. That's a little too upscale for me. But I.

Do. Oh, got it. Okay. But you rent clothes.

Yeah. But as a funny aside, whenever I do something with NBC News now, it will usually be with Hallie Jackson on there. Yeah, she dresses well. Not only does she look like me, the a version of me, but she dresses like we have the same wardrobe. When I dress, I'm like, I have to not wear what I think she's gonna wear. And I'll be like, she's wearing something that literally is in my closet. Okay, all right, so then what about. So we just talked about wardrobe, though. But what about just the body language? Do you as a producer or even in your PR role, what do you tell the interview subject about their body.

Language? So it's funny because I always tried to, you know, like, there's actually always a conversation when you do a sit down interview. Not a live interview, but a taped interview. When you're like bring in cameras, what are the chairs going to be? Because the chairs can make the interview, right? If it's like a high, you know, relaxed wing back chair that can make someone a little bit more relaxed. Some people prefer a stool because it helps them sit up straighter and it helps them pay more attention. Some people like a lower seat, you know, So I always, as a producer, I always tried to ask, you know, what did they prefer? And some teams came to me with like, they want this chair with this cushion and they want, you know, this. And then some people are like, I don't know, like, you pick. So, you know, it begins with that. And then it's all about, you know, making sure that people can have a fluid conversation. So you want it to be well lit. You want people to be. There's always going to be some kind of an angle. It's a little strange, you know, you never, rarely are you facing each other head on. There's always a little bit of an angle that you have to cheat because you want the two shot, which is where like the wide shot of the interview, you want it to be slightly angled towards the camera. Or sometimes you're working in space constraints where you're like kind of have to be right next to each other. So it can be a little awkward too, but you just try to make the person as comfortable as possible. And like I said, there's a lot that goes into it, right? So if you're in a taped interview, you're getting Mic'd up, right? And then a photographer has to run a microphone up the front of your shirt or up the back of your dress. There's all these things that happen before. Before you do an interview on TV that makes you realize you're about to do an interview on tv. It's not just like walking up to a press line with a reporter from the Times and they're just writing down your quote. Right. It's a little different. So as a producer, do you know what I've.

Been. I have had down my.

Dress.

Yes. My.

Blouse. Yes. Do you know how many blouses I have been.

Up? I.

Know. Feeding things, like, you know, or it's like I'm Like, I'm giving them the mic packet. I. And I'm like, just drop it down the front of your dress. It's totally fine. And I'll catch.

It. Yes. Oh, my gosh. So, you know, it's funny that you're even saying this, because just today, I'm speaking in New York at an Axios event, which I'm super excited about, but of course, what's the first thing on my mind? What am I gonna wear? Not what am I gonna say? It's what am I gonna wear? And I didn't know. Like, okay, what's the setup? And they sent me the link of the video, and I could see, oh, my gosh. They have the two. They have the two chairs, and they're white, and they're cushy. And, I mean, the chairs may change. And you're absolutely right. They're. They're like this. So it's like, oh, okay. That means my legs will be exposed. My body. And I'm adapting my wardrobe to that.

Chair. Right. And you have to think about, like, are they gonna see your shoes? You know, do you want heels? Do you not want heels? You know, what's the. Like, do you want a skirt? Do you want a dress? You know, for men? It's. You know, I have worked with several executives who are super well dressed from the shoulders to the ankles, and then they have really bad.

Shoes. Yes. Well, for this video, the Jimmy Choos are.

Coming. The Jimmy. And of course. Of course. Because it's Axios, and they're worth it. Exactly, exactly. But, you know, it's like, I've had to remind people, like, hey, by the way, your shoes are gonna be on national television. Like, could we. Could we go get some different.

Ones? Oh, okay. Gosh. The fun job of producer. Okay, so now those are all the tips to make people look good. In their interviews to look good on the air. Let's talk about the pitfalls and some of the challenges when interviews may be designed or set up to make you look not so good. And that's some of these contentious interviews when perhaps a reporter or an anchor, it's going to make it a little difficult for you. So what are some of the things that someone can expect if it's more of a contentious or pointed interview? What are some of the things that you've seen reporters or anchors.

