ever been interviewed in the media?

[Michael24]

This topic came up on another board recently, so I thought I'd repost here. Has anybody ever been interviewed on TV, radio, in the newspaper, etc., in relation to their job, interests, etc.?

In 1984/85, I was in Kindergarten and our school was doing it's annual Balloon Launch. One of the local news stations covered it, and I was asked a few questions by the reporter. Of course, most of what I said ended up not being used, and instead the on-air story only included a quick shot of me saying "It's really neat" among clips of other students sharing their thoughts. (I also wound up in the background of a couple shots. I still have a copy of the broadcast somewhere.)

I suppose we can include school papers, too, because I was interviewed twice in them as well. Once in elementary school (6th grade) as the paper's "Video Gamer of the Month," and again in high school (11th grade) about filmmaking, which I was getting into at the time.

In college, I participated with a friend in doing a live radio play, and afterwards he and I were interviewed for a bit about how our interest in radio plays started and such. It was fun, though I never got a copy of the promised CD with our play and interview. :(

[PC!]

Nope, never. But man, would I find it cool.

[SSJPabs]

Kind of.

Was on a school trip for a week and a reporter from a local station came along for part of it. At one point me and another guy were looking at something and engaging in soliloquy about it. The reporter recorded us and used it as part of his story on the trip and it was shown on television. So I guess I got to monologue?

[The Huntsman]

I was interviewed by the Los Angeles Times back when I was a moderator on Mondo Media’s Happy Tree Friends forum. Unfortunately, despite the fact that they asked me a bunch of questions, they only used one small sentence of mine towards the end of the article. They also took what I said out of context, but I guess that’s what the media does.

[Juu-kuchi]

Nope. Sadly.

[Lavenderpaw]

I was on the front page of my local newspaper once.

[silverfox1027]

A few times, actually.

1) Back when I was in 6th grade, when there was a fire in my apartment complex.
2) During my junior year of high school, when a local news station was profiling my school's AP program.
3) Last summer during Otakon, when the local news media requested some explanations of what the convention was about.
4) Earlier this year in February during a Barack Obama rally (the night before the "Potomac Primaries"), when a local news reporter was asking attendees about their general thoughts on the election season.

[BonyT]

Yeah; but it was "nothing personal" -- that is, it had nothing to do with anything I had done or achieved or anything like that: I was traveling on business sometime after 9-11, and the reporter doing a story on the new measures in place in airports chose me (randomly I guess) to interview and follow through the process.

[Shawn Hopkins]

I've always worked in the media so it doesn't come up. But a TV reporter did shoot video of me at my desk once when a bunch of people were protesting the crappy first paper I worked at. I didn't watch the broadcast so I don't know if they used it.

And once I made the front page of the Lexington Herald-Leader, well, a blurry version of me did. I was tromping around in a creek taking pictures of a family searching for the body of a relative that was swept away in a flood. And the Herald reporter was, too, so he accidentally got me in the frame of one of his pictures and they used it anyway.

Oh, and my paper ran a picture of me when I won a first place Kentucky Press Association award. That was nice.

But I've never had anyone sit down and interview me and try to find out what makes me tick. I've always wanted a good reporter to write a feature story all about me and my life, which was the kind that I do regularly and consider myself pretty good at. We do this thing where, as a writing test for new hires, we have them interview and write a feature on an employee. I've been interviewed for those before but neither of them were up to my standards. The first one went way too far to paint this picture of me overcoming adversity, so much that it was kind of insulting and I didn't even recognize myself. It was inaccurate in many details, too. The second one basically made stuff up. He combined quotes and used quotes that I know I didn't say and made up a person that I wasn't. It was pretty much fabricated and I told my editor that and he didn't get the job.

By the way, if you want reporters to interview you at a public event (not a disaster or a crime scene), a good thing to do is smile and look happy, friendly and approachable. And not too busy. You can always get a vibe of who will be good to give you a comment, and frowny faces and people that seem to be in a rush are a big negative. But people that seem to be enjoying themselves usually have a minute to spare for a comment.

