Veteran broadcaster Lisa Brandt has booked and interviewed thousands of guests. She knows firsthand that people in the media are deluged with pitches for airtime and print space. Sometimes, what's offered is of value to them. Other times, it's not. The media must keep its listeners, viewers and readers in mind while making these decisions.
PR reps, publicists, business owners and artists have to make a business case. But too often, they have no idea how to do it or who they're pitching to. Or worse, they expect the media personnel to do the work for them.
Make the Media Want You takes the mystery out of the process from the pitch to the interview and everything in between. It includes examples of good and bad interviews, major mistakes to avoid and insider tips on how to approach an overworked, overtired broadcaster or journalist. Hint: Bribes don't work. But Lisa will share what does.
Brandt, Lisa: - LISA BRANDT has been in radio a long time, although it's not true, as some have suggested, that she caught the sound of the big bang on her Radio Shack tape recorder. She started out playing 45s and carts (google them, kids!), progressed through CDs and survived into the digital era. Her first radio interview was with The Irish Rovers on a cold, wintry day in Prince George, British Columbia. She picked them up at their hotel when neither the radio station nor the band would spring for a taxi. Band member Jimmy Ferguson got stuck in the front seat of her Chevy Monza when he moved it forward to let the other band members out of the tiny back seats. Lisa had to lean down between Ferguson's legs and release the seat. Like most humiliating experiences, it became funny over time, and now it's one of her favorite stories. Later, she hosted various television projects, and she has written several regular newspaper columns on subjects as diverse as running a small business and the latest in home decor. Two of those columns were distributed nationally. Throughout her radio career as a music-show host (DJ), talk-show host, newscaster and producer, she has endured no-shows, miscommunications, begging, bribes, drunken guests, angry guests, unprepared guests and those who had no idea why they were there. She has also conducted countless successful and pleasurable interviews with Canadian prime ministers, politicians, actors, singers, authors and other fascinating people with great stories to tell. She has also made her share of mistakes. But those are for another book. Lisa lives in London, Ontario, with her husband and their two cats.
