I love showing you clips of TV interviews that are perfect examples of how NOT to act on camera.
This week, you get not one, but two videos. Each can best be described as, uh, a “teaching moment.” Both authors start stumbling, right out of the gate.
In the first video, author Uri Man’s comments are so inappropriate that he rattles FOX host Ainsley Earhardt. At the end of the interview, she turns to her co-host and asks, “Did that just happen?”
In the second video, the anchors start taunting author Karrine Steffans and things turn really ugly. Karrine’s response infuriates the anchors so badly that at the end….well, I’m not going to spoil it for you. But promise me you’ll watch to the bitter end.
Here’s the first video, from a recent segment on “America’s News HQ” on FOX News:
Thanks to Publicity Hound Jamile White of Bowie, Md., aka @EcommerceDiva on Twitter, for flagging us to this segment from GoodDaySacramento, the CBS station in Sacramento, Calif.:
Now, it’s your turn.
Which of the two do you think is the worst example of an interview-gone-bad? Are the anchors at fault? If you had been either one of those authors, how would you have responded?
Media trainers and book publicists, what would you have told these authors after the fact if they had been your clients?
Ask your Twitter followers what they think by clicking on the green “tweet” button. Or share this with your Facebook friends.
Great catch on the Fox video, I actually had it on in the office when that clip aired, and didn’t even notice the ending.
I’m not so certain that the author was stumbling so much as coming across as a stalker; either way not good…
As for the second clip, not wanting to spoil it for anyone, how should the author have acted?
I kind of got the feeling that perhaps a couple of “Professionals” should have been more concerned about the impact of publicity than the author.
The second one was definitely the worst one. It was hard to watch and being defensive made her unlikable and you wouldn’t want to buy her book because of it.
It’s not the anchors fault that they only got the book the day before. The author should of laughed off the offensive comments instead of going into attack mode.
The first seemed a little pointless and with not much direction, but at least it was friendly,
Great find Joan,
Dale
I thought the second interview was worse though it did take me a second to realize that the first author was actually answering the question.
In the second interview the author had previously stated that she had seduced ‘rappers’ yet was defensive when it was brought up. As well we all have to understand that it isn’t possible for the hosts of these shows to read every book that comes in. There is just not enough time and if we require the hosts read it then the shows will have to interview less authors.
I thought the second author was condescending and full of herself. Not the type of person whose work I want to read. There are too many other authors out there who at least give the impression of being gracious.
Great topic Joan! I recently started a kind, but strict, do not call us, we’ll call you approach due to some of the content people have tried to get me to present on my radio show. I so want to be able to help out new authors especially, but with all the self-publishing going on…some of the books I receive are beyond bad. One book I recently received after implementing the policy had my mouth on the floor…and I was only on page 13!!! Thank goodness I put the policy in place that said send the book, let me look at it and I’ll call you if we can book you.
Thanks for the chuckle…and for the record, I vote video #2. I think author number 1 was just nervous and trying to make nice with his interviewer. : )
Wow, talk about interviews off the tracks. I find the second one worse, given the attack mode of the interviewee. She would be well served to remind herself that interviewers can’t possibly read every book they receive. Had this been me being interviewed, I would not expect that the interviewers would have read my book — skimmed over it, yes. Read it, no. Therefore, I would be prepared to proactively provide the highlights, perhaps in writing in advance of the interview. I would also use (self-deprecating) humor at some of the difficult questions, to lighten the mood a bit. And that’s my toonie’s worth (Canadian, eh? ;o)
The second interview is by far the worst. The author or her PR people failed to send a synopsis of the book (or it wasn’t read.) Then she failed to go straight into ‘what this book is really about,’ which would have saved face and a lot of confusion. Instead she became defensive and hard to deal with. After that she was clearly offended that these very busy anchors hadn’t read her book.
My first newspaper interviewer assumed my novel might be raunchy because of the word ‘blue’ in the title. Once I patiently explained why that was part of the title he was able to write it into his article–but I could just as easily alienated him by adopting a huffy attitude. Authors cannot afford to be prima donnas.
