The Media Interview

Happened upon a Barbara Walters special last night: 30 Mistakes in 30 Years. She calls it a “record of regrets” - some hers, some her guests - and I was hoping for some candid talk about the interview process. But being a prime time special, this first of two shows was really more of a simple retrospective dressed up as a series of mistakes (e.g. #23 Never turn down dinner with Clint Eastwood).

Still, there were some moments of interest to this blogger, particularly the admissions about her past work:

There have been times when I’ve been dreadfully sentimental.

I was obsessed in those [early] days with having stars bare more than just their souls - Playboy should have paid me…

There are good lessons to be learned too:

don’t say anything in an interview that you might later regret - like Sean Connery saying that there are some times when it’s appropriate to slap a woman.

don’t interview Tom Cruise in an airport hangar, if you want to be able to hear him, or do a walk and talk with Ricki Martin on a public beach or John Goodman in a crowded street in New Orleans’s French Quarter.

don’t do interviews when you or your guest haven’t had enough sleep

The other 15 “mistakes” air tonight (Friday) at 10pm on ABC - UPDATE: here are my comments on the second half.