Trying to Avoid Looking Like a Media Fool

In my younger days, one of my best friends and I used to have this running joke about how we fought over microphones. We both both involved in civic organizations, both interested in public speaking, and we both couldn't wait to grab that microphone at a meeting or public event and be "da man."

It is not quite like that anymore. Heck, now I even have to read posts about how I am made fun of by some poofy metrosexual dude in Boston. Things change.

Anyway, at work our director was out of town and I was left in charge. A local television station wanted to run a story on the shootings in Arizona and was looking for someone in town to give his take on handling students with strange behavior. I got a call in the morning from someone trying to hook me up with a reporter, but I diverted the call and thought I was in the clear. Unfortunately, the reporter caught up with me later on.

The problem with media interviews is that you have no control over what they use and how they use it. My experience had been that media just cared about a sound bite and nothing else. I didn't want to look like a chump.

Being a faithful employee who knows that his helping his workplace look good in the community is important, I agreed to do it. It would be interesting, though. I had 15 minutes to gather my thoughts and quickly prepare what I would say. Then wouldn't you know it -- being Friday, the last day before a holiday weekend and the beginning of the end of our heaviest period at work, I celebrated by wearing a Hawaiian shirt to work. Yes, I would look great on camera!

The filming actually went pretty well and the reporter seemed to be much better than previous ones with whom I have dealt. We were ready to end when we got into a conversation when she said "Wait -- a good reporter knows the sound bite when she hears it." And we filmed a little more. Heck, I didn't even remember exactly what I said and tried to replicate it. It came out kind of jumbled.

Amyway, the story ran on the late afternoon news show and my son watched it and said I sounded okay. I viewed it later last night and I wasn't as bad as I thought. The story the reporter developed was actually pretty good. I drifted off to sleep last night, ready for a long weekend ...