Do? So one thing is they will ask a very tough question out of the gate. There's no easing into it. They will ask a very hard question out of the gate to really set the tone of, you know, this is your. You came on to answer for what you did or whatever happened. Like, start answering. The other thing that you'll see, especially in a taped interview, is a reporter or an anchor will ask the same question multiple different ways. They will ask it, and they'll ask a question. You won't answer it. Then three questions later, they'll come back to that question and try to get you to answer it again. And so I always coach people in the way of, you recognize that same question. It's okay to give that exact same answer, because if you signal to this reporter that you're not going to answer the question, they will stop asking. Right. But they're going to give it three or four shots. So that's something to expect. The other thing is, and this is something that I learned in local from like an investigative reporter, they might have a tell with their photographer, like brushing their hair behind their ear or like tapping their pencil or whatever. So the photographer knows to zoom in because they're going to ask a really hard.

Question. Oh, the tell, the tell. What? So what are some of the tells that you've actually seen? So there's a hair.

Tell. There's a hair tell. You know, I've seen tapping a pen on paper. There was one reporter who I worked with who, if they shifted their body, the photographer knew that they were about to answer or ask something really pointed or difficult, you know, and that's when, especially when you have a setup where, you know, sometimes not to get too into the weeds, but sometimes the photographer has their shot with where you can see the back of the reporter's head and then the person in the.

Foreground.

Yes. But then they know to push in so that it's a tight shot of this person getting this really hard question. That's like the 60 minutes framing. Like, you know, you're like this. So, you know, I always tell people to pay attention to other people's body language because as a producer, I've had to tell the photographer, like, oh, look for this. Because when this reporter does this, then, you know, this is when the question is gonna come. So, like, really be prepared for whatever could.

Happen. Oh, wow, that is good intel. And also the risk, too, when an anchor or reporter goes too hard with that first question with the purpose of throwing the interview subject off balance, it could really frazzle them to the point where they never get back on track. And then it becomes kind of a messy.

Interview. Well, it could be messy like my shirt, Mr. Messy. This is my constant life. Right. I mean, you can see it from two ways. One is that if the anchor or the reporter wants to have a newsmaking interview where someone like Elizabeth Holmes just completely bombs it, right. People are going to be watching, people are going to be sharing. That's the rating social media game. Right. Like Elizabeth Holmes tanks interview. However, you also run the risk of, you know, were you too hard on them? You know, were you asking the right questions? Was it a gotcha interview? You know, and with the trust in the media where it is these days, you run the risk of, you know, were you being too hard on this person who agreed to come on the.

Show? Yeah. Okay, so I'm going to ask you a question, and this is what I'm noticing, and maybe you could tell me too, your thoughts on this. So I worked in the days, you know, either on the news side or in the PIO side or, you know, when I was in public relations, do you think the day of the big expose interview? So let's say there's a crisis, there's an incident, whatever's happening. Do you feel now that people don't choose to do television interviews because they have social media and they can.

Just put out a statement 100%. You can put out a nice flowery, like, wrapped up. You can either type a note on your phone and screenshot it. You can get a nice graphic made. But people don't have to turn to national news anymore to make their statement. Right. And you know that if you put it out, it's going to be covered by every national news outlet anyway. Right. So why risk the interview and exposing yourself when you can just put your statement out there? But then that's where all the stuff that you talk about comes in about how the statement can really backfire. Yeah, but if you really think that it's not advantageous to do television Which a lot of times it's not. Then just put on a.

Statement. Yeah. Because the expectation was to do a television interview. The expectation, when it was really, really big story, you know, you were doing 60 minutes. The expectation you're doing. And like, if the network's called.

Like you're doing that interview, it humanized.

You.

Yeah.

Yes. When I was in dc, if someone called, that interview was happening. But now I don't think you.

Need to do it because it's not. I think previously it was a courageous thing to go on television and say you were sorry. Right. It was. Like I said, it humanizes.

You. But when you see these big stories happen, you know, they look to a CEO or they look to a head of organization, do the interview. They almost never do it anymore. But then one of the biggest stories of 2023, from a corporate point of view, at least from my perspective, at least, what I was watching happened in April 2023. And that was Bud Light. And I call it the Bud Light.

Debacle. Until someone else can come up.

With a new name for it, that's what it is. That's what I deem it. Why don't you tell us, because you even said that you knew people who work there briefly, what happened with Bud Light.

