Media Training Question #11 – Why Is Levi Johnston News?

Aug. 27, 2010 - PRLog -- One of my media training clients sent me an e-mail on Wednesday asking me why Levi Johnston, of Sarah/Bristol Palin fame is news.  The root of the question and the real reason I got the e-mail, it was because this particular client IS newsworthy.  She has a profoundly important message and is able to offer real solutions to real problems yet she can’t seem to get but a scant media mention here or there.  This is not uncommon and most any author has had this experience.  Every one of my new media training clients asks me how they can get the coverage they want.  There are many paths to get them there, and I’ll save that for another post, but the question about Levi Johnston is a legitimate question and deserves some chat.

Saying Something About Nothing

In the video posted above, there are a series of interviews that he has given and the range of topics is really irrelevant, because not one of the topics is newsworthy as they call on him to just give his opinion on these subject matters.  Not only that, but not one of the topics requires him to be an expert on anything at all.  In fact, if you take the time to watch the video, he says absolutely nothing and these interviews are all, to the last one, on national television programs.

It’s shameful really, and maybe with some intensive media training Levi Johnston would at least be an engaging speaker.  Maybe, just maybe with some media training work he would actually sound authoritative, responsible and mature.  He does not.  Now, I’m using him as an example because he does make the news easily, almost without trying.  It’s not just unfortunate that he gets so much TV time when others who actually have something real to add to the national discourse are shut out.  So, the real question that has to be asked and answered is not why Levi Johnston is news but who decides that Levi Johnston is news.

Who Decides What’s News?

The “Media”, however you want to define that word, does make some interesting choices at a time when there are critically real issues that should be examined and explored.  I know, I know, it is all about ratings, I get that, and we’ll get to that in a minute, but Pop Media” seems too often to be driving the national discussion and that needs to stop.

Clearly, as most of you will agree, Levi Johnston is a young, immature, uneducated, unemployed, irresponsible single father who has been caught lying many times about a woman and a family that may or may not deserve the attention they get, but they do.  The viewing public are all too exhibitionist in our attitudes and have been since the beginning of reporting as we understand it today.  Gossip columns have been around as long as the Op/Ed and Front page have been.  “Journalists” have made careers and millions of dollars for years writing about “people of interest”.  There is an insatiable need to know by many people, so Levi Johnston fits into that mold all too easily.  And, as long as Sarah Palin remains in the national spotlight, Levi will be a newsmaker, whether we like it or not.  

As a potential newsmaker, you have a message and feel a responsibility to further your message to help, inspire, and inform.  Maybe you are the subject of the news piece.  Maybe you did something that made you the topic de jour.  But for many experts and spokespersons of a message your inability to break through to the media is frustrating and mind numbing.  I get that, and I feel your pain.  I really do.

As a media trainer one of the responsibilities I have is to make sure that you have a message worthy of a media opportunity.  I take that charge very seriously.  The media is inundated with requests on a daily basis and the amount of people clamoring for attention is fantastic.  You have to be ready when they call and you better be prepared when called on.  There are unwritten rules of such things and if you give one bad interview to just the right media outlet, your opportunities for more media may die right there, unless, of course, you are an inarticulate, immature, good looking almost son-in-law of a national figure that makes news just by getting up in the morning.


I don’t make the rules and I also don’t get to decide what’s news is and what isn’t.  If I did, I can assure you it would look and sound much differently than it does now.  But I don’t.  

So back to the question at hand, and this is what I wrote back to my client:

Sue:

I understand your frustration and I agree that Levi Johnston is not news, but you and I don’t get a chance to make that call.  What we do control is our message and our ability to deliver it with impact, passion and authority.  There will always be Levi Johnston’s and the voyeurs that consume news want that stuff, like it or not.  Don’t allow your frustration with this type of “news” take you off your stated goals.  Stay on your path and don’t worry about his.  Stay informed, prepared, and present.  Offer yourself to the media when it’s appropriate and remember that every media opportunity you get is a goldmine.  Treat it as such and other opportunities will present themselves.

It’s all I had to offer her and it’s the truth.  As a dedicated news junkie and a passionate and consummate media trainer I hold all media stories to a standard that is filtered differently than most people.  Also, as a former syndicated radio show host for years I had to make the decision as to what I thought was news, but I always believed that every second I was on the air was a golden second and should never be wasted with fake news.  I held that standard with pride and turned away many guests because they did not meet that standard.  I wish more media would be so discerning, but again, it’s all about ratings, and honestly, as much as we don’t talk about it, Levi Johnston gets ratings.  

In the end there is no news in what is currently Levi Johnston, and yes, sadly, he takes up air time that you deserve more than he does, but let be the fuel that drives you to a better outcome for you.  Honestly, it’s all you have, so be prepared.

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Tony has spent the better part of the past two decades in and around the media. As the host of his own nationally syndicated radio programs for 15 years, Tony has interviewed over 25,000 guests and appeared as a guest on over 800 radio and national television shows. He founded of his own public relations firm and he went on to author two books and became a “go to” authority on a myriad of issues from weight loss to self empowerment; from politics to pop culture. Tony’s list of media training clients number over 2000, many of them well known celebrities and authors. He often works under confidentially agreements and enjoys of the challenge of helping people discover their voice.
Tony is respected and well known for his honesty and willingness to do what it takes to get to a core message. He works tirelessly with his clients and advocates for his clients in finding the most passionate and profound tenets of their message and then giving them the tools to deliver that message.