Advantages of Going Live

From time to time, you may want to insist on a live interview. The reporter may not meet your demand, but here are a couple of reasons to ask for a live report, especially in a crisis situation.

1. Your interview cannot be edited.

Even the most ethical journalists may lose some of the context when they have to choose soundbites by whittling down a 30-minute interview to a one-minute-thirty-second report. Some big name newsmakers will only respond in a live format.

2. You get more face time, so people see you as you are.

With an edited report, video--or "b-roll"--covers up most of the story. While video can roll during a live interview, it's typically not as much.

There are disadvantages to going live, too. You may not look and sound that good. You can go blank. Every verbal filler (um, er, uh, you know, like) will stay in. You could sweat. You could repeat yourself. You could make a grammatical mistake. While those things happen in a taped interview, editors, for the sake of time, will sometimes edit out flaws.