How do I become the interviewee

March 28, 2008 6:50 AM

Where do the "experts" interviewed for newspapers, radio, and TV come from? How can I become one?

I was watching the news on TV the other day and they were talking about how to save on your taxes. The anchor had a short segment where an accountant gave some expert advice on tax deductions and overlooked credits. My area of expertise is energy consulting which is also in the news a lot nowadays, so I thought maybe I could do this too. I have solid credentials in my field and am reasonably attractive for TV.

How much do these people get paid for an interview like this and how do I become a "go to person" for journalists?

posted by amfea to Media & Arts (21 answers total)

There was a decent article about these people a couple of years ago. Of course I cant find it now but the gist of it was that a lot of these people are either published authors or academics with relationships to the media. Some of them were found by reporters looking for stories and the regulars you see are the ones who have spent years building good relationships with these media folk.

These people also took 4am calls to be on the set by 6am to give 45 seconds of a sound-bite, so its not as glamorous as it looks. Others were tier-2 people who would only be on the air if the tier1 guy dropped out. I believe they were provided a small stipend for their time. Of course the real value was putting your name on the TV.

So from what I can remember these people succeeded because they knew how to speak to the audience, gave brief snippets of information, and had very high availibility.
posted by damn dirty ape at 7:07 AM on March 28, 2008

My wife used to work for a PR firm. They subscribed to a wire service that was specifically for finding expert interviewees.
posted by Uncle Jimmy at 7:10 AM on March 28, 2008

The easiest way to go about this is to work somewhere that has a good PR department or employs a good PR firm. Or, as damn dirty ape says, get published.

I can't remember the name of the service, but when I worked at a PR firm we used to receive a daily round-up of all the 'experts' that X section of the media wanted in the upcoming week.

Baring either of these, your best option is to get your hands on the contact info of some journalists who write about energy, and pitch yourself to them.
posted by zazerr at 7:16 AM on March 28, 2008

Someone from my professional organization contacted me on the recommendation of a friend, and now I get emails asking me to comment on stuff. The process seems to be that a magazine decides to do a story on subject X having to do with interpersonal relations, they decide they want to ask "a therapist," they call NASW press office, who then emails me.
posted by OmieWise at 7:32 AM on March 28, 2008

And, most media will not pay for interviews, since it obviously taints the credibility of the source. The experts they consult have established a reputation and make a living in their field, and they see giving interviews as an important part of what they do. For example, if they do research, it's much more gratifying to be able to tell a lot of people about it, or to comment on related topics, than to just do the research and publish it in a scientific journal hardly anybody reads. In the long run, doing interviews helps their name recognition and presumably, as a result, their potential earnings from consulting, lecturing, etc.
posted by beagle at 7:34 AM on March 28, 2008

PR Newswire has a Profnet service which connects experts to journalists. That might be what zazerr is referring to.

I'd also issue relevant press releases on the state of the industry or on your take on timely events to build your reputation with industry journalists.

And on preview, yeah, what beagle said: you're not likely to earn a cent doing these interviews.
posted by Tacodog at 7:38 AM on March 28, 2008

I work for a PR agency and have some experience with this...

Once you're recognized as dependable and credible source of a information on a specific topic - media outlets will start to call you. DDA is right, you must be willing to return calls at all hours and willing to work around the media outlet's needs and schedule. (Its not as fun as you would think...)

There are a few easy ways to start building a name for yourself. Print media is where most "experts" get their start. My agency subscribes to a service called Profnet. Journalists use Profnet to send out requests for stories they're covering. For example, the journalist might send out a request like:

"I want to talk with companies that are experts on notebook paper and others who can describe the operational, financial, transportation and logistics challenges of this trend. Contact: Important Journalist, [e-mail]"

Subscribing to ProfNet costs money. This guy, however, is free and sort of interesting...

Once you've been quoted a few times in print, contact larger media outlets and offer you name, contact info and bona fides. This info should ideally be sent to the beat reporter covering the issue or topic you are well-versed on. Tell them you're available should they ever need a quote.

Running a well-regarded blog on your area of expertise can also help to increase your authority in the eyes of the media.

Good luck!
posted by LakesideOrion at 7:40 AM on March 28, 2008 [2 favorites]

1) Start a blog and promote it
2) Hire a PR person to get you on TV and promote said blog.
posted by delmoi at 8:00 AM on March 28, 2008

1) Start a blog and promote it
2) Hire a PR person to get you on TV and promote said blog.

Nnn. Not really.

