It has been said that fear of public speaking appearances tops even fear of death for most people. And how much more public can an appearance be than a news media interview? Continue reading »

I place the “Rose” show in the live category even though it is taped because it is “live to tape.” That is, it is most often taped in real time, without stopping and with minimal, if any, editing. Whatever the length, a live or live-to-tape interview gives you the most control, since it goes out to the audience unedited. Continue reading »

Today, those morning show interviews have been whittled down to three to five minutes because a generation of viewers reared watching MTV and thirty-second commercials has learned to absorb information in very brief bursts. Continue reading »

Next, over footage of an earth-orbiting weather satellite, the correspondent’s voice is heard (this is his voice-over): “The White House feels that two more satellites like this one are needed to adequately survey the situation.” Continue reading »

The Broadcast Media

Television stories are created by splicing together three basic elements: interviews or direct quotes, on-camera or voice-over transitions by the correspondent, and voice-over narration of footage that illustrates elements of the story, which is called B-roll. Continue reading »

How the Media Use Interviews

Before creating any agendas, you should understand just how important an interview is in the construction of a news story. Continue reading »

The tricks of this aspect of the spokesperson’s trade, include knowing how to show objects to the camera, knowing how to move on camera, and knowing how to talk about your subject while demonstrating or illustrating it. Continue reading »

These television skills are largely matters of style and cosmetics that in no way substitute for content but rather are designed to enhance the substance of what you are saying. Good television style—making yourself an interesting TV speaker—is no different from good writing style. Continue reading »

In addition, this book has an interactive component. Periodically I’m going to ask you to do a little homework, to fill out some worksheets in preparation for an interview. These exercises are very important because they will teach you how to get ready for the real thing. Continue reading »