CHAPTER 8
Media Matters
Avoiding the Ill-Advised Tweet
There is something irresistible about tweeting. The speed and immediacy can be alluring, particularly to young people. You can communicate—to multiple audiences—almost as quickly as still-developing thoughts arrive in your brain. And that’s where people create problems for themselves—with those pesky, unformed thoughts. On Twitter, all messages come out the same—as 140-character-or-less bursts. A random observation may look the same to the recipient as a Shakespearean gem of profound wisdom. But there are no rewrites or do-overs. Once a tweet has been sent, it is as irrevocable as a fallen snowflake.
Texting potentially comes with many of the same pitfalls. It may have a more intimate feel than tweeting because it is usually between just two people. But don’t be lulled into a false sense of security: once you send a text, you can’t be certain who will see it. Many of the guidelines in this chapter apply equally to tweeting and texting. Social media differs from personal contact. In conversation, there is context. Two people chatting over dinner assess each other’s expressions, tone, and demeanor. It’s easier in person to gauge when a comment is intended as a joke. Tweets are more tone-deaf.
And then there is this critical difference: when you’re speaking to someone in person, you know exactly who you’re talking to. In a restaurant, you may lower your voice so as not to be overheard. There is no such safeguard in tweeting. Your messages can be endlessly retweeted, copied, and otherwise recirculated. We are accountable for our tweets, no matter who reads them. That’s why preparation matters. The technology may be speedy, but our use of it can still be well reasoned.
While a full-blown script may not be practical or desirable, working through a draft of sorts—if only on sensitive topics—will ensure that the tweeter thinks before he tweets.
If the tweet is going to address a delicate political or social issue—or opine on the work or character of another, or on a product or service—you may want to write out your proposed thoughts before pulling the Twitter trigger. You may then have a friend or associate critique your thought before it is launched into the social media sphere.
The tweet may be brief, but what it says can have enduring impact.
It was a Saturday afternoon in February, and Terrell Stoglin was frustrated. The University of Maryland basketball guard—the leading scorer in the Atlantic Coast Conference—was having a bad game against Duke, and so was his team. Maryland was losing in the second half at Duke’s Cameron Indoor Stadium, and Stoglin found himself slouching on the bench after his shot selection was questioned by his coach.
Stoglin took to Twitter to vent. After the game, reporters covering the team noticed a sarcastic tweet on Stoglin’s account noting how much he “loved” sitting on the bench. Predictably, Stoglin’s tweet—seeming to publicly question his coach’s decision to remove him from the game—was widely retweeted. Within hours of the game, Maryland athletic officials were being asked about the player’s tweet and overall conduct.
Soon came another tweet from the player: “Never tweet after a loss. not a bad dude just frustrated. Love terpnation! My fault.” The next month, Stoglin told the Baltimore Sun: “At the point I was tweeting, I wasn’t thinking at all.”
Stoglin is far from the first person, of course, to have experienced a disconnect between thinking and tweeting. Former U.S. Representative Anthony Weiner tweeted photos of his private parts covered only by underwear. A Chrysler contractor tweeted an expletive in an unflattering message about the city of Detroit and lost the account and his job.
Imagine how different the outcomes might have been if they’d asked themselves basic guideline questions like the following:
• Is my tweet appropriate for a wide audience? Who is it that I am actually intending to communicate with, and should I, instead, do it in such a way—a meeting or phone call—that will probably remain private?
• Who am I representing in my tweet [or text]? Am I sending from a business account? If so, I might seem to be speaking for my employer instead of only for myself.
• Are my words precise enough, or did I leave them so vague that they could be misinterpreted, particularly by people who don’t know me?
• Do I completely understand the technology? Do I understand the difference between sending a direct Twitter message and replying to a tweet in a way that all of the other person’s followers can see?
• Should someone else read this before I send it?
Keep in Mind:
• Think before you tweet or text.
• Understand that you may be held accountable for your messages.
• Don’t forget that your audience may be wider than you imagine.
• If it has the potential to be misinterpreted or seen as controversial, share it with a devil’s advocate first.
Preparing for a Media Interview
There are so many ways to get “on the air” these days. The proliferation of cable stations, talk radio shows, and Internet sites and programming has created new opportunities for aspiring media professionals—and everybody else. “You’re not anybody in America unless you’re on TV,” says Nicole Kidman’s lead character in To Die For.
