The Media Interview

In an article entitled The King of All Media vs. the Shameless Marketing Guru, Debbie Allen talks about her unique way of preparing to be interviewed by shock jock Howard Stern:

Knowing the interview would be a challenge, Debbie asked a previous guest of the show to coach her before the interview. She soon discovered that by connecting with Howard’s interest and listening to other guests that she could not only survive the interview, but also thrive from the massive media exposure. [my emphasis]

I thought this was an excellent strategy for potentially difficult interviews: to track down a previous guest or two and pick their brains about what did and did not work with that host. As Allen noted elsewhere in the article, part of what can be difficult on Stern’s show is that there are at least two if not three people “hosting” at one time, which just adds to the difficulties.

How did Allen do on the show? According to her, she managed to “thrive”:

The interview started with a negative tone but soon Debbie turned it around in her favor. Howard Stern, a shameless self-promoter himself, wanted to share with his listeners more information on how they too can become famously successful. As Howard learned more about Debbie’s marketing strategies and strong belief system he began to promote the book and the Website.