Ah, the media :-/

[RHenriksen]

I did a video interview with a TV station in Portland, Maine yesterday afternoon. Friend of mine in Maine referred them to me for a pro-2A viewpoint (he had a work conflict and couldn't participate). Apparently there was going to be an antigun rally, or a candlelight vigil for CT victims, or somesuch yesterday in Portland that WGME was going to cover.

I got dressed up (coat & tie), and did a short Q&A with a young, female reporter via FaceTime. Turns out she had only been in Maine a week; she'd just moved up from Louisiana! I got the sense she had no ax to grind, wasn't hitting me with the typical 'why does anybody need 30 round magazines?' type of questions. I expressed sympathy for the CT families, and stuck to the theme of mental health care failings. I felt the interview went very well.

Later that evening, the station went back to my friend and said, "We tried the interview with Robert... 'but it was not good video. Could we do a phone interview with you?'" He & I both suspect they just didn't have good material from it they could twist to their agenda. If the video image quality was poor, they could have just used the audio from our conversation, or called back and done a phone only discussion with me. We think they were just casting about for a different interviewee who'd give them good material to edit into their narrative.

[RPB]

They probably wanted you in a camo ghillie suit or "huntin' clothes" with a background of various "assault weapons" or to look like a guy who just got home from noodlin' catfish like all Texans do ...and you looked normal and respectable ...

[OldCannon]

Unless you're highly trained for interacting with the media, you're at a complete disadvantage in an interview. This is why celebrities have "handlers" that are right by their side all the time. If a media person puts a camera in front of you, you must ALWAYS remember that you are serving their agenda. Whatever "point" you want to make is irrelevant. This is particularly true about TV. They need to sell advertising, which means they need catchy, controversial stuff. Sound logic and well-reasoned discussions have no place in the news world.