During my career, I've had the good fortune of being interviewed by the news media on numerous occasions. It's always fun to share my insights, and yes, I'll admit that I do enjoy seeing my name in print (as long as it's not in the police blotter).
While it sounds glamorous, working with the media can be a tricky thing. Sometimes you'll be interviewed for an hour and you end up with one line in a story. Other times, you spend fifteen minutes with the reporter and they transcribe your every word. Experience has taught me never to get too excited about a media opportunity until I see the finished product.
Nonetheless, I couldn't help but be delighted when NBC News called and asked to tape me for their nightly news show. I've done my share of television interviews, but this opportunity was really fun. After all, I spend so much time watching Matt and Meredith every morning, and Brian Williams every night, that they are practically like family (without the baggage).
The taping itself turned out to be a special treat. The cameraman, a seasoned veteran of the news business, spent nearly three hours at my home. Fresh off the campaign trail, he entertained me with his observations of the candidates and the news biz. As luck would have it, my daughter who is an aspiring communications major, was home from school early, so she got to listen-in as well. Talk about a fun "Take Your Daughter to Work Day" for Juliana.
The actual interview only took about ten minutes, so I knew in advance that my on-air time would be relatively brief. As I told my family, "It takes three hours for the whole process, ten minutes to tape and I'll be ecstatic if they show me for thirty seconds."
Well, as it turns out, I didn't get thirty seconds. I didn't get twenty seconds. No, not even ten seconds. But I did get nine solid seconds (you can watch the videos in the post below). And in truth, I was thrilled because they included a picture of The Layoff Survival Guide and mentioned that it was an online guide, which means people will know how to access this help in a down economy. As I said to one of my colleagues, "Heck, I'm happy that I only used up nine seconds of fame. That means I am still entitled to 14 minutes and 51 more seconds down the road."
Of course, my mom is still annoyed that I didn't get more airtime. But as far as I am concerned, it was a blast. Thanks NBC!
Comments