Once, to challenge myself, I tried to get a comment from the grumpiest looking man at an event I was covering. He was engrossed in betting on a horse race and actually wearing a hat that said "Don't ask me ****!" But I asked him with predictable results. At least he seemed surprised that someone would actually try to talk to him.

And for goodness sake, when a reporter does ask you a question, please put some thought and creativity into your answer. If you just answer "It was good" or "It was pretty cool" don't be surprised if they don't use you. This is not something I would usually do, but I once actually took five minutes to work with two kids to try to get them to come up with a metaphor or a simile for an article about a heatwave. The best the little dorks could do was "It's as hot as fire." That just makes me weep for the youth of today.

[purplehairedwonder]

When I was in high school, the local news stations would come by and interview a few people on the softball team every so often for the nightly news, so I had to do that fairly often. I also was interviewed by the newspaper a few times; for softball several times and once because I was going to try to walk-on a Div. I softball team my freshman year (didn't make it, but I've been written up in the newspaper back home for my softball accomplishments at my new school, though).

And I've been in the newspaper a lot without being interviewed, though that was mostly softball coverage.

[GregX]

I was interviewed by the New York Times once. Took my picture too. They were asking people on the street how they planned to observe the first anniversary of September 11th.

[Dudley]

I've been asked to be interviewed by school newspapers quite often.

A recent time was at college. They asked me what movie I think should an Oscar, and we had a nice talk about the Oscar for Best Animated Feature, explaing how I felt Flushed Away should've gotten nominated.

The next day the newspaper listed me saying I think Flushed Away should win the Oscar.

I was outraged, to say the least.

[Harvey Two Face]

Once, when I was about 7 years old, my family and I were interviewed by the news for a small story about my grandparents recieving a certificate from the Queen about their 50th wedding anniversary and something about them moving from England to Australia after WW2.

[Tapout]

I was asked once, but I told them no. The last thing I ever wanna see is my fat face on the television.

[Gatomon41]

Yes, it was for a local TV station asking about the strange weather. The reporter (a young looking chap) was told by his editor to go to the University campus to interview students about it.

The bad news was the news crew arrvied the day after finals, which means by then the entire campus was empty. Poor guy was standing arround and looking lost when I walked into them.

Upon telling his story, I had informed them of the situtation. Feeling sorry, I decided to answer a few of theitr questions, and pointed them in an area where the remaining students may show up.

Latter that week, working, a few of the customers stated they saw me on TV. Since I had a few other minor accomplishments in the paper, I was a minor celebritiy for a day or so.

[Brandon Pierce]

I've been seen on the news 3 times.

First time, I was in 4th grade, they were doing some kind of report about if students are easily distracted in class. Back then I hadn't realized the irony of sending a news crew into a classroom of students who are easily distracted from the teacher.

The 2nd time, my dad and I were out fishing on the dock, and a news crew came in interviewing people about the rock fish. This leads to a very funny story. One guy that my dad was talking to had told his wife he had to work today, AND told his bosses at work he was home sick. After he was interviewed by the news, my dad told him, "When you get home you better make sure your wife doesn't see the news, and hope your bosses don't see it either!"

3rd time, sometime before graduation, it had snowed, and school was closed down. I was walking to the store and got stopped by a news reporter asking me what I thought of the snow. I don't remember my response, but I think I said something along the lines of, "Whatever keeps the school closed."

[Wonderwall]

When I was in grade 11, back in 2003, My school was interviewed about a new school clothing regulations. My interview wasn't used, but they did a pan of the front of the old school building and there I was with my friends.

[DBZNarutoWarrior]

I've been interviewed a few times due to mission projects. One was in west virginia where we participated in flood relief. Then the other one was when me and a few others went to mississippi for hurricane katrina relief. I've also been interviewed countless times for baseball since I was a captain. Then in the school paper it was mainly opinion related things such as parking permits and senior privileges etc (and of course baseball again as well).

[The Irishman]

Back when I was 13 I was interviewed by my local paper (the Derry People Donegal News) after I had won a prize at a national competition. They put me on the front page as well. I also appeared in the Irish Times as part of a driving project our school was running.

I've been on national TV as well, but never interviewed.