I have been around a lot of experts in my time in the media. The trend really is: write a book, get a great publicist, make an impression on people, know what you are talking about and be ready at the drop of a hat. It's become something of a trend to see writers suddenly move from simple experts to active contributors, like in the case of many NPR programs, but that's really the name of the game. In the case of NPR, they will actively look to hire people who have great writing experience rather than great radio experience because they often feel (and this is really partially true) that writers have expertise that goes well beyond the level of what I think of as 'effective subject knowledge' that I think some journalists will sponge up on short notice.

The thing to remember is that unless you are promoting your own work, you shouldn't expect to be making a lot of money as an expert. The general course is, you've written something, you're knowledgeable about it, and you go out to comment as a way of promoting yourself, don't expect your payout to be in dollars upfront but it eyeballs that will turn into consumers of your products down the road. George Will, for example, makes only $500 or so for every time he is on CNN, but he has a great number of products for sale to consumers and because of all the attention, he is always in print. Oddly, one place he doesn't seem to get a lot of attention is in baseball scholarship, which is an expert area he knows loads about and has written extensively.

I would suggest that you explore areas of your work that would make a good opening and begin writing about it, joining conferences as a speaker or panel leader, and start in with self-publicity and publishing. No job is too small for a good writer out to sell a book or idea. But, you have to be a salesman. I think the other thing to remember is that you shouldn't strike out an area because you think the number of experts in that field (relationships, for example) is high. The press and people are always looking for new ideas or new forms for old ideas. Be willing to be brave, bounding, and available and you will succeed.
posted by parmanparman at 8:24 AM on March 28, 2008

I've been interviewed by Toronto Star, CBC, Money and so on. Most of the time, my leads come from my blog. However, once in a while, I respond to a request for "people who've been through this" -- posted at the end of an article. ProfNet is another good source, as I am told.
posted by acoutu at 8:58 AM on March 28, 2008

The segment you saw on TV may have been more of an ad than an actual expert interview.

In addition to the avenues mentioned above, many institutions of higher learning and others have speakers bureaus that can supply experts on a given topic upon request. It was through roughly this mechanism that I was interviewed on the radio a few years ago. And to confirm what everyone else said, reputable news outlets do not pay for interviews. Larry Flynt, on the other hand...
posted by TedW at 9:14 AM on March 28, 2008

One time in college while browsing the reference section of the library I found a directory of experts, in topics ranging from political talking heads to some incredibly obscure scientific disciplines. It looked current and like something you could subscribe to. Can't recall the title exactly. Point being: this is a very much in-demand service, and there are middlemen that cater to it.
posted by Brian James at 9:21 AM on March 28, 2008

I'm the business editor for a local paper. We often use sources in our community: sometimes they find us, most often we look for them.

You may want to start small. A brief introduction by e-mail expressing an interest to the editor of the section you're interested in contributing can work wonders, as can a follow-up phone call. Be sure to outline what you have to offer.
posted by Gagglehack at 10:04 AM on March 28, 2008

Another point: you have to be articulate. Just because you're an expert on something, and have published books, articles, blogs, whatever, about it, doesn't mean you'll be good on TV or radio. I tend to say "uh" a lot when I'm speaking, which drives my daughter crazy, but more importantly, it's the kiss of death on radio or TV. You have to be able to talk smoothly and to think on your feet in response to questions. A sense of humor doesn't hurt, either.
posted by beagle at 10:04 AM on March 28, 2008

Mr. Adams and I specialize in trivia, and write for several publications and have a few books under our belts. Apparently, being published is the major key in getting media attention; through no impetus on our part, we were contacted by the Discovery Channel out of the blue one day. And here's where the "all hours" thing comes into play - they'd emailed us at something like 8PM, and we were working and answered - they asked if we could come up with five tornado facts by 11PM that night. We complied, and were not compensated, but got our names on an on-screen graphic. From there it sort of snowballed; CNN Headline News contacted us quite regularly for specific trivia facts to fill out their broadcasts. Again, no payment other than publicity. From there we've been contacted by various radio stations for brief guest spots about trivia of one type or another, where listeners can call in, etc. Of course, these stations are in any number of time zones in the US, and quite often it's the late-night shows that need our kind of filler, so that means staying awake (and coherent) at 4AM Eastern time to chat with a DJ on the West Coast.

Since there's no money involved for these types of gigs, it's best to have a product to promote, or a reason for promoting yourself. Otherwise, there's really no reason to get involved, unless you're that anxious to see yourself on TV.
posted by Oriole Adams at 10:19 AM on March 28, 2008

I've been interviewed before based on my website. People find me through the site. They look at my credentials and contact me. (It amuses me because I'm not really an expert on the subject, I'm just knowledgeable. I do however point this out at the beginning of each prospective interview.) In short, some reporter finds you, others hear about it and you start fielding calls.
posted by caution live frogs at 10:51 AM on March 28, 2008

Many universities create and distribute their own 'experts list' of professors, researchers and other staff who are willing and able to talk to the media within their area of professional expertise.