Light. Yeah. So I think what happened was, you know, they sent a can. They did a personalized can, kind of like an activation, if you will, and they sent a can to Dylan Mulvaney, you know, the superstar Trans woman on TikTok. And, you know, Bud Light has a very conservative fan base. And people didn't like that Dylan Mulvaney got a canon of Bud Light. And then you've seen the implosion of it. Now Bud Light was the best selling beer in America. Now it's Modelo. Bud Light lost a ton of market share. People have left the company. I mean, it was a really public black eye, all because of. They like to say just one can, that's one can really screwed up a very iconic American.

Brand. Yes. And it's still reverberating to this day. Certainly there's still, you know, the numbers, you know, aren't where they even close to where they used to be. They're now done a partnership with UFC and Dana White. And also, you know, recently too, that the marketing chief in the US stepped down recently.

Right. Yeah. And I mean, you know, it's funny because now working in pr, everyone refers to it as like what they don't want to go through. Right. Like, oh, that was like the big misstep of 2023. And unfortunately, they're gonna continue to be that example until there's another example that is that bad or.

Worse. Yes. And I would say because of the business that I'm in, part of the reason why it was so bad was because of how they handled it. And I don't think that it was necessarily the choice of what they did. It's the choice of how they rolled it out. And what does not get played out a lot or get a lot of attention, even in all the media interviews that I do, it doesn't get picked up as much. Where I think it went sour is not the decision to use Dylan Mulvaney because they worked with a ton of influencers across the board. I mean, this was an influencer campaign. It was not a Dylan Mulvaney campaign. But it was the head of marketing who was on a podcast, who wasn't prepared, who was kind of talking off the cuff and had talked about the market, how, you know, and I'm paraphrasing, I have to memorize this because I say this talking about so much, but just dismissing the bro culture of Bud Light and wanting to try something new. That's what got snagged was that clip. And it went off from there. And then leadership wasn't prepared for what happened. And that brings us up to, you know, Anheuser Busch. So just in terms of background for me, I was scheduled to do an interview that day because the news came out that the CEO of Anheuser Bush was, you know, coming out and speaking out in the media. And I was contacted by a another network to do a news story. But then as I was, you know, watching the news that day and watching the story, I noticed it really wasn't getting a lot of pickup. And sure enough, that story with me got canned. And I was not surprised in the least because it almost felt like none of the other networks or news outlets wanted to give the CEO and CBS Morning any type of traction or any type of buzz around their interview. What do you think about.

That? Yeah. So, I mean, so like when you're in the control room in the morning, right? Like you're in the any control room, you're seeing what everyone else is doing, right? Like 7am rolls around. Your open's rolling Today show, Good Morning America, cnn, everyone. You're looking to see what is on everyone's show. And if you are, you know, if CBS has an exclusive with the CEO, then you're not going to want to give airtime to the story. If the story is going to become the interview on the opposing network. And especially if there isn't like a huge update, like a huge news related update, it's super easy to just take out that story. And everyone does a really good job now of promoting the exclusive interview. Like they'll start talking about it at 6:30, 6:45. So, you know, if something's coming, it's not a surprise. And then you have time to, you know, alter your. I mean that's the one thing about a show that I think I would hope that people know. But you know, when you go on the air at seven, it's a living, breathing, two hour broadcast. Things can change all the.

Time. Yeah. So now in this interview, I was watching this interview and I don't normally watch morning television, but I watched this interview and my takeaway was this was an extended promotional video for Anheuser Busch. This was not a news interview. What say.

You? I think there were news bits to it, but it was definitely, I felt like it was a situation where, you know, Anheuser Busch, I feel like, used the exclusive to their advantage. Right. When you offer a network and exclusive that everyone wants, that's your bargaining chip. And then you can negotiate on the back end like, oh, we don't really want to talk about this or you know, we really want to talk about that, or we want to make sure that you mention this part of the story. And if the network really wants the exclusive, typically there will be that negotiation and they'll agree to it. Right. So, you know, and then also a well prepared PR person is going to make sure that in the morning when the anchors come visit the green room, that they're feeding the anchors. You know, it was just one can. I can't believe it. It was just one can. Can you believe it? It was just one can. And then that's how the interview kicked off. Right. You could tell that they'd had a conversation beforehand and then it was kind of like repeated and then it teed him up to have his very well rehearsed answers. Very well.

