And they’re fine, fine. Sensible, fine. But as UD ponders her own gratifying media stuff over the last few years, she thinks she might have something to add to the GW list… Scathing Online Schoolmarm also has a few things to say…
Here are some of UD’s university’s suggestions for faculty on how to handle media appearances, with UD/SOS adding some thoughts in blue ink.
* Are you the right person? Only agree to talk about what you know about. If you can’t help (i.e. if you are not the right person), offer to find someone who can. [Pish posh. You’re the right person. Go for it. Is UD an expert on the Dan Brown oeuvre? Wing it.]
* Be prepared. If the call takes you by surprise, tell the reporter that you’re busy but will call back in 15 minutes or so. This will enable you to collect your thoughts, gather information, and make notes. [Maybe I’m in a faster lane than GW, but I wouldn’t recommend this. Er… gimme a few minutes to collect my thoughts… I’ll call you back… Meanwhile the producer’s on the line to someone who shoots answers back immediately…. See, this is the sort of thing a professor will do … Lemme check a reference or two and… Nein. Just do it. Go with it.]
* Stay positive. Be friendly and conversational, even if the reporter seems to be adversarial. However, don’t be lulled into flippancy or forced humor. [I guess this is okay, but it’s drifting toward bland. Be yourself. If you’re un p’tit peu non-standard, not entirely amiable, go with it.]
* Avoid jargon and complex language. Use plain, simple language as though you were talking to a friend or neighbor. Define technical terms and use examples, anecdotes. [Absolutely. Excellent advice. For talking or for writing.]
* Speak slowly and clearly. Reporters are writing down notes or typing them into a computer. They will be more likely to get it right if you take your time. [This may be true for talking to a reporter from the Washington Post on the telephone; but television appearances tend to be a little sharper, a little faster-paced in terms of speech, in UD‘s experience.]
* Stay on message. Repeat primary points to make sure message is clear and accurate. Don’t veer off topic. [I guess this is true. Though the other day in my DeLillo class I suddenly for no particular reason started talking about the new scary film, Paranormal Activity, and the place LIT UP.]
* Never go “off-the-record.” Expect everything to be quoted. That’s no reason to be nervous—just be aware. [SOS says: Lose the quotation marks.]
* Avoid “no comment.” It implies confirmation. If you can’t comment, provide an explanation, i.e., a personnel matter, pending legal issue, etc. [Lose the effing quotation marks.]
* Stay calm. If you “flub” an answer, start over and rephrase your response. [What did I tell you???]
One final piece of advice: Don’t watch tv. Don’t own a tv. UD doesn’t watch or own a tv, and look how well she’s done with the medium. Possibly there’s a connection.
October 15th, 2009 at 9:24AM
What’s wrong with using quotation marks to indicate a popular phrase, as it is actually uttered, like "no comment"?
Anyway, what’s the imperative for commenting on things about which one knows little? This assumes (a) the matter is of no conceivable consequence, like Dan Brown (but maybe not Pakistan policy); (b) creating or sustaining a reputation is irrelevant, except a reputation for fielding media calls; (c) the commentator is tenured.
As to your final piece of advice, the most you can say is that there is no necessary correlation. Assuming you’ve done very well without it, I doubt you know too much about the general case for successful commentators. Telling someone not to watch TV, or not to own a TV, because it assists them in this endeavor seems a little broad.
October 15th, 2009 at 10:19AM
Guess I should have mentioned the general importance of a sense of humor.
October 15th, 2009 at 10:25AM
There’s a difference between lightness of tone and a sense of humor. Re. the former, you had it and I did not. Re. the latter . . . it looked like you were actually providing advice. If not, let’s just say you hit the humorous ones about quotation marks, TV ownership, etc. right out of the park.
October 15th, 2009 at 10:25AM
I agree with everything but would put a qualifier on the "go ahead and talk immediately." Those of us who are not as fast on our feet as UD sometimes benefit by figuring out how to explain a concept quickly and simply. If I have five minutes, I can usually figure out what two sentences would explain even a complex idea in my field.
So a little patience with us mortals, please.
October 15th, 2009 at 10:27AM
Five minutes, ok. Not fifteen or more, as advised. And five minutes like this, Sherman:
“Hold on. My tea kettle’s going. Lemme turn it off and get right back to you.”
October 15th, 2009 at 10:57AM
No TV? Nooooooooooooooooooooo…….. (I won’t be able to watch the scholar athletes of Division I football.)
October 15th, 2009 at 11:33AM
LOL, Tom.
October 15th, 2009 at 9:45PM
The best advice I’ve seen is from "Yes, Prime Minister":
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ki42felVf3M (starts about 1:30 in)
There’s another episode about the catastrophic results when Hacker forgets the rule: "Treat all microphones as if they’re live."
Brad
October 16th, 2009 at 7:13AM
You mean your administration doesn’t demand that you clear all interview requests with them first?
Seriously, we have some idiotic "guide to media contacts" that demands that we contact our public relations office first. Of course, no one does.
October 16th, 2009 at 8:01AM
To be fair, tp, there are professors — Justin Frank, for example, at UD‘s George Washington University — who embarrass the institution every time they say or write something. (Beloved of the LaRouche folks, who like his conspiratorial turn of mind, Justin gave them this interview when his book about George Bush – a lengthy psychoanalysis of a man Frank has never met – came out.)
You could say in the case of Frank that it’s GW’s fault – it should never have hired him – but most university med schools are notorious for lax hiring practices. That’s how UCLA ended up with Michael Jackson’s sperm depositor, Arnold Klein, plus Gerald Buckberg, plus no doubt other embarrassments-in-waiting.
Universities seem to think that because their clinical faculty often has very little to do with the university they don’t constitute problems when they implode with conflict of interest or whatever and then are routinely cited as affiliated with the university.
However — none of this means that a university should do what you describe yours doing: demand interview requests be cleared. I’m happy – though not surprised – to hear that no one complies.