How to Interview

Don’t freak if reporter asks, ‘OK to record our interview?’

5/1/2012 By Joan 1 Comment

It starts innocently enough when you meet a reporter for lunch at a local restaurant.

You spend the first 10 minutes making nice, and then the reporter pulls a notebook and pen out of his pocket.

After the first few easy questions to put you at ease, he asks, “Is it OK if I record our interview?”

Don’t freeze up. Don’t freak out. Don’t walk out of the restaurant.

That question actually works in your favor because, with a recording, there’s no excuse for inaccurate facts or quotes.

If the reporter records the interview, you should, too, so you have a record of it.

Here’s a list of six voice-recorder apps for the iPhone. If you have a different type of phone, do a Google search for an app for your brand.

“Is it OK if I record our interview?” is one of 27 questions a reporter might ask you. I’ve included them all, explained how you should answer them, and noted which ones are trick questions, in my updated “Special Report #2: Questions You Can Expect Reporters to Ask During an Interview.” (I worked as a newspaper reporter and editor for 22 years and I know all the trick questions.)

The best surprise is no surprise.

Filed Under: How to Interview Tagged With: accuracy in reporting, lunch with journalist, media interview, tape recording

5 reasons it’s OK to say “I don’t know” in interviews

11/22/2011 By Joan Leave a Comment

questions during media interview The next time a reporter interviews you, and you don’t know the answer to a question, resist the urge to panic.

Too many interview subjects think reporters expect them to know all the answers to every potential question.

Reporters don’t. All they want is a good story.

Here, then, are five reasons why it’s OK to say “I don’t know” during an interview and how that simple little phrase can actually keep you out of trouble.

1. Reporters, particularly TV reporters, sometimes know very little about the topic of their story and need you to educate them.

They often don’t have time to do research. Sometimes they’re covering the beat as a fill-in for another reporter who’s on vacation and they’re clueless about the subject matter. If they ask you a question and you say “I don’t know,” they won’t hold it against you if they’re in the dark, too.

2. The phrase “I don’t know” is a boring sound bite.

I can’t remember the last time I saw that phrase printed in a news story, or lifted from a broadcast interview and played on the air. That’s because it adds absolutely nothing to the story. Reporters want the sizzling, sexy sound bites.


3. The question might be completely irrelevant to the story.

When I started working as a reporter and lacked confidence, one of my worst fears was looking dumb in front of news sources. Rather than just saying, “I really don’t know a lot about this topic. Can you help me understand it?,” I’d ask any question that I thought was relevant, or stall for time until I could think of a better one.

If the question is irrelevant to the story, you can say so. And then come back with “A far better question is….” or “What people really want to know is…”

That little technique, by the way, is a wonderful way to bridge from a question you really don’t want to answer to your key message. Smart reporters might not let you get away with it, but novice reporters probably will.


4. If you try to pretend like you know what you’re talking about, and you don’t, your answer can include wrong information that comes back to haunt you.

The reporter asks a tough question. You panic and start babbling. The reporter includes a quote from you, and quotes from several others who refute what you just said. Embarrassing.


5.  The urge to respond to every question can lead to little white lies.

Of course you’d never lie to a reporter. You’re not that dumb.

But I’ve seen case after case in which intertiew subjects think they owe reporters an answer to every question. “The qustion must be important or the reporter would never have asked it,” they think. So they say something—anything—and pretty soon they’re stretching the truth.

If the reporter asks a question and you don’t know the answer, you can always say, “I don’t know. But I can find out the answer to that question and get back to you. When’s your deadline?”

What about you? If you’ve been interviewed, what have you said when you didn’t know the answer to a question?

If you’re a journalist, I’d love to see any other tips you can add to this list.

Publicists, share this post with your clients. And, as always, share this on the social media sites.

Filed Under: How to Interview, PR Consultants/Publicists Tagged With: how to talk to journalists, media interviews, newspaper stories, reporter questions

10 ways to be an indispensable media source

9/8/2011 By Joan 5 Comments

What separates people who are masters at generating publicity from those who are constantly grousing that “the media doesn’t care about my story?”

Often, it’s knowing how to be a valuable media source. Here are 10 ways to make yourself indispensable to reporters, editors, freelancers, broadcasters, bloggers, ezine editors and all new media.

1. Understand your Number One task: to be helpful.

A reporter’s job isn’t to give you publicity. It’s to write an interesting story so that people will continue to subscribe, read, watch or listen. Anything you can do to make that happen will put you in their good graces.

