This week's flap over the President's off-hand comment about an incident at the VMA awards (I don't want to give it any more publicity than it's already gotten by repeating the details) reinforces a point about how to act around reporters. Always speak as if the microphone was live and any comment will be recorded and reported. Think this way, even if you're not wearing a microphone!
This awareness applies to all the time you're in a media environment - before and after an interview, when you're being escorted into the studio or out to the parking lot - whenever. If there's a reporter around and you're a newsmaker, anything you say or do could go into the story or become a story.
Cursing also took center stage (Tennis, anyone?) in another incident this week. If you're going to do a lot of on-air work and your everyday language is pretty salty, please break that habit. Live broadcasts generally don't have enough of a delay to bleep you and it's a pain for the editor to go over a taped interview to cut out the cursing. It might just be easier for the show to drop your taped segment and not invite you back again.
Yes, celebrity cursing gets a lot of attention, but is that the kind of attention you want? As a business professional, the goal is publicity that increases your visibility and credibility,to enhance your reputation as an expert and attract more clients, donors, sponsors, sales, etc. I don't see how swearing like a sailor will achieve that.
To my mind, it just makes sense to stop using curses in your daily speech to avoid slip-ups on the air. if you're used to peppering your comments with lots of four letter words, no matter how much you tell yourself, you won't use them on-air, they'll just come to mind too easily. Despite good intentions, you may become annoyed or nervous or forget yourself and the words will tumble out of your mouth.
A little caution about what you say, when you say it and how you say it can go a long way. Expect anything you say around news people to be fair game and mind your manners so that how you look and sound reflects well on you.
Photo Credit: iStockPhoto/Graffizone
Just saying - I agree with the president... but I also agree with you...
I wonder if the subject of Mr. Obama's verbal outtake would have been more offended if called "a nerd" or "Has been"
Posted by: Kelly Planer | September 25, 2009 at 08:54 AM