Alexandra Bogdanovic's Blog: That's life... - Posts Tagged "lgbt"

There are times when being a journalist has its advantages, and at the risk of tooting my own horn, I think this morning was definitely one of them.
You see, I had an interview with News Director Tony Savino on WGCH, 1490 AM in Greenwich. As I expected, we discussed my book, "Truth Be Told: Adam Becomes Audrey." But because of the way I pitched the interview request, I wasn't sure going into the studio if that was all he was going to ask me about.
So I did what any good reporter would do. I did my homework. I re-read articles about the Employment Non Discrimination Act (ENDA), federal legislation passed by the senate earlier this month. I read articles about the Transgender Day of Remembrance (held annually on Nov. 20) and I reviewed terminology and statistics included in my own book. I took notes on the potential talking points and memorized everything. I asked my mom to help me review everything before I left the house.
Even though it turned out that Tony and I didn't talk about anything other than my story, the effort was worthwhile because radio is tricky. Unless there is an entire program devoted to a given topic, interviews are typically very short. In this case, I had just eight minutes to share my message, story and brand. And because the interview was live, I couldn't afford to stumble or fumble a question; there were no "do-overs."
Even though I was a little bit nervous beforehand, being prepared helped put me at ease once once I was in the proverbial hot seat. More importantly, it allowed me to articulate my message in a clear, concise and professional manner.
I can't stress how much proper preparation will help you, too. After all the hard work you put in to landing that elusive print, radio or TV interview, you've got to make the most of it.
Do you want more tips about how to deal with the media? Leave a comment for me and I'll definitely respond.
Until next time, "That's life..."

Those of you who follow me on Twitter may have been a bit taken aback by some of the comments I've made about Diane Sawyer's interview with Bruce Jenner on Friday night.
Those of you who don't follow me on Twitter might have been taken aback if you knew what I said.
But I'm not a hater. Really...
If anything I'm just aggravated. Make that really aggravated.
When "Truth" came out in 2012, the mainstream media was all over the Chaz Bono story. Now Diane Sawyer (and everyone else) is salivating over the Bruce Jenner story.
Why?
The truth is, neither one of them has anything to lose. Both are well off and that alone gives them a tremendous advantage over the vast majority of transgender individuals. Or to put it another way, their wealth gives them access to resources that others simply don't have.
Because they are in the public eye, Chaz and Bruce (I don't know what Bruce prefers to be called) can tell their stories with little fear of discrimination.
Some people might think that giving them a chance to share their stories will help promote tolerance and spread awareness about the transgender community. It's fantastic if it does. I honestly hope that's the case.
But let's face it. I am a cynic and a realist. So I don't think it will do a lick of good. After all, Diane Sawyer interviewed Bruce Jenner for one reason and one reason only -- to get ratings.
Apparently it worked. But as far as I'm concerned, if she (and the rest of the mainstream media) really want to help the transgender community, they should seek out ordinary people who are forced to cope with extraordinary circumstances.
Just because someone isn't a celebrity doesn't mean their story isn't important. If anything it means just the opposite.
Until next time, "That's life..."