On Tue, Oct 09, 2001 at 08:22:50PM -0700, Tim May wrote:
-- the main reason people give interviews is to get their name out in the press, to drum up business.
This is why people will drive 20 miles to get to a television studio to appear for 70 seconds on CNBC or CNN. All they want is the exposure.
I've been doing semi-regular appearances on CNN for about four years. They'll send a car for you if you ask, no need to drive. But I suppose I fall into the above category. I do TV interviews primarily because, in no particular order: (a) it's good experience; (b) it raises my profile and the profile of my employer; (c) management likes it; (d) I can try to inject some substance into what are typically superficial discussions. Not saying I generally succeed, of course. I find that radio shows are better for more in-depth discussions. Usually, with the exception of NPR, you can do them from home. I did NBC network evening news not long ago. I didn't feel like going into their bureau (about 15-20 minutes away),l so I had them come to my home. It took them about four hours from the time they arrived to the time they left, mostly lighting and setup. A large portion was B-roll of me typing dummy entries into Microsoft Passport, punctuated by me talking to their reporter in NYC via a speakerphone sitting on a chair while I pretended to look straight ahead, as if I were looking her in the eye. Sigh. They used about 7 seconds of what I said. -Declan