Rehearsed. I have a slightly different thought on that. So I'm gonna play the first clip or we'll play a clip of the first question right out the gate. So we have Brendan Whitworth sitting down, he's on the set, the morning set, and Gayle King asks him this first question. Yeah, number one, we're glad to have you here. Many times, many people in your position, Mr. Wentworth, would be running for the hills at this point because since April, you all have faced a lot of incoming. How and why did it, did it go so off the rails? Because that certainly wasn't your intention when you did one can to one person.

Okay.

Yeah. So there's a couple things going on in there.

Right?

Yeah. So Gail, I feel as if in that question and in the, I don't know, in the onboarding, so to speak, like she's bringing him in, everything felt very soft and safe for.

Him.

Yeah. Didn't seem, I mean, even from that introduction, this was not 60 minutes. This is not CBS on Sunday evenings. This felt like she was sitting down. Seriously, like she was sitting down with a.

Celebrity.

Right. This did not seem like it was coming out hard. And I feel this is more than Gail just coming into the green room a half hour before air. This feels like it was more. There was more planning there. It almost feels like. Could there have been some transactional element to this interview? What say.

You? Like, I don't think that like, you know, money exchange hands or anything.

But advertising, I don't.

Know. Well, I mean, I can confidently say I've never seen advertising change hands because of that. Now, to be fair, like, we've seen, like, every news organization is a corporation, right. CBS is owned by Paramount, NBC is owned by Comcast, ABC is owned by Disney. So there is an element of making money here. And, you know, I'm sure that there's always these forces of, well, they're a big advertiser, so blah, blah, blah. I think there was a lot of preparation that went into that interview. I've had executives call anchors the night before. I put them on the phone with people so that they can explain their side of the story. And the interview usually comes out a little bit softer because they've explained where they're coming from in a less high stress environment. I don't necessarily think there's transactional elements there, but I think there was an attempt to make him feel comfortable, to maybe draw him out of his shell to have a more genuine answer. But then when you have someone who, like I think you mentioned on your TikTok media, trained within an inch of his life, he's gonna stick to his talking points, right? So it could be welcoming him in to make him feel super comfortable at the table. You know, he's in New York, he probably, I don't know if he lives there or not, but, you know, he's taking the time in the morning to do it. You know, she's trying to make him, him feel comfortable by saying, like, most people will be running for the hills, but not you. Here you are sitting with us to try to just, like, loosen up a little.

Bit. Yeah, I mean, I could go along with that. I could go along with that, but it's still. I'm more sus on it because this was such a bad, bad corporate experience for Bud Light and for Anne, Heidi. And even when Gail's mentioning it's the number of. She is. It's like she's reading off a press release. It's the number one, you know, beer company. And so. And I'm not saying, like, it's like someone's handing over a bag full of cash behind, you know.

Blackrock.

Right. But I feel as if there may be some other element at play that maybe there's some ad package down the road, some six. Like, I don't know, maybe I got to start looking for.

Ads. No, I mean, you know, there's always those external forces at play that, you know, on the news side, you never really know how they're shaking out. But I mean, the other thing. And this goes back to my point about a live interview, you know, that there's not a ton of time at the. At the beginning of the live interview to recap everything and rehash everything. So the intro was very broad, right? Here's what happened. It was Dylan Mulvaney. Bud Light got some backlash. They were the number one beer. Now they're not. Here's the CEO, right? There was not like. It's not like you and I were sitting down for 10 minutes to go through it and then talk about it at length. Right. You knew that that intro was going to be 30 seconds max, very high level. And then he got to start talking about what he wanted to talk.

About. Okay, so then. Now here's another clip that I'm going to play that could feed into your argument and also feeds into mine that it.

Feels. It.

Could. Look, let me just play the.

Clip. Yeah. Brendan, we should point out that you're a former United States Marine and you were also at the Central Intelligence Agency. The CIA. Correct. So you know a little bit about stress. Just a tiny bit. Just a little bit. How did you go from the CIA to Anheuser Busch? Well, I think that that was a really good PR person pushing it on the booker. Like, by the way, he was in the CIA. He was a Marine. It's knowing how to tell a good story and knowing that the booker and the producer. Because there's going to be a booker who books it and then a segment producer working on the questions the interview, the editorial. And if you're a savvy PR person, you know how to get with a segment producer and be like, isn't it really interesting that he was in the Marines and he was in the CIA? Like, this guy's not some average Joe or some business school graduate who's a CEO. Like, he was in the CIA, he was a Marine. Like, he knows how to handle stuff like this. And this is where it's coming from. And I mean, sometimes it works and sometimes it doesn't. But clearly it made it into the prep packet. And then Nate asked the question and it made him look really good, Brendan. It made Brenda look really.