2. Be available around the clock.

If a reporter calls you when it’s inconvenient for you to talk, do everything possible to rearrange your schedule. If you ask the reporter to reschedule the interview a day or two later, you could miss being featured in the story. Give reporters your home, office and mobile phone numbers.

3. Make it easy for reporters to access background information.

Things such as bios, fact sheets about your company, downloadable photos, your logo, and other materials should be accessible in your online pressroom. It’s best to not make your pressroom password-protected.

4. Do what you say you’re going to do.

If you interview with a reporter and promise to send them a White Paper you’ve written, send it when it was promised. If you promise to follow up with the answer to a question that you were unsure of during the interview, follow through.

5. Give reporters and bloggers additional leads on stories they might be interested in, even if those stories aren’t about you.

Those leads can include people who are doing innovative things in their industries or those who would make interesting profile stories. Leads can also include emerging industry trends, and ways that companies or nonprofits are using technology to save time and money. If you can provide background for any of those stories, let the reporter know.

6. Read stories they produce, and provide feedback.

Do this very carefully.

Let’s say you work for the county health department and you want to establish a relationship with the local health reporter. Read her stories regularly and occasionally offer feedback. Were they accurate? Did she miss a key angle of the story? Was the story well-reported? Yes, you might end up offering unsolicited comments to a reporter who has a thin skin. But any competent reporter should welcome feedback.

For bloggers, this includes commenting at their blog. Check back at the blog periodically after you comment. Good bloggers respond to comments and often keep the conversation going.

7. Pitch follow-up stories.

If a journalist interviewed you six months ago, and something significant has happened since then that ties into the story, let them know. Journalists love “follow up stories,” and so do readers.

8. Stay in touch by offering reporters specific information they need.

While building relationships with reporters, ask: “How can I help you?” Listen to what they tell you, and give them what they need. “How can I help you?” is just one of 10 magic phrases that journalists and bloggers love.

9. Never go over a reporter’s head and complain to their boss unless you have talked to the reporter first.

Relationships with journalists won’t always be rosy. When a reporter treats you poorly, or writes a story you think is biased, or includes an inaccuracy in an article, resist the temptation to immediately contact their boss.

Call the reporter first and discuss it. If you don’t like what you hear, then and only then, contact a supervisor.

10. Say thank you.

So few people write thank you notes anymore. If you do, you’ll really stand out from the crowd. Never thank a blogger or journalist for covering your story. Instead, thank them for their in-depth interview, their accurate story, their thorough questions, or their writing style. And never thank them “for giving me publicity.”

Another effective way to thank journalists and bloggers is to share links to their articles and blog posts on the social media sites.

What have I missed? What do you do to be an indispensible media source?

Filed Under: Blogs, How to Interview, Magazine Publicity, Newspaper Publicity, Nonprofits, Pitching the Media, TV Publicity Tagged With: How to Interview, how to talk to reporters, media source, online pressroom, pitching reporters, story ideas, working with bloggers, working with the media

7 phrases journalists hate hearing when you pitch

7/18/2011 By Joan 9 Comments

The next time you pitch a journalist, remember that what you don’t say is just as important that what you say.

Mickie Kennedy of eReleases.com explains why journalists hate hearing these three phrases:

1. “Never seen anything like this.”

2. “When can we expect this to go up?”

3. ”I know this isn’t your area, but…”

They’re good ones, Mickie, but that’s just a start. I’m a former journalist, and I also hated hearing these five other phrases when people pitched me or after I interviewed them:

4. “Can you send me 10 copies of the article as soon as it’s printed?”

No, I can’t. I’m not a clerk. I’m a reporter. And I’m too busy. If you want copies, buy them yourself by calling our circulation department. (See “What to Do When You Can’t Get Reprint Rights.”)

5. “Can you let me know as soon as the article is printed?

Nope, can’t do that either, for the reasons mentioned above. Either hire someone to pay attention to the paper, or do it yourself.

6. ”If I give you a good tip and you write the story, can you promise me you’ll give it good play?”

No. Reporters don’t decide where stories appear in newspapers or magazines. That’s an editor’s job.

7. ”Can you please not use my name?”

Why didn’t you tell me that 20 minutes ago when we started the interview? Technically, since you were talking to me on the record, I have every right to use your name.

But you’re such a pain in the neck, and you’ll probably raise such a stink after the story is printed along with your name, that I’d rather just not use your comments. Instead, I’ll simply make a mental note never to talk to you again. In other words, I’m blacklisting you.

