Karen Hilyard:
Hello health comm nerds and health comm novices! Welcome to another episode of Health Comm Central!
In today's episode, we're going to be talking about an opportunity that I see left on the table all the time by public health agencies and nonprofits and community-based organizations. And that is the chance to promote health campaigns and health policies by making live appearances on television and on radio.
Now, granted, live interviews are not something that everyone can do. I know that if you work for a large federal agency, there's clearance process and not just anyone is allowed to talk to the media. But for a lot of you out there, if you work for a local or state organization that has fewer levels of bureaucracy, chances are, this is something that you could really take advantage of. And there are a mind-boggling number of TV and radio shows out there that are hungry for guests to do interviews. And you can be one of those guests, you can even become a regular on one of those shows -- if you know how to do it.
To talk about how it's done…to talk about how you can be successful at pitching guests from your organization or pitching yourself and getting booked on some of these shows, I have with me in the studio today, my guest Wendy Guarisco from the Guarisco Group. And her company is an Atlanta based media agency that represents clients across the country and gets them booked on media outlets every single day.
Now, just as full disclosure, Wendy and I go way back, not only is she one of my dearest friends, but back in the day, we were both producers together at CNN. And so we were on the receiving end of the pitches that we're going to be talking about today—we were the ones putting people on the air. And now for more than 15 years, Wendy has been doing it from the other side. She represents physicians, authors, subject matter experts of all different kinds. And she gets them booked every day. She knows all the tricks of how to do it. And she is here to share that with us now. So welcome, Wendy, I'm so excited to have you on today's episode.
Wendy Guarisco:
This is so much fun. Karen, thanks so much for having me.
Karen Hilyard:
Well, so let's talk a little bit about…how did you start doing this? You used to work in the media, and now you work on the other side representing people and contacting the media? How did how did you do that?
Wendy Guarisco:
Well, it's kind of the opposite of what I did at CNN. For 12 years at CNN, you know, we were finding the guests and prepping them to go on air. And I even prepped the baby anchors to learn how to interview. So I literally know this business from the inside out. And after I left CNN, a lot of the people that I used to book for my shows started calling and saying, “Hey, I'm never on anymore, can you help me, you know, get back on.” And this business just sort of grew organically from that. And the people that I worked with at CNN have now floated all across the media landscape. And it's just been a great ride.
Karen Hilyard:
So you know a lot of people in the media. But it sounds like there are also probably places that you book people where you don't know someone—where it's not a matter of having an “in” there, it's just knowing the right way to approach them—the right way to kind of sell the person or the organization that you're pitching. So let's talk a little bit about that. First of all, what opportunities are there for television and radio appearances?
Wendy Guarisco:
That is in itself is a full-time job because there's not only new media outlets, there's new types of media coming out every single day. So keeping track of that… and people move jobs all the time. Literally, information management. I think is the hardest part of my job is just keeping track of where are those opportunities? What are they talking about? Who do I know there? How can I get in? How can I get my clients into that? It's a whole thing.
Karen Hilyard:
And so there are all these new forms of media -- like podcasting, I guess is one of them! It's not the newest, but it's one of the newer ones. But then there's also a lot of stuff that people actually kind of grew up with, right, like there are still local TV news shows, you know, maybe on at noon or in the early evening or certainly in the morning, where they have local guests. So maybe a local public health department or a local organization could be a guest on one of those news programs and reach the target market that they're trying to reach out to already -- the people that live in that community. So it really runs the gamut it seems like from those old fashioned kinds of things that have been around for a long time to the newest sorts of media. What's the what's the like the craziest new media outlet that you've booked for or heard about? And maybe you're trying to book for?
Wendy Guarisco:
Oh I don't know if any of them are that crazy. Well, there probably are. But I don't want to put my clients on a crazy network. I mean, so even some of the legacy networks like ABC, CBS, NBC, they all now have streaming arms. And so we book clients on ABC News Live. What's the other one? NBC News Now. CBS N. And it still has the same cachet of saying I was on CBS This Morning, even though it went out over the internet instead of broadcast, but most people are getting their news on their phones anyway. So it's almost more prestigious.
Karen Hilyard:
Well, one of the things that I would love to have you talk a little bit about too, is the idea that even if you're on a show that's live and that airs and then it's over and it's not going to be repeated…. Now, because of the internet, you can actually get a lot more mileage out of that appearance, right?
Wendy Guarisco:
Absolutely. I always tell my clients, you can't count on your target audience, being in front of the television for the exact two minutes that you're on, on a Tuesday afternoon. You have to take that clip, and just keep pushing it out on your website, your blogs, your you can even put a link to it in your email signature, but just keep getting life out of it until you get the next one.