Good. Well, speaking of looking really good, let's talk about how Brendon.

Looked. Great.

Yeah. How did he look? If you remember, like I said.

It is the, like, open shirt. He had fun shoes on because he knew he was going to be at a glass table. It's going to be a full body shot. So he can be the approachable CEO. You know, he's not dressed to the nines in the morning. He's coming with an open, easy attitude. Scruff a little bit. Yeah. It's a chance to be fun, to show off your personality a little bit. He's approachable. I mean, it's the same thing. It's the same idea that CEOs will use when they're addressing employees in like an internal situation. Right. Like, you're not the guy or the girl or the woman, I should say, who sits in the, you know, in the ivory tower of the exec wing and doesn't talk to anyone. You're a person of the people. And he came and he was just approachable and easy and fun to look at. And, you know, people might be like, wow, he's really good.

Looking. He nailed it. There's no doubt about.

It. He was so good. I mean, I hope that the people behind the scenes were like, high fiving after that because that was like, really good.

Interview. Yeah, absolutely. Nailed it. His management of the crisis was a disaster. But that, I think was a great interview. So wrapping up, like, if you are working with a, you know, national outlet, let's say so whether it's cable or you're in the networks, maybe you get up to the networks. Do you have any bargaining power if you are a guest, any bartering? What type of power do you have when you are sitting down to do an.

Interview? If you're using the case of Anheuser Busch, you know that everyone wants to talk to you. So you basically get to like, you can go to a network and say, I really want to talk to Gail. I really want to talk to Margaret Brennan. I really want to talk to Norah o'. Donnell. You can go to NBC and say, I want a one on one with Savannah. You know, that is something that guests can do is if they have the power, if they are a newsworthy person, they can say, I only feel super comfortable with Hoda, so I want a one on one with Hoda in the.

Morning. Okay, but what lesson? They're not an exclusive, so they have less bargaining power. But they still have.

To. It's gonna be harder if you're not, you know, if, like, if you're just a guest on tv, there's a lot of like flying by the seat of your pants that you have to deal with. Right. Your hit time is gonna change. You know, they might put you in a different studio. I don't think you have a ton of bargaining power. But what helps is if you come prepared with talking points. Because you have to remember these. Producer and I lived it my whole Life. You're doing 80,000 things at once. And especially now, news producers are overworked and they're crazy. Right? Like, they're just, they're trying to handle everything. So if you can hand them something on a silver platter, like, here's my talking points, here's what I can talk about. Here's great. Can copy, paste, make it right into the anchors intro packet. And then what essentially you served up to them is what's going into the anchor's head when they have their segment prep sheets in front of them. So you can help yourself by being very specific about what you can talk about and have it spelled out in a very neat, clean way. Concise too, so that, you know, it just, it makes everyone's lives easier. The more that you can make a producer's life easier, the more you will get.

Booked. Wonderful. Okay, David, this has been amazing. Your behind the scenes producer point of view, you know, really how to manage a media interview and how to look your best on camera to get your message across. If there was one thing. So you've now worked on both sides. Yeah, let's say on the PR side of it or a producer, what is the last thing that you say to someone before they sit down for the interview to get them in the right.

Headspace? Oh, that's a good question. I think when I was a producer and I was working with reporters and reporters get nervous before big interviews all the time, you know, I would Just say it's funny. I had a joke with one reporter where I'd always say, clear eyes, or what was it? Clear hearts, full minds, full eyes, can't.

Lose.

Yes. We would always say the Friday Night Lights thing before she did a big interview, because it was just like a joke and it made her laugh a little bit. I always try to put people in a better mood, you know, just. And I have reminded people before they go on tv, this is not life or death. It may feel like life or death, it may feel like life or death, but it's not life or death. It's just television right now. I mean, people will say, like, if you screw it up, you know, it could be really bad for the company or bad for, you know, your career. But a moment of levity is always helpful in that last bit of.

Time. Oh, that's a good one. I like that. I was going to. Because what I always do when someone's doing an interview or being filmed or photographed, whatever, is I always tell them, you look fantastic or you look great, because people don't know what they look.

