Media Training Update w/c 12th January

Edition 520

Good morning, it’s Monday 12th January.

Agatha Christie died, leaving a multi-million pound fortune and a final book waiting to be published on this day in…? (answer in the footnotes)

People I coach frequently recount media situations they have found themselves in, and ask for advice on what they could or should have done.

I’d like to see if you all agree with what I said at the time.

Here’s the gist of our first dilemma:

“I agreed to appear live on Programme X. I prepped, cleared my diary, only to be dropped 15 minutes before going on air.

A few weeks later it happened again. Same programme. Different producer. Same outcome.

Now a third request. The producer is enthusiastic, if slightly apologetic for the way I have been treated in the past.

I understand live broadcasting is unpredictable, however being treated as that disposable leaves a bad taste. I also know that how I respond now may shape how this programme treats me and my organisation in future.”

I won’t name the programme but it’s the BBC, and it’s well-known.

Results next week, and I’ll also outline the advice I gave. 
(I’d love you to email us with the reason for your choice.)

Monday: Polish President Karol Nawrocki begins visit to the UK.


Tuesday: Scottish finance minister Shona Robison delivers Holyrood budget.


Wednesday: WMO & national agencies release global temperatures reports.


Thursday: UK GDP monthly estimate.


Friday: House of Lords continues debate on assisted dying bill.


Saturday: High Seas Treaty takes effect.


Sunday: Africa Cup of Nations final.

3 Quick Tips On:
Down The Line Interviews

1) If the earpiece falls out mid-interview, odds are it will fall out again. Put it back in then keep your hand against your ear. Viewers know what is going on, it means you can focus on your content rather than worry about it happening again. 

2) If there’s a camera operator ask how much of you is in shot. If it’s tight you don’t need to worry about your hands. If it’s wider, then be mindful they don’t keep popping into shot every so often which distracts. Don’t put your hands behind your back and never put them in your pockets.

3) Keep your eyes on the camera lens at all times. This feels unnatural, but trust me, it really matters.

“There is blood in the water”

You may not have heard of Bari Weiss, the new Editor In Chief of CBS News, but her rise is a fascinating tale and one utterly and perfectly for our times. A clash of old and new media. A Presidential cameo. And now a disastrous start for the new anchor in a chair once held by the mighty Walter Cronkite.

(Morning Show writers will be watching closely…)

This Guardian piece is worth a read, as is this firecracker from Vanity Fair.

Footnotes: 


Good Night, and Good Luck.

Netflix is now streaming the Broadway production of George Clooney’s dramatisation of Edward R Murrow’s on-air tangles with Senator Joseph McCarthy in the 1950s. I really enjoyed it.


We’re in London, Bristol and Lowestoft this week. (Oh how I’ve missed those train station sandwiches…)

On this day: Agatha Christie died, leaving a rumoured multi-million pound fortune and a final book waiting to be published, on this day in…1976.


Mutt Photo:

Be part of the MMB. Thoughts on this week’s content, or interviews you’ve seen, heard, or (best of all) done, please let us know.

Back next Monday. Have a fantastic week.

All at Inside Edge