8- John Scardena- Interview Prep

Reference:

Lima, P. (2012). When the Reporter Comes Calling: How to Prepare For Media Interviews. CMA Magazine (1926-4550), 86(1), 34-35.

 

Theme:

If you want to have a successful interview with the press, make sure you have prepared… for everything.

 

Summary:

- Emergency management is about planning, so follow your gut and plan to be interviewed at anytime.

- Memorize strategic phrases or powerful quotes you want the media to catch.

- Elevator approach (30 seconds to get your message out there)

-Make sure you search for questions they will ask that you don't want them to ask and then prepare to answer them.

-Always look in control.

-At times you may not be able to talk about something, you should learn how to respond to questions you can't answer.

dismissed. Make sure to include accurate information in your debunking.

-Kill rumors fast. Watch print, televised, social, and radio news.

- Make sure you know what your saying because the press will run with it either way.

 

Application to Lesson:

In terms of a press release, knowing whats going to hit the fan and what will bore the press and ultimately viewers is extremely important. Preparation for the interview can really help spin stories the way you want them to go.  

 

Application to Career:

If I were to become a PIO I think it would be best to get a team together just to research and to drill questions at me. This would allow us to look for the questions we don't want asked and then how to answer them effectively. As a emergency manager, I would want to make sure there is a story worth telling or information worth sharing so that people can be informed