Like. I know. Well, that's always a common thing, too, is worrying how people look. But I feel like if you can interject a little bit of just, you know, humor in the situation, especially when there's not sometimes humor to be had, it just makes everyone just a little bit more. And that's kind of my personality, too. You know, I am, by definition, the personality hire in many of the places that I've worked. Oh, I love.

That. The.

Personality. Yeah. So you want everyone to have a good time, even if you're talking about something that no one really wants.

To talk about or that you're not prepared to talk about. So my last interview I'll end on this. The last live interview that I did was two weeks ago, and it was for the Australian Today show. Even though I can talk about celebrities, when I go to Australia, they'll throw in Australians in there, and then they'll throw in things happening locally. So there's just enough there that just kind of amps the stress level on me, you know, bit. Because then you have the tech, and in my office, you know, I have a teleprompter, I have a camera, and there's a mic and there's a this, and there's everything going on at once. And I was getting ready, and I was already in the control room, and they were there and I was on mic and I had my headphones in and I was with someone who works in the News business on air, who was helping me with this and to, you know, and gave me that, hey, calm. Everything's great. Everything's good. And I said, I don't think I can do this. He looked at me very calmly and said, don't say that you're on a hot mic. And those are the things that people don't think about. You don't think about. Now, granted, if you weren't standing there, I probably would have been talking to myself like that anyway. But forget those little tiny things that can hurt you in an interview. And that's why we have people who are experiencing that know what they're.

Doing, and then not to, you know, go totally off the rails, but remember, that's what got Amy Robach in trouble at ABC when she said the thing about Prince Andrew with. About the royals, and then they clipped it, and then it made it out because she was on a hot mic before she was doing an affiliate.

Tease. Okay. You had to say Amy Robach. Right.

Right. I know, I know, I know. We could. We could do it again. But no, but I always. But I was always. I was always running around like, hot mic, hot mic, hot mic. Like, that was always my warning to people because, like, you know, it's. People forget and they start chatty, chatty.

Chatty. But I think that Amy Robach knew that was a hot.

Mic. Oh, I.

Do. Because she. If you remember, she was angry because she said. She was sitting there, she was like this. She's going, I had it. I had.

It. Yeah.

This. I had that. I had that. I mean, she was. She was bitching. I think she absolutely knew she was on a hot.

Mic. She was.

Pissed. Yeah, you could argue that, too, you know, and. Because they had everything, but. Because at that time, they weren't gonna report on that. They were gonna report on that stuff. So. But Amy Robach, oh, my gosh, what happened to.

Her? And I.

Know. Oh, and now and TJ Holmes.

They'Re doing a podcast, the photo that they released where they were like, our silence is broken, and here we are. And it was like the prom pose. I immediately. So I'm still on a text thread with a lot of my old CBS co.

Workers. Oh.

Yes. And the second it came out, I was like, oh, my God, you guys, look at this. And we were all like, holy cow. And we were just like, yeah, it was mass.

Chaos. That was the definition of cringe. If there was a people ask, like, what's the word cringe mean? It's the photo of Amy Robach with T.J. holmes. Same. We're.

Silenced. No.

More. Oh, my gosh. Those two. Yes, those two. And what's. Well, I'm not going to say what I think's going to happen, but I think we all know how that's going to play out. Yeah, we all know how that's gonna play out. Okay, David, speaking of things playing out, this was.

Fantastic. It was so much fun. Thank you so much for having.

Me. I hope you enjoyed that interview with David. Boy, did he offer some important tips on how to manage any type of broadcast interview. And I know what you're thinking. I'm never gonna do a media interview. You never know. There's a lot of opportunities. Maybe not so much in network news, but a lot of opportunities in local news, especially if you pitch the story. Now, here's the big takeaway from that interview. The way that we interact with news nowadays is changing. There can be soft interviews, and there's also exclusives. There's live happening constantly. Even today, I just read that MSNBC is going to come out with, like, a new live programming announcing that Luke Russell concert is coming back to the Cable News Network. I think that's a direction where more networks may go, including cable, because it's less expensive. So learning how to prepare for a media interview can help anyone, particularly when you know the inner workings. And I'm so happy David joined me today on this episode. So be sure to chime in with your takes on today's episode or if you have any discussion tips that you would like to share, head on over to any of my social media accounts or you can meet me over at Patreon in PR Confidential. That's all for this week on the podcast. Bye for.