The second interview is far worse, in my opinion. Sure, Uri Man’s comments were inappropriate (not to mention they completely detracted from the topic), but I think Ainsley Earhardt handled them as good-naturedly as she could. Karrine Steffans was just poorly trained – or not trained at all – for media appearances. I think the anchors could have phrased their questions differently, but Steffans should NOT have become defensive right off the bat, and she should NEVER expect the anchors to have read her book before the interview. She comes across looking ungrateful for the opportunity to promote her book. I’d be embarrassed if I were her publicist.
Well. No one is going to rush out for Uri Man’s book so his performance was the worst. Karrine Steffans got good publicity for an X rated sex book so I can see people buying it though I’m not sure what it’s really about.
Who would want to buy her book? She has an arrogance about her and a chip on her shoulder. Worst inteview I have ever seen.
Well, the second interview certainly was a train-wreck! It is the job of the author to help the interviewer understand what their book is about, no doubt. The author did get unnerved a bit by the interviewers and wasn’t quite sure what direction to take them in, considering that the old axiom applies here: You can take a horse to water, but you can’t make them drink.
However, the interviewer has a RESPONSIBILITY to come to the interview having at least read the Cliff Notes version of the book so they know what they are talking about, which clearly these two Sacramento yahoos did not. What a poor reflection on the journalism profession!
I would counsel the author to try and keep my irritation in check, because clearly people like these two exist in all markets across the U.S. and you gotta learn to deal with them effectively.
Fascinating to watch, but everything was fairly smooth in the Uri Man interview. If he went a bit too far, it was handled with good humor.
The second interview is a classic “how not to be interviewed” clip. Hey authors, here’s a tip: take the publicity you can get. Most people in the media will not have read your book.
I’m still laughing after watching both interviews. Why? They are a perfect examples of “Interviews from Hell”.
Which is worse? Definitely the second one as far as attitude. The Vixen will never be invited to do another interview. However, her book will be remembered longer thanks to the comments made by the interviewers. The first author’s book will go South like the economy he’s writing about.
Thanks for the great “no no” lessons!
Pierette
Yoiks! Both of these were pretty bad but my vote for interview from hell definitely goes to the Vixen! What about the title, bookover, or media sheet would suggest that this book is for “young girls all the way to women in committed relationships.” Three cheers for the anchor’s executive decision.
The first video, was he actually trying to promote a book or just hit on the interviewer! I would definitely not be interested in a book by this person.
The second interview in some ways was worse in the fact that either the author had not sent them some appropriate cover information in case what happened would happen because the interviewer had not read the book and had only looked at the pictures. On the other hand it may have created enough controversy people would buy the book. The author came across as knowing what and why she had written it but did not handle controversy well.
Yikes … I think the Vixen needs fixin’! She was the worst. After the fact is probably too late. Preparation ahead of time is key to preparing authors for primetime.
The first interview didn’t seem like one. It was just a guy flirting with the host.
The second one – well, I would have been insulted also and had to agree with the writer. The hosts, even though they hadn’t read the book, seemed to be putting her down. However, I think she’ll sell many more books after that interview that Uri Man after his. He just looked like a guy trying to score.
The second one. No matter what their personal opinions, they shouldn’t have been so rude to the author. They had already made up their minds about the book before the author even spoke.
Second video-horrible guest..who would ever book her after seeing this?? Bravo to the hosts who killed the interview….every author should watch this and learn how not to treat your hosts unless you want to be banned from media for life! As an author, I would never do this. As a radio show host and guest booker, I would never have someone like this on my show.
Dr. Shawn
The author in the second video clip broke the cardinal rule: She asked the hosts whether they had actually read her book and then acted insulted when they admitted they hadn’t.
In all the radio and TV interviews I’ve done to promote my books, only a couple of the hosts had read my book. That’s an assumption every author should make: The host has NOT read your book! They interview authors every day, and they don’t have time to wade through every book, even if they wanted to. The author’s publicist did her a grave disservice by not informing her of that fact.
While the author was wrong to insult the hosts on the air, the hosts (or more likely, the show’s producer) were also somewhat at fault by choosing a rated X book to feature on a family news show. What were they thinking?
Oh yeah: “Sex sells.”
