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How to be a Talking Head

Guest post by: Harvey Farr

Article Overview: The media has transformed from a one-way communications mechanism to a forum for multiple-way conversations. Those who participate in the conversation are viewed as leaders in their industry, but how do you get involved in the conversation?

How to be a Talking Head

Any day of the week, on virtually every TV channel, you will find experts discussing the topic of the day. It always involves the hot news item that is on everybody’s mind for the moment, and will probably fade when people turn off their television sets and call it a night.

There was a time when news anchors and news reporters just reported the news. But over the past decade, the media has changed dramatically. No longer is it enough to report the news, news outlets want to hear “experts” on every subject comment on the news of the day from varying perspectives.

Whether it is the economy, domestic and foreign politics, entertainment scandals or legal cases, television and radio stations turn news topics into heated conversations rather than just simple boring news items.

Experts in all areas, from psychologists to politicians to business persons to attorneys to doctors find themselves in great demand to chime in on the discussion of the day. When they appear on TV and radio, they are positioned as leaders and experts who have the luxury of sitting back and commenting – in both complimentary and critical terms – on issues they have no personal involvement in.

A great job if you can get it.

How does someone get invited to be a “talking head” on a show? How does someone position them self as a media expert?

The reality is most media have their favorite talking heads that they go to time and again. Some shows that use talking heads frequently, like Larry King Live, use the same people over and over. Why? Simple. They perform well on TV, are reliable, and the show knows that they are getting. When a show puts a panel together, they want to make sure certain points of view are covered and debated. Remember, the objective of a TV talk show is to assure the audience doesn’t fall asleep, not necessarily to enlighten or convey information.

If you are in a profession where you believe you could be a good source to comment on issues of the day, the first thing is to make yourself known as a leader in your industry. You do this by becoming more public in your work and your opinions. This may mean writing articles in industry trade journals, sending news releases to your local newspapers expressing your opinion on issues doing more speaking engagements and so forth. The media need to know you exist; they need to know what you stand for; they need to know your credentials, and they need to know you would make a good guest in their studio.

The place to start is with a solid PR program so you get the attention of the media. Then, when you have received some attention, you can target certain media outlets with an offer to comment on the issues of the day.

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Article Tags: marketing, media, PR, publicity, talking heads



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