The eyes of the worlds’ press were on San Francisco Wednesday, January 27, as Apple CEO Steve Jobs announced a new portable multimedia device, the iPad. Fox Business News and The Wall Street Journal contacted me for insights ahead of the presentation. The experience reinforced several points I make in my media training workshops. In today’s media landscape, reporters are looking for spokespeople who are available, concise and flexible.
Be available. A Wall Street Journal reporter left me a voice message at 11:00 am PT Tuesday morning. I checked my messages around noon and called him back immediately. I knew the general topic–what to expect from Apple’s presentation the next day. When the reporter answered the phone, he told me that he needed to conduct the interview right then. There would be no time for me to think about the questions, answers or topic. But I was available and returned the call immediately. That counts for a lot. Reporters must cover several stories a day. They don’t have time to waste. Since I knew my messages ahead of time, I delivered a strong interview and it turned into one of the most popular columns on the entire site. You can read it here.
Be concise. Reporters are looking for spokespeople who offer valuable information in bite sized nuggets. It’s important to provide short quotes so reporters can repurpose the content for the Web and shorter video packages. Try to answer questions in twenty second answers. On Wednesday morning I was interviewed for Fox Business News. The original interview was intended to be a five-minute live segment but the quotes would be edited and used for packages to be sent to local Fox affiliates around the country. In that case, I didn’t want the editors to have to work too hard. I tried to keep my “sound bites” short. I brought along a Flip camera and pulled it out ahead of the interview. You can see the media circus below.
Be flexible. Many spokespeople are inflexible. They typically don’t get invited back for a second interview. Here’s an example. The Fox News producer had told me that they would ask me questions about my book, The Presentation Secrets of Steve Jobs, and what to expect from the Apple presentation. Either the information wasn’t communicated to the reporter or the reporter wanted to ask me something else, but “presentation skills” were not a big part of the interview. The reporter asked me questions about Apple products and other issues. But that’s okay. I wasn’t thrown and answered the reporters’ questions with enthusiasm. If I had wanted an ad for my book, I would have had to pay for it. Reporters are not there to advertise your product or service. They want insight and information that they can’t get anywhere else.
If you want to be on the media’s speed dial, be available, concise and flexible.