Karen Hilyard:
Well, and I know you know, some of the research on credibility and what is meaningful to audiences, that [a news clip] also carries more weight. You could put the same information out yourself, versus “Oh, I was on ABC or NBC” or, you know, a local radio station or whatever and they interviewed me. And that interview carries more weight for people, it seems more credible than something that you're putting out on your own, even if the words that you've said are exactly the same. It can really boost that credibility, which is important in a world where public health messages are often competing with things that are less credible. So boosting your credibility really matters a lot.
Wendy Guarisco:
Absolutely.
Karen Hilyard:
So how hard is it to land one of these spots? You know, if you've got somebody who has an important issue to talk about. I know that you represent many people, but thinking right now about the some of the physicians, for example, that you have represented, and you know, their messages that have to do with health or with COVID or with other topics that are out there in the news. How hard is it to get one of those guests on to a show, get them interviewed?
Wendy Guarisco:
The first interview is always the hardest to get because if I pitch a client, a new client, to a producer, the first thing they're gonna say is let me see some previous interviews. And if there aren't any that's a challenge, you know. We have to either put forth some papers that they've written or speaking engagements, or some even create our own video to generate that credibility. But once you start amassing appearances in reputable media, that boosts your credibility for the next one, and makes it a little easier to get.
But you mentioned something interesting about local media. And what COVID did for local media was incredible. Local media outlets didn't used to get very high ratings, but during COVID their ratings went through the roof because people wanted to know what was happening in their own market. They were like, yes, we're still interested in what's happening in the rest of the country. But what's happening where I live, you know, am I gonna get it? Am I safe? And those ratings have held since COVID sort of died down a little bit. So it's really good to be the hometown hero and get started with your local affiliate. Because then, if you're on the NBC affiliate in Dallas, they put it on their website, and NBC affiliates around the country start picking it up and running it, and you almost get the same value as a national hit. So a lot of times you get fed up the food chain to that network. You know, CBS evening news might call you after you did a few hits on the local affiliate. So it's a good way to get started.
Karen Hilyard:
And I think it's important to think about the perspective of the producers that are out there, you know, they're tasked with meeting many, many deadlines in a day. Sometimes the stories spring out of nowhere and they have to quickly find somebody. And so, you know, you may think, “Oh, well, they probably have all those numbers in their contacts already.” But often they don't. And often it is it is the fact that you've been visible—that you've done those smaller interviews—that can help them find you in a search and get to you more quickly.
Now, there's also direct pitching that can work. And so let's talk a little bit about what that process is like. If you were going to pitch a guest to a media outlet of some kind, what happens? What do you do?
Wendy Guarisco:
Well, I think first you have to be familiar with that outlet, know, the kinds of things that they talk about, and the way they cover stories, if they have their own health reporter, they probably don't need you as much as somebody who doesn't have their own health reporter. But you're gonna pitch that health reporter. It's a whole different set of criteria that you're gonna give them as opposed to a generic morning show producer who may not know anything about health. So you have to know who you're pitching, what they want, and how can you deliver that to them. And at the end of the day, all they want to do is keep people from changing the channel.
Karen Hilyard:
So they want to give their audience news they can use, and how can you do that and still get your message out and accomplish your goals? I think it's important to recognize they have this airtime to fill, they can't NOT get someone. They have to put they have to put somebody in a guest segment if that segment has been given time. So if they've got three minutes to fill, if they're not filling it with you, they're going to be filling it with someone else. So think about it that way: That it's going to be somebody… it might as well be you! (It sounds like winning the lottery, but it's actually much easier than that, right?)
So from what you're talking about, you're really getting to know what they're looking for. And that would be fairly doable for a more local organization to know what's happening on their local stations to watch those stations to know, “Oh, hey, do they have a health reporter or not? Oh, they don't.” So now I'm going to, I'm going to approach them as somebody who can help explain to non-health experts about this. And if they have a health reporter, maybe I'm going to approach them as you know, “I'm speaking the same language as you and I can help you shine a bigger light on this issue of interest,” or “Here's an issue that you ought to be covering and talking about and here's how I can help you do that.” So different pitches, but you can you can know that environment, that local environment pretty well. And then if you can get a few bookings there, you can start as you were saying, moving up the food chain to get bigger opportunities. Alright, so one thing I want to ask before we move on to getting calls from media organizations: Thinking about the pitching part of things. Tell me about that. What do you need besides possibly having some video of your previous appearances? Or maybe some papers that you've written? Or other things that enhance your credibility? Do you need a press kit or anything like that these days? Or what is helpful in making that pitch? And do you do it by email or phone, usually?