Now that you know what not to say, here are magic phrases the media LOVE hearing.

What phrases can you add to this? Do you keep any magic phrases in your pocket and use them with success?

Are you a journalist or blogger who hates other phrases that Mickie and I haven’t mentioned?

Filed Under: How to Interview, Magazine Publicity, Newspaper Publicity Tagged With: newspaper publicity, pitching journalists, reprint rights, working with reporters

Appearing on TV? Plan for these 7 emergencies

7/13/2011 By Joan 7 Comments

Finding a messy make-up bag just before you're supposed to leave for a media interview can rattle you when you least need to be rattled.

Pitching yourself to TV talk show bookers or your local TV news directors, and convincing them to say yes, just seems like the hard part.

It really isn’t. The far more difficult task is knowing how to respond to the many emergencies that can pop up from the time you’re booked to the second you walk out of the recording studio, after the interview.

Here are seven emergencies to prepare for if you’re doing broadcast interviews.

1. You haven’t left enough time to do your hair and make-up.

Earlier today, I was schedule to appear on a live webcast with Don Crowther, the creator of the Social Profit Formula 2.0, a social media course I highly recommend. I’m one of several people he interviewed about our successes with social media. We were supposed to do the interview at 3:40 p.m. in San Diego. I was to come to the studio at noon to be briefed.

That pink mess you see above is what I saw about an hour before I was to meet Don. My tube of liquid lipstick cracked, or the top came loosef en route to San Diego.

Most of my make-up was swimming in the bright pink goo, and I didn’t notice it until I pulled a bottle of liquid foundation out of the small plastic bag and ended up with stained fingers.

During interviews, I frequently talk with my hands. Would the several thousand people watching the webcast see my neon pink fingers as I wave my hands in front of me? Or would I have to sit with my hands planted firmly in my lap?

Luckily, I was staying with Christine Buffaloe, my virtual assistant, who lives about 10 minutes from the recording studio. She retrieved nail polish remover. But as I was rubbing like mad, the toilet paper I was using to apply it kept crumbling. Chris found a clean rag. Within about 10 minutes, the stains disappeared. But it was a hassle I didn’t need.

A hair and make-up emergency can also occur when your stylist calls you the morning of the interview to cancel because she’s ill, and you can’t find another stylist who can take you at the last minute.

2. Traffic is backed up on a major road you’ve taken to the TV studio. You won’t make it on time.

Leave enough time to deal with closed roads, freeway back-ups, detours and bad weather like ice storms.

Do you have enough gas in your tank? Check the night before the interview.

If it’s in the dead of winter, do you have a back-up driver you can call if your battery is dead and you have no other way to get to the studio?

3. You learn the day of the interview that the clothes you had planned to wear don’t fit.

Nothing is worse than taking your favorite silk suit out of the closet three hours before you’re to arrive at the studio, only to learn that it shrunk after it was dry cleaned.

Wardrobe emergencies include missing buttons and no appropriate shoes to wear with your outfit.

A few days before the interview, dress yourself in the clothes you plan to wear, including all matching accessories, so you aren’t hunting for them at the last minute.

4. The TV producer calls you and asks if you can come to the studio an hour early because someone who was scheduled to be on the program before you has cancelled.

Always leave extra time the day of the interview just in case this happens.

5. The talk show host who’s interviewing you cuts short the interview. It was supposed to be five minutes. But it’s only a minute and a half because a previous segment ran too long.

Whatever you do, don’t complain! Be gracious. And send a handwritten thank-you note to the host and to the person who booked you.

6. The interviewer asks you a question you can’t answer.

This isn’t really an emergengy, but you might view it as such.

The best thing to do is to simply say “I don’t know,” and then bridge to your key message.

But why not be prepared? Ask the interviewer beforehand for an idea of the questions you’ll be asked. Broadcasters don’t mind doing this, unlike their brethren in the print media who hate “prepping” interview subjects.

7. The interviewer fails to hold up your book and mention it on camera, after telling you that she would.

Don’t refer to your book. Just answer her final question and look like you’re enjoying yourself. When the interview is finished, thank her.

Authors who have upstaged their hosts, particularly pushy authors who mentioned their books, have been blacklisted.

If you’ve done TV interviews and you have more tips to add to this list, share them here.

More Tools to Help You:

Special Report #2: Questions You Can Expect Reporters to Ask During an Interview.”

The Dangerous Hidden Secrets of Print & Broadcast Reporters

How to be a TV Talk Show Host’s Dream Date