How to Work with the Media

by Jack Levin and James Alan Fox

Book Overview

This is a savvy, straightforward, and smart book. It tells you the things you need to know--from how not to look bad on television--to how not to look stupid in any medium. I liked its pragmatic approach. I work part time as an on-air news commentator at our local CBS affiliate (KIRO-TV), and I see a lot of academics try to get their point across and fail miserably. Or worse, they never get the media interested enough to put them on. I really think...

• Format: Paperback
• Language: English
• ISBN: 0803950896
• ISBN13: 9780803950894
• Release Date: September 1993
• Publisher: Sage Publications, Inc
• Length: 98 Pages
• Weight: 0.35 lbs.
• Dimensions: 0.3" x 5.5" x 8.5"

Customer Reviews

Sound Advice

If you want to get favorable media coverage, read this book. These two professors describe how to get a wider audience for your ideas. They have the credentials. In the back of the book there's a summary sheet on each one telling the extensive media coverage they're received, locally, regionally, and nationally.They argue that one's academic credibility is enhanced by media coverage. But, in working with the media, they point out, a news source has to be ready when media people need them. It may not necessarily be at the convience of the interviewee. The first step in getting in the arena is to prepare a one page, media friendly fact sheet, listing your content areas and an overview of your background. Next, learn the players, who the gatekeepers are and "work the system."Keep in mind, you're talking to the masses. Don't lecture. This isn't a university class. Keep it simple and easy to understand. Write for the general public. Op-ed columns, magazine articles, and newspaper features are ways of gaining initial media attention.There's some very practical advice in this book. I've worked in both arenas, the media and academe. I can see how the two sometimes miscommunicate. This book goes a long way in breaking down those communication barriers.