By making a big to-do about how insulting the author was and and by pointing out the book’s nasty pictures, the hosts just piqued the audience’s curiosity. I imagine more books will sell because of this nasty interplay than they would have, had the interview proceeded uneventfully. All in all, it resulted in a coup for the author.
Laura Christianson
Twitter: @bloggingbistro
The second interview (the Vixen book) was worse by far, especially when the author accused the interviewers of not having read the book. Then they had to defend themselves by saying they had not received the book until late the previous day. The anchors are under no obligation to read the book.
When the author caused the interview to be prematurely ended, the anchors filled the remaining time with comments that made the book sound like porn.
The anchors run the show and the author is the “guest.” It’s the author’s task to behave as the guest in the anchors’ “home.”
Both quests were out of line…Uri Man just missed a great opportunity to promote his book and make people think he knew what he was talking about…instead of offering positive advice he hit on the negatives we all already know. Overall he was unprepared. The anchor asked a legit question and he veered off about the color of her dress and his tie–poor judgment and then “hitting on the anchor” on air–just bad taste. What he thought was clever and cute underscored his lack of promoting savvy.
The Vixen author was totally out of line…so off base you want to cringe. Attacking the anchors–not done. Rarely does an anchor read a book; this author needs to get over herself and figure out how to answer the tough questions. Definitely the worst of the two interviews in my opinion.
I think the first interview is borderline inappropriate. I have actually gotten used to a lot of that flirty dialogue at least between co-hosts on morning tv and I think the host was encouraging him. I didn’t quite get what the book was about though so that wasn’t good on his part.
As far as the second interview, that was atrocious! I can’t believe it wasn’t pulled sooner. I think the hosts handled it as well as they could! There’s a way to be defensive and share your point of view without going even close to where that author went. Her book actually sounded interesting but she was fighting so much it turned me off. I don’t think you can expect them (any daily anchor/reporter/host/DJ) to read your book or in my case listen to my CD. Just appreciate the time you are given and be thankful and courteous.
Thanks for posting! Now I know not to stress going into important interviews like that… I couldn’t possibly be worse. Maybe something bad happened to that author before the interview.
The Vixen interview was definitely worse. Uri just wasted his on-air time. Ms. Vixen played both offensive and defensive – and both are mistakes!
I can’t believe the Vixen anchors kept rattling on and on, giving Ms. Vixen more airtime. They couldn’t let it go. It’s like the station manager was asleep at the switch and didn’t just go to an early commercial break.
Both authors should have had a list of a few key points they wanted to cover during their interviews. Ms. Vixen should not have been surprised that the anchors thought it was an x-rated book, based on the packaging.
I’ve been on Good Day Sacramento but not with those two personalities. I have my own story to tell about that, but another time. Here, it looked as if nobody had prepared for this interview. If the author had given the interviewers a synopsis and sample questions, the parties would not have gotten into an argument on air about not reading and understanding the book. To make matters worse, nobody recovered in a professional manner. The author took umbrage and the hosts fought back. It was ugly.
On the other program, Uri Man went off topic and Ainsley didn’t do a good job of getting him back on track. Hey, I’m a wardrobe consultant and talk about clothing colors on interviews but that is not what his interview was supposed to cover. He seemed totally unprepared and didn’t answer her questions well. His analogy about the former girlfriend was un-businesslike and inappropriate. But Ainsley should not have asked “Did that just happen?” on air. That was unprofessional.
Both interviews are equally bad because in both cases the guest and the interviewer are not prepared enough. However, in the first interview the anchor should have been more prepared for having the tables turn on her. In the second interview I would say that the author’s publicist did not adequately (if at all) prepare the client. They probably thought the content would sell itself.
The anchor from the first interview and the guest in the second interview were both hooked by unmet emotional needs allowing themselves to become victims. It strikes me that this is the heart of where the interviews went wrong and the other player took advantage of that to create an interview with a downward spiral where they seem to take the position of the perpetrator in this crime.
In an ideal world it would be great if interviewers were coached on finding the best of the person they are interviewing while making just the facts speak for themselves for anything negative. It is also a lesson in being prepared as an interviewee if you are ever to go on TV.