Wendy Guarisco:
You don't need a fancy press kit there. Any number of people out there who will sell you a very expensive, very fancy press kit that goes right in the trash. All you need is a website. If you've got social media with a lot of followers, that matters to national news, but for local news, you know, a website and papers—anything that gives you credibility—will help. But you don't need to spend a lot of money on that. And as far as phone calls or email, I would start with email. Most of them have such little bandwidth. They can't deal with phone calls. And they don't want phone calls. They want to see the pitch in writing, and they'll call you if they're interested. It can't hurt to follow up with a phone call. But for the first approach, I would definitely do it in email
Karen Hilyard:
And the email should be short, right?
Wendy Guarisco:
Very short, very short. Here's the the story. Here's what I can do to help your audience understand it. Give me a call. That's really all you need to say.
Karen Hilyard:
Okay, good. So let's say that you get that call from either somebody you've pitched or maybe it comes out of the blue. So what happens then? Let's say that, you know, you come back to your phone or your computer and either there's a message on voicemail or maybe if they're not using the phone, maybe they've sent you an email or even reached out to you on social media, but either way, you've got an inquiry from a media organization. So what happens next?
Wendy Guarisco:
Well first of all understand that they're probably on deadline, and you're probably not the only one they've called. So it literally is the first person back with whatever they've asked for is the one that's going to get the spot. So be as responsive as you possibly can—you know, answer their questions and what they need, and be the nicest person they've worked with all day, and you're likely to get the spot.
Karen Hilyard:
Okay, great. So it's not like there's some big competition or anything, it's really, quite often, how fast you call back. And if you give them what they need, when they ask for information, yeah, okay.
Wendy Guarisco:
Yes. And everything is done from the perspective of what they need. You're helping them do their job. And in the course of that, you're gonna get what you need. But everything you're doing is from the perspective of helping them do their job, and helping them serve the audiences that they serve.
Karen Hilyard:
Exactly. They don't care if they sell more books for you.
Wendy Guarisco:
Exactly. They just want to deliver the information to their audience. And that's what you're helping them do.
Karen Hilyard:
Okay. So how can you tell, you know, a lot of people worry that they're, oh, I'm being you know, I don't want to be “set up” in an interview, I don't want to be caught by surprise about something. How can you be cautious about saying yes to something that would be not a good situation, maybe not just a poor way to get your information out, but something that embarrasses you or makes your organization uncomfortable? So how do you avoid those things?
Wendy Guarisco:
Well part of it is being a good consumer of the media that you want to be in. So be familiar with the kinds of media that you want to be in. And you also have a right to ask, Am I the only guest? Is this a debate? Is it a panel? Who else is on? You can ask for that information And then make your decision.
Karen Hilyard:
And does saying no mean that you'll never get another call?
Wendy Guarisco:
They do remember who says yes. If you say yes, and you're easy to work with, and you deliver the information that they asked for, they remember that and they come back to you. You don't have to say yes every single time. But you always run the risk that somebody else will say yes, and become the favorite. So it's a balance.
Karen Hilyard:
I often recommend to people that when they get a call like this, that they can say something like, “I would love to do this but I've got to move some things on my schedule, can you hang on?” Or “Can I get right back to you?” That gives you an opportunity to blame your schedule, if you actually want to say no, but to sound as if I would have done it if you could have. And that might be more likely to get you a call back rather than just saying no, I'm not comfortable with that which makes you sound like maybe you're unlikely to say yes in the future. So they're not going to make you their first call or email in the future if you seem seem unwilling. So yeah. Okay. So that's great to know. So you can ask questions about what is happening on the interview? Who else is going to be on there? What the questions might be? Do they ever send you the questions ahead of time? Does that happen very much?
Wendy Guarisco:
Very rarely will they do that. And often, when they do, you have to remember that the producer might send the questions the producer thinks they should ask, but the anchor may have a whole other idea. And so even if they do send you questions, don't be married to that. Don't think that's the only thing they're going to ask. And just try to remember to get your messaging out no matter what they are.
Karen Hilyard:
And so it sounds like for a lot of your guests, even if they are called on something that's maybe not 100% on-message for them, there can still be an opportunity to get to attach their message to it and to kind of pivot on air. So what are some examples of ways that you can do that?
Wendy Guarisco:
Well, media training is a really valuable investment. If you're in a field where what you're saying could be challenged or debated frequently, media training is a really good investment. Because in media training you can learn how to bridge from one topic to the other and say things like, “Well, that's an important aspect of this issue. But what really matters is… [da da da da da].” And you get out your message that way and learning to pivot and still be agreeable, and you know, the nice person to work with, but making sure that your message gets out is really important. And media training can help you do that.