But what if you are summoned for a broadcast interview—say, as an expert in your field or the subject of a news profile—and are reluctant to appear?
You may be worried about the amount of exposure. Or about the format. It can be uncomfortable ceding control of an interview to a television or radio anchor or talk show host you have never met. That can be a leap of faith. Or you may be anxious about the interview being broadcast live.
It turns out the preparation required to be a compelling interviewee is similar to what media professionals do themselves before going live. It’s about knowing your topic well enough to find your comfort zone. So to start, consider whether you should do some research to add to your existing knowledge of the interview subject. Then get your thoughts down on paper or your computer screen and share them with your devil’s advocate.
Develop a script—commentators or politicians might call it “talking points”—that can help you feel self-assured when the red light comes on. That, along with several deep breaths and reminding yourself that you know what you’re talking about, should help calm you for an effective interview.
In 2000 my writing partner, Jeff Barker, was asked to appear on the PBS NewsHour to discuss the upcoming Arizona Republican presidential primary pitting John McCain, George W. Bush, Steve Forbes, and Pat Buchanan against one another. Jeff was then a reporter for the Arizona Republic newspaper and was familiar with the state’s voting demographic and the issues in the campaign.
He had some television and radio experience, but broadcast was not his primary medium. So he prepared a little differently than he would for a newspaper story. He established a basic goal of reaching a stage where he felt relatively comfortable—there are always going to be some nerves—going on the show. “You know this stuff,” he told himself. “Just take a deep breath and try to be yourself.” He wore his favorite tie for good luck.
To feel confident, Jeff typed out a short list of facts and committed the important ones to memory: What was the voter turnout in comparable primaries? How much money had the candidates raised and spent? McCain, the home-state senator, was expected to win easily—and did—although the state’s GOP governor, Jane Hull, had endorsed George W. Bush.
The challenging part of such interviews is that you can’t always anticipate the interviewer’s questions. Some news producers will offer specific or general guidance in advance on where the questions may be headed. But some leave it open-ended.
The McCain-Hull rift was clearly an interesting story line—a GOP governor not endorsing a GOP presidential candidate from her state—and Jeff prepared as if he would be asked about it (he was, although indirectly). He also prepared to provide a prediction on the outcome of the primary. That’s a standard question whether you’re discussing an election or a football game, and it was indeed posed by the interviewer, Gwen Ifill.
In addition to listing pertinent facts about the race, Jeff’s “script” also contained some buzzwords. While you can’t anticipate an interviewer’s questions, you can develop some ready-made answers and look for openings to use them.
Beneath his list of facts, Jeff wrote two words: “Cowboy Hat.”
He had previously developed a theory about Arizona politics—that the state considered itself as independent as an iconic cowboy and embraced maverick politicians. He was ready with an answer if asked to characterize the state’s voting mood. His buzzwords—which he repeated a few times to himself before the interview—were intended to prompt his response.
When the interview began, he knew where he was headed midway through Gwen Ifill’s first question.
Gwen Ifill: Jeff Barker of the Arizona Republic, Arizona is home to both conservatives like Barry Goldwater and a liberal icon like Morris Udall. Who are the Arizona voters here?
Jeff Barker: Well, Arizona is really quite a mix. I think that the social conservatives aren’t quite as well organized here. I think the character of Arizona really is . . . can be symbolized by the cowboy hat. You know, candidates in Arizona always wear cowboy hats. Pat Buchanan wore a black hat when he ran here in ’96. And I think it sort of symbolizes the Old West, the independence. And I guess you can see that’s why John McCain is a pretty good fit in Arizona, because his whole presidential campaign is set up around being a maverick. That’s his image. He’s always been a guy who would symbolically wear a cowboy hat in Arizona.
While Jeff couldn’t anticipate the direction of his interview with certainty, he could make an educated guess and script accordingly. That preparation helped him achieve his goal of remaining composed—of being himself—and served as a resource so he could respond confidently and effectively.
Keep in Mind:
• Research if you feel you need more information than your knowledge base.
• List pertinent facts in a script and be in basic command of them before the interview.
• Try to anticipate the interviewer’s questions in your script.
• Remember you aren’t totally captive to the questions. You can develop your own points and look for opportune moments to make them.
• Take slow, deep breaths if you are nervous. Remember that you probably know more about the topic than the person asking the questions. That’s why you were selected for the interview.