Media interview tips (March 23, 2005)

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I have not had many requests for interviews, but I work a lot with people who talk to the media all the time. It's not an easy job, but it is a very important job. Scott Berry writes about his experiences with discussing models that predict outcomes in sports with radio talk show hosts and print media reporters.

The Mainstream Sports Media, Scott Berry, Statistics in Sports newsletter, Spring 2000: 2(1); 2-3. [PDF]

and mentions the tendency of reporters to oversimplify and leave out important qualifiers.

You have to be prepared to summarize things, neatly, and correctly. I found this to be very difficult--and also very frustrating. In any analysis there are certain assumptions that are important and they greatly affect the conclusions. Invariably the sports media is "headline driven." They want to say... "the statistician found that this player is the best." While I want to explain how it was found, how best is defined, and what are the measures of uncertainty, the media is for the most part happy with the headline. It is frustrating not being able to have more time to explain things more clearly, maybe I can get a few people to read the original study, or better yet become interested in this interesting field of statistics. You should strongly encourage anyone who writes about your work to let you read it--it will benefit both of you.

The University of Kansas Office of University Relations offers some do's and don'ts for media interviews. Here are just a few:

• Do prepare for the interview. Anticipate questions, the hard ones. What are your key messages? If you feel unprepared when a reporter calls, tell the reporter you will call back in 15 minutes or so. Collect your thoughts and then call.
• Do be simple and brief: Short, simple answers are better than long answers (less chance of being misquoted). Avoid technical terms or jargon. Note: Eight seconds is the average length of a TV soundbite.
• Don’t answer hypotheticals.
• Don’t be afraid to say you don’t know the answer to the question.
• Don’t be afraid to say you need to verify the facts and call back.

The website, about.com, has an article "Media Interviews - Are You Ready to Share Your Findings?" which offers similar advice. Here are two bullet points:

• Speak concisely and minimize the jargon. Know what you want to communicate about an issue beforehand so that you keep your comments short and straightforward. Minimize professional jargon by pretending that you're speaking to a friend outside of your discipline.
• Make you case and restate it. At the end of the interview, reporters will often ask if there's anything else you'd like to tell them. Use this opportunity to drive your message home, even if you're repeating what you've already said. What should the audience take away from your interview? Redundancy leads to more accurate reporting and more informed audiences.

FEMA has some guidance in "Media Interview Tips" [Microsoft Word format]:

• Listen to the entire question before answering.
• Avoid speculation.
• Beware of false assumptions and erroneous conclusions.
• Avoid hypothetical questions.
• Be alert to multiple questions, and address them individually.
• Be confident and concentrate on delivering your message.
• Keep your answers simple and direct.
• Speak in “sound bites” (concise, memorable explanations).
• Never repeat inaccurate or damaging information spoken within a reporter’s question. Instead, state the information in a positive manner within your answer.
• Treat all questions seriously.
• NEVER speak "off the record."
• While answering questions, be attuned to opportunities to promote your messages.
• When you have answered well, stop speaking. Resist the urge to “fill the silences.”

Some additional comments from other web pages:

Write down the five main points you want to cover. List anecdotes, facts, or jokes that help you make each point effectively.  Rick Frishman, Jill Lublin, Jay Conrad Levinson, www.rickfrishman.com/article_eight_tips.html

After the interview, you are rarely given the opportunity to read a story before it appears in print; even more rare is the opportunity for editing. Therefore, before the interview, determine if there are any controversial or easily misinterpreted aspects of your work. Roughly frame your answers in these areas beforehand. During the interview, emphasize to the reporter how important such points are. Assert the fact that your information may be inaccurate if stated another way. California Psychological Association, www.calpsychlink.org/news/interviewtips/printtips.htm

Be Prepared. Ask the reporter questions such as: What’s your deadline? What kind of story is it? What’s your angle? Who else has been or will be interviewed? Learn about the reporter’s style and media outlet. The Endocrine Society, www.endo-society.org/news/InterviewTips.cfm

Try to get your most important pieces of information within your answer communicated first, before going into less significant details (reporters are looking for the gist of your answers and are often less interested in the minor details of an issue). American Colllege of Sports Medicine, www.acsm.org/reg_chapters/resources/interviews.htm

This page was written by Steve Simon while working at Children's Mercy Hospital. Although I do not hold the copyright for this material, I am reproducing it here as a service, as it is no longer available on the Children's Mercy Hospital website. Need more information? I have a page with general help resources. You can also browse for pages similar to this one at Category: Human side of statistics.