Talking Head-ing, Foreign and Domestic
Recent media appearances from Canada news to Washington, D.C panel shows and videos of UK guests from recent Heard Tell episodes
I put “occasional talking head” in my Twitter bio for a reason. I don’t chase media hits much these days, unless I have a piece I’m promoting or some such. Usually when I’m cleaned up, dressed up, and on TV or other media it is because someone asked for me specifically by a program I’ve previously been on (in the case of the Armstrong Williams hit below) or have a working relationship with (in the case of The News Forum in Canada where News Director David Clement is an old friend going back to the early radio days and has been on Heard Tell a few times.)
News media is like anything else; there is the up front, for the public presentation and then there is the behind the scenes of how it all works. The slick graphics and presentation of modern news media is the duck that appears calm on the surface, but underneath the furious kicking of legs to meet deadlines, match guest availability to subjects and time pressures, and churn out constant content. When I joined my friend Joe Catenacci’s morning radio show out of Myrtle Beach, SC on Monday, the producer remarked how he appreciated me always being on time with a “but then again you are in the media so you’re a professional.” Which is funny since I mostly learned as I went, accidentally wound up doing media, and didn’t really have talking head-ing as a goal. But “be on time” and “if you aren’t early you are late” rings true from my father, to coach Gattuso in high school, to SSgt Perez in basic training. Now it is me telling my kids and those I mentor in this writing and media stuff when I tell them to always be punctual and professional. It helps that calm above water that folks judge you on, masking the inevitable chaos below the water that if not managed can sink your fledgling writing and media aspirations. Like with the ducks, smooth across the water, no matter how hard you really are working at it, is the trick.
And, like those ducks who are at home on the water, I have the privilege of doing talking head-ing from home, which means I can be all jacket and collared shirt up top and still be in my sweats or shorts out of frame. You never can tell...
Anyhoo…media apperances:
For The News Forum up in Canada, I did a spot for their Forum Daily News program about University of North Carolina Chapel Hill’s Board of Trustees voting to move funding from DEI program to campus safety after protests - and news media coverage thereof - on campus. They needed a quick clip, but the cast of characters involved is worth reading up in your own time, as you have folks who very much have agendas beyond the university using the moment to further themselves.
What a business, where you can talk about UNC Chapel Hill for a Canadian news outlet…my bit is at the 19:10 mark of the full clip here:
I was part of a panel on the Armstrong Williams show, where we spent a good 45 minutes hashing out everything from Trump’s NYC criminal trial to political evangelical Christian’s seemingly unwavering support of the former president, the economy, and education.
I’m on from the 19:20 mark onward in this full clip of the program:
Latest videos on the Heard Tell YouTube channel, which if you haven’t already you can subscribe to here:
Your Heard Tell Show is turning down the noise of the news cycle and getting to the information we need to discern our times by heading across the pond as Harris Griffiths returns to Heard Tell to talk the recent UK local elections, what the results may mean for the looming general elections, changing political coalitions, futures of PM Rishi Sunak and soon-to-be PM Keir Starmer, breaking down the current state of the major parties, and more. Harrison also uses his knowledge of American political history to use some comparisons between American and the UK to explain what is different, what is similar, and why everyone everywhere should be paying attention to the changes politically and culturally inside the UK like the post-Brexit realignments, rise of "sectarian" voting, economic issues, a general British weariness of politics, and how both hard times and good times can give rise to extremism minus strong
Your Heard Tell Show is turning down the noise of the news cycle and getting to the information we need to discern our times by having a little fun with history as Sarah Stook returns to Heard Tell to explain the how and why of her listing of all the Presidents of the United States sorted into Hogwarts Houses from the wizarding world of Harry Potter. Sarah explains the four houses and their characteristics, why certain chief executives wound up where they did, how not everyone turns out how folks think they will - in Harry Potter or in real life - and which US Presidents would be most representative of the beloved characters of the world wide phenomenon that is Harry Potter.
All that and more on this episode of Heard Tell.