I think in both of these situations the interviewers were as bad as the authors, and they’re supposed to be pros. Preparation for the authors would be my advice–and go back to j-school would be what I’d tell the show hosts.
As for the first interview, I was so bored with Wall Street vs. Main Street cliché that I missed the whole flirting thing. I was still trying to figure out what the book was about.
I couldn’t watch the second one until the end. I was embarrassed after only 45 seconds–both for the hosts and the guest. What a train wreck of an interview! Bad job by the broadcasters and bad attitude from the author. Really, I couldn’t watch it.
The first interview by Uri was awful. It sounded like the guy was more interested in getting the anchors phone number that selling his book. The interview did not give me any desire to read the book. What a wasted opportunity.
The second one sounds like the anchors had some preconceived notions about what the book was about and they tried to demean and offend the author intentionally. I hate it when people smile in your face but are really trying to stab you in the front.
The argument that ensues made me actually WANT or at least curious to see what was in the book that was so offensive.
It may not be the FIRST rule of being interviewed, but it’s certainly on the list: Don’t argue with the interviewer. It’s their show, the viewers are THEIR fans (not yours) they can step on your words, out-shout you, cut you off, and they will always get the last word.
So if the interviewer says something like “Your book is about seducing celebrities” and it’s not, it’s a children’s book, better to say “My book’s about a bear learning to roller skate, there’s no sex in it. I’ve never seduced a celebrity and while I haven’t written a sex book, maybe sometime in the future it’s something I’d consider. But for now I’m the author of a G-rated children’s book” than ever to say “You’re wrong.”
Even if they have you confused with another author, arguing looks bad. As we just saw.
As far as the first interview, we don’t know what happened before the interview, it’s possible there were comments about ‘wear yellow day’ that we didn’t see.
Could not see a thing wrong with the 1st interview. As a dating and relationship expert, I thought his comments to the interviewer were quite sweet and harmless. Would be good for more women to accept compliments graciously from men period – on or off air.
As far as the second interview, I think it’s all obvious.
The second video bothered me the most because the hosts attacked the guest. Then they ended the interview when the guest disagreed with their claims.
I think this is an example of the dangerous side of being on TV or radio. Programs really serve as a platform for the hosts to show off. In addition, the guest will automatically lose any confrontation because the host can end the interview at any time.
A mild version of this happened to me earlier this year on a radio show. The two hosts threw weird questions and bizarre remarks at me. My defense was to be even more outrageous, while responding with real, practical ideas. I was prepared for their confrontational approach because I had listened to about an hour of an earlier show.
So, what can a guest do? I suggest: a) Listen to shows to determine the approach used by the host, b) Make friends with the host, c) Provide the host with questions, d) Ask the host to use the questions, e) Never disagree with the hosts, f) Agree with the possibility of anything they say (e.g., “YES! That may be possible.” or “Wow. What an idea.”) and then state your idea.
“Talking Points” would have greatly helped these interviewers
and in turn, the authors they interviewed.
I put the blame squarely with both authors.
They were each given a fabulous opportunity to promote their books and each failed miserably for different reasons: Uri for losing focus; and Karrine for her defensive, thin-skinned attitude.
The lessons here are:
1. Be prepared for anything and everything.
2. Know what you want to say and say it (stick to your
messages).
I hope both authors learn from their respective experiences and understand that when given the chance to shine, they had better be up to the task.
That was one of the worst interviews I have ever seen. The 2nd interview was so much worse because he basically came out and called her whore on national television without saying it. First I cannot believe that they didn’t read the book and just assumed things about her and the book and secondly that they actually made themselves look that stupid and cut the interview.
There were comments made about the book and the author after they stopped the interview and to make matters worse he sat on her book to end the chaos. Wow where is the respect anymore on television. Freedom of speech is one thing but mucking it up that much is just ridiculous.
Thank you for putting these up there. They were great to watch and I felt uncomfortable for both of them.
OMG! I went out on a date with that Uri guy a few years ago! looks like nothing has changed!! Still totally confused about how to act around women!
As for the vixen, she made herself sound like a Biotch, and I was left completely confused about who the book is intended for.