This is a promotional exercise by the university, since having professors recognized as 'experts' by the media potentially lends credibility to the entire institution.
posted by OilPull at 12:19 PM on March 28, 2008

Tim Ferris writes about this very topic in his over-hyped book The 4-Hour Workweek. I found the book mediocre in general, but the section on becoming an expert was interesting.

A summary can be found here.
posted by adamk at 12:39 PM on March 28, 2008 [1 favorite]

I've been interviewed twice by NPR, as I seem to be in their database when they need someone to talk about female pirates. They didn't pay, but I got to watch my book's Amazon sales rating shoot up up UP right after the interviews aired.

I've been interviewed by other radio stations, too. They found me through my website which, at the time, was the first one you got if you typed "women pirates" into the major search engines. (I also was #1 for "booty girl," but that didn't lead to any interviews.)

When I was a researcher and needed an expert to talk, I would often call the trade association for whatever the article was about. I had my gravel guy, my mortgage guy, my mattress guy. My mortgage guy was just about everybody's mortgage guy, by the way, because he was always available and always willing to explain finances at whatever level you needed.
posted by The corpse in the library at 1:06 PM on March 28, 2008

Hi. Reporter here.

First, I should put in the caveat that pretty much every reporter's style differs from every other reporter and so I can only tell you what I, personally, tend to do when in need of an expert. I can go several different routes.

One is, as others have mentioned, using the local university's expert list. Universities like it when you use these because it helps them further their reputations as places where smart people work. Usually there's about five or six different people in the communications office each with a different set of experts. You call the relevant one and they get that person to call you anywhere from an hour to about a day later. This is usually done when I don't know where to start and through the course of the conversation, I usually get some good ideas about who else might be good to talk to.

Another way is to, as others have said, draw upon people you have established some sort of past relationship with. In this case, I usually just sit back and think about who would be a good person to talk to about an issue. Sometimes they're people on my beat, like a local councilman who also happens to be a civil engineer, or someone I previously interviewed for something else - for example, one time I talked to an education lawyer about school funding and then for another story talked to him about a court case involving state aid distribution. The longer you're a reporter, the better you get at figuring out who you should probably talk to about what.

Think tanks are good for finding experts and are generally VERY reliable about availability. Their information must be used with discretion, however, as many of them are avowedly partisan. I generally call think tanks when I need someone to talk broadly on a topic and then use other sources to fill in the gaps.

There is also the government, if all you're looking for is basic information. They can't comment on anything but they can give you facts such as "how much money did Americans spend on gasoline from 2006 to 2008?"

Then there is just plain blind searching. I did this just last week. I googled "Bond Market Analysts," "Bond analysis," "Municipal bond experts," and other variations and came up with two or three companies that do such things full time. I called their communications office and they put me through to an expert.

Finally, if there's nowhere else to turn, there is PR. I get bombarded with hundreds of e-mails a day, usually relating to nothing at all about what I cover. Most of these are press releases, with a contact number for more information. Sometimes, when I have no other idea what to do, I call these people up and they can find me someone on the topic of their release to talk to. I generally do my best to avoid PR, however this is just a personal preference of mine. Still, as a journalist, working with PR people is an inescapable aspect of the job.
posted by KantGoOn at 5:07 PM on March 28, 2008

Sorry to be late to this. I'm an expert on some things and wind up with my name in the paper or on the radio as a result. I'm pretty sure this has to do with a few things, in some combination

1. I have a popular blog that is a first page google result for the word "librarian" so lazy reporters googling find me
2. I've been interviewed before and I give good interviews. I know how to speak in sound bytes, be clear and effective and I'm entertaining and interesting to talk to
3. I'm niche-y. There aren't many politically active librarians with popular blogs who speak and write about technology and digital divide topics. If people need someone in that area, it's me or just a few other people
4. I'm available. When reporters email me, I call or write them back fairly quickly. I have friends who are like "er, this reporter called me, what should I do...?" and in the time it takes them to sort of think about it and worry about it, I've already called someone back. I get that they're on tight deadlines and usually just need a few things.
5. I'm friends with reporters. I've been on NPR a bunch of times just because I have a reporter buddy who sometimes need a pull quote or (sometimes) someone to do something stuntish for him. I'm also friends with other people who are friends with reporters and we cross-refer a lot.
6. I travel. People know me from all over and so there's often someone who knows me when the subject of "who should we ask about topic X?"

I'm not listen on any speaker bureau list. I think I may not get to do this MORE because I can be impolitic and so some organizations that might otherwise refer me, don't. None of this stuff, in my world, pays anything but there's a lot of cultural capital in getting your name out there in whatever decent way you can.
posted by jessamyn at 8:10 AM on March 29, 2008