Karen Hilyard:
It sounds like in a lot of cases, especially if you can delay by just a few minutes—if you can say, “I can let you know in five minutes, that might buy you some time to consider: What are they asking? Is there a way to bridge from that to the things that you want to talk about? Are there any concerns that you have about the format or whatever? And then you can answer them but it gives you a few moments to maybe think it through rather than having to instantly say yes or no, especially if you're on the phone. But even if it's via social media or email to say, “I need about five minutes or five to 10 minutes maybe to check my calendar and get back to you, but it's something I'm very interested in. So standby, and I'll be right back in touch.”
Karen Hilyard:
Any last things that you would tell people? Advice that you would give, especially for starting small with this? Again, maybe you're a local nonprofit working in the public health field, you have an important message that you want to get out to the public, what should you do? How can you get this rolling and become that sought-after interview guest?
Wendy Guarisco:
So at the end of the day, this is a relationship business. People like to work with people they like. So every time you go in be the easiest person they've worked with every day. Remember, the floor operator’s name, be nice to the makeup lady, like all of those things. And keep in touch with the reporters that you've talked to. Even if they can't use your story this time at least you can give them some background and position yourself as a valuable source to them, you know, going forward when when these things come up.
Karen Hilyard:
How about connecting with them on social media? Is that part of this?
Wendy Guarisco:
Absolutely. Yes, connecting with reporters and producers on social media is a great idea. So that you know what they're doing, you know, what they're reporting on, and how their coverage is going. Compliment them on a story they did, even if they didn't use you as a guest! Compliment them on something that they've done. Everybody likes to feel that they their work is being noticed and appreciated. So just any way to stay connected to these people will only help you down the road.
Karen Hilyard:
I think it's worth remembering, too, that quite often people who work in the media are very passionate about their jobs, they're passionate about getting information out to the public. And that's kind of a shared value when you think about media work and public health work. They’re both ways of reaching people with important messages. And the messages, you know, may be more varied when it comes to what media outlets are putting out there. But a lot of the time, people who have gone down that career path, they're mission driven—if you will—about getting information out to people and making sure that people are informed. So they can really be a partner in getting health information out to people and improving people's health. You just have to know how to make their job easier in order for them to make your job easier and more effective. So any last things that you want to add, before we wrap things up?
Wendy Guarisco:
Yeah, just one, a lot of times clients will tell me after they've been doing interviews for a while, you know, they get called by a smaller outlet, they say, “Oh, you know, that's not worth my time to do that one.” But you have to remember that the producer at that smaller outlet doesn't want to be there forever. They want to be the producer at the big show, the national show, the important show. And they remember who you know, worked well with them when they were little, and they take them to the next phase. So if there's any way to do an interview with a smaller outlet, I would say always do that.
Karen Hilyard:
And again, that comes back to the idea of it being a relationship, business or relationship game, really where you are building that longer term relationship. And it's one reason not to burn bridges, you know, if you even if you don't want to do something to get out of it gracefully, as gracefully as you would an invitation to some event that a friend was having, and you don't want to be rude, but you're not interested. But getting out of that gracefully and maintaining the relationship is what is important, because over the long term, that relationship can really become more and more valuable to you in the work that you do.
Wendy Guarisco:
Yeah.
Karen Hilyard:
Well, this has been amazing. And I'm going to put together a handout for folks that summarizes some of what we've talked about, and have that be something that people can download. And I will put the link for that in the Episode Notes. I don't have the link available right now. So you're gonna have to look at the Episode notes to see the link and download that checklist of how to get started with media interviews.
But this has been a terrific 101 level how to how to get into this and hopefully we'll have you back to talk about maybe the 102 or whatever the next level is -- I don't even know -- of doing this successfully. We would love to have you or someone else from The Guarisco Group come back and talk a little bit more about more advanced skills when it comes to being interviewed. So if someone is interested in getting in touch with you -- if they feel like, “Oh, I don't want to do this on my own, I need representation or whatever. How do they reach you?”
Wendy Guarisco:
You can go to our website which is GuariscoGroup.com And that's G-U-A-R-I-S-C-O, and the word “group” G-R-O-U-P, dot-com.
Karen Hilyard:
Okay, excellent. And I'm gonna put that in the Episode Notes as well. So you can look for a handout that summarizes some of the steps we talked about and a link to get in touch with Wendy if you are interested in talking to her and finding out a little bit more about what it is like to work with a publicist.
But for all of you listening right now, you can completely get started on this on your own using some of the tips and tricks that we've talked about here today. So, Wendy, thank you so much for joining us on this episode. And for all the listeners out there: We'll have another episode coming up soon! So in the meantime, stay well, stay safe and… stay
