Media Training – TV News Interview Clips

You can learn a lot by watching how others handle themselves in TV interviews. We’ve gathered the “good”, the “not so good”, and some of the funny news and talk show interviews so you can learn to do it right and see what not to do.

Lots more media training at  Media Interview Planning and  Media Interview Training – Tips & Resources.  Sites with a  W are PR Coach “winners.”  Note, some video clips may require patience while loading.

GOOD INTERVIEWS

Katie Couric on How to Conduct a Good Interview [5:08]
News anchor and interviewer Couric discusses what makes a great interview in this video clip.   W

Novel Mud Slinging: Wolf Blitzer vs Lynne Cheney [2:43]
This is a classic ambush interview. Invited to interview about her children’s book, Lynne Cheney [wife of Dick] spends 10 of 15 minutes defending her character admirably against Blitzer and political opponents.

Politicians Say Governor Sanford Should Quit [2:04]
View South Carolina Governor Sanford’s tearful news conference.

Top Ten Positive Gestures [0:29]
Allan Bonner tells how to use positive body language on TV.   W

NOT SO GOOD INTERVIEWS

A Simple Question, Yes or No?? [3:43]
Spokesman for Senator Norm Coleman, on issue of expensive suits, uses key messaging repeatedly. Effectively? You be the judge.

Billy Bob Thornton Blow Up on CBC Radio Interview [13:40]
Billy Bob loses it and insists on talking about his music when asked about his acting career. Hard to see why he bothered to be interviewed, because he’s trying to be ultra-controlling. Bizarre.

Carly Fiorina Caught on Open Mic [4:13]
During pre-interview chatter in-studio, California Republican Senate nominee Carly Fiorina was caught on an open mic Monday on CNN dissing Sen. Barbara Boxer. Basic tip? Assume  the mic is “always” on.  W

Christine O’Donnell Walks Off Piers Morgan Interview  [3:18]
Piers Morgan got his first walk-off during an interview with none other than Tea Partier Christine O’Donnell. She handled it fairly well, though the outcome is still negative because she refused to answer direct Qs. What do you think?

Craigslist Founder Founders in Media Interview [6:04]
Ambush interview captures Craig Newmark who does terribly in a TV interview.  W

Have You Seen a More Awkward Interview? TechCrunch’s Michael Arrington Interviews MySpace PR Chief [1:25]
Great example of a “gotcha” interview, lack of preparation or total surprise. Regardless. Embarrassing and shouldn’t happen to a PR pro. From MediaBistro.

I’m Eating a Cookie: An Instant Media Classic [2:14 ]
Flippant health official looks bad avoiding comment; later fired.  W

I’m Not a Witch [0:30]
Christine O’Donnell’s 30-sec political ad is a classic how not to respond to critics.

Iverson Practice [2:22]
NBA star Alan Iverson lays a classic egg in this news conference about missing practice. Oy!

‘Little Terrorists’ born in US? [11:20]
Texas legislator Debbie Riddle’s lack of pre-interview preparation leads to poor results with Anderson Cooper.

Media Training 101: Rudeness is Never Acceptable [3:51]
Toronto’s newly-elected mayor is unacceptably rude in this nationally broadcast radio interview on CBC.

Rick Santelli and the Rant of the Year [4:57]
MSNBC’s Rick Santelli’s famous rant and a PR low for objectivity.

Rangers Coach Takes Slap Shots At Reporters [0:31]
Fun post, poor performance by NY Rangers coach John Tortorella. Quick. Somebody call a media training coach! W

Sarah Palin CBS Interview (Katie Couric) [1:28]
Palin looks unprepared and uninformed in this now classic CBS Evening News interview. She couldn’t bluff her way past being inexperienced on foreign policy.

Smear Patrol [6:22]
Puhleeze. Right wing Fox news talker Bill O’Reilly and pit bull ambush producer/interviewer Jesse Watters are crying crocodile tears while demonstrating ambush interviews on target liberals. Dozens more on Fox. Pretty funny!   W 

The art of the political stonewall [2:20]
Rep Elizabeth Warren shows how stonewalling is never effective, even if you have another key message to deliver.

The Spokesperson Who Repeated Her Message 27 Times  [10:52]
It’s one thing to have a message. It’s quite another to repeat it ad nauseum. Here’s what not to do in an interview.

Why You Shouldn’t Repeat Your Message Ad Nauseam [0:37, 1:19]
Key messages are good. Repeating them stupidly is not as you’ll see in these two good clips.

FUNNY INTERVIEWS

Full Frontal News Sketch [6:41]
News the way you’ve never seen it before in this funny sketch.   W

Letterman – Paris Hilton (The Hottie & the Nottie) [10:57]
Paris is back for round two with Dave. Very little mention of jail, just funny and entertaining. Though she did miss the opportunities to deliver her message about her products and intro the movie clip adequately.

Miss Teen USA 2007 – South Carolina Answers a Question [0:48]
Wasn’t the question: “Recent polls have shown that a fifth of Americans can’t locate the US on a world map. Why do you think this is?” A YouTube reality clip that will get you laughing.

Paris Hilton on Letterman [8:48]
Was she badly briefed by her publicist, ill-prepared or just set up in this Letterman interview? Letterman’s relentless on her jail time and she would have been right to walk out but she earns respect for being game. With experience, she could have steered it to her topic.

The Twenty Weirdest TV Interviews of All Time
Video clips of celebrities gone wild, wasted or just mad about Katie. A gem of a resource from the folks at Nerve.com!    W

Top 10 Funniest News Reporter Bloopers [times vary]
Think news reporters are perfect every time? These 10 reporter bloopers from Cnet dispel that notion fast.   W

Whose Line: Press Conference [Video 5:52]
Drew Carey and cast in very funny press conference skit.

Why Companies Need Media Training [2:13]
Very funny Aussie comic interview serves up some good interview “not-tos.”   W

Photo credit: theqspeaks