The Media Interview

NBC Universal CEO Jeff Zucker on paying for media interviews.
From MediaBistro’s transcript of an interview with FT.com managing editor Chrystia Freeland in June 2007:
ZUCKER: Well look, I think the key thing is, anytime you do an interview with anybody is that you disclose what you’re doing.
FREELAND: So if you say ‘we paid a million dollars [...]

This is a follow up to my original posting about NBC reportedly offering $1 million dollars for Paris Hilton’s first post-jail TV interview - some information I missed at the time.
According to a June 21, 2007 report in the NY Post, “NBC Universal boss Jeff Zucker personally called Hilton’s father Rick and made the pitch.”
In [...]

What are people feeling and doing while being interviewed by phone? You can find postings like this one from director Arin Crumley that give you some perspective:
CFUN Radio Interview - Arin CrumleyUploaded by Arincrumley
Arin and co-director Susan Buice have a good little collection of videos of their phone interviews - it’s a great way [...]

What happened in Arizona stayed in Arizona… until the internet came along. The chances of a local mistake going national or international just grow and grow.
Arizona State quarterback Rudy Carpenter apologized Monday for swearing during a live radio interview after the Sun Devils’ victory over Oregon State…
The interview was posted on YouTube, and [...]

Rosie O’Donnell has shunned (so far) all mainstream media interviews about her new book Celebrity Detox. Instead, she’s posted a series of self-produced interview clips on her blog. Citizen entertainment journalism at work.

Reading through a post by Mr. Obie Joe about his disappointment upon hearing a favourite online journalist speaking live, I was reminded of one of my favourite scenes from the movie Singing in the Rain, when silent screen star Lina Lamont opens her mouth to do her first talkie. Yikes, does she sound like [...]

You’re a former contestant on American Idol. You’ve just finished having lunch, and as you leave the restaurant, some guy sticks a cellphone or other small camera in your face and starts asking questions about your career. You give a few answers as you try to walk away, including your opinion of Britney Spears’s [...]

The days of hiding behind the microphone in a radio studio are long gone, at least for anyone in the public eye. Either the video media is covering the interview, or the station itself is making a video, or it’s even being simulcast over the web or some TV channel. Just look at [...]

Readers of this blog know that I’m no fan of what I call “the will to fill” - the habit of filling in pauses in speech with words such as like, ummm, ahhh, etc. Turns out there’s a website devoted to this very problem: www.ummlike.com and they have a top ten list of [...]

I heard a headline on CNN the other day that made me curious. New York Rep. Peter King allegedly said there were too many mosques in the United States, but he claimed he was being taken out of context. The remarks were said to be in an interview with Politico.com, so I immediately [...]