A lot of you guys have asked me about how interviews work and I decided to explain this based on my own experience in journalism and PR. Beware, it’s gonna be long.

Let’s divide and conquer:

Proactive interviews

Reactive interviews

Press statements

Paid content

Media training

PROACTIVE INTERVIEWS

This is when someone’s PR team makes a suggestion to a journalist of their choice about a topic the team wants to highlight in the press. For example: if Camila wants to talk about her new album, her PR team will reach out to relevant media groups in order for her to share this story. The journalists may refuse the topic, but that hardly happens when your client is famous. Despite being the one to push the subject, the PR teams have no control over what the journalists will ask or how they’ll write their stories.

Many interviews we see out there (especially when promoting a new single or era) are proactive interviews set up by Camila’s or Lauren’s PR team.

REACTIVE INTERVIEWS

This is when the journalist approaches their PR teams, requesting an interview or a statement about any given subjects. For example: if a journalist is working on a story about LGBT artists, they may reach out to Lauren’s team because they want to hear her story and opinions. After that, there are a few procedures that the PR team may follow:

A first analysis followed by a recommendation. The PR teams will explain the journalist’s story to the artist and their teams and they will leave a recommendation either to accept or to decline. The final choice will always be the artist and their team’s, regardless of our recommendations.

Regardless, the PR team will get in touch with the journalist to let them know of their final decision.

If it’s been accepted, the PR team will prepare a briefing with the topics the artist should mention in the interview and with recommendations. For example, let’s say Lauren’s team accepted an interview request for a story about LGBT artists. They will prepare a briefing with the topics that might be most appealing to the journalist and give her some recommendations (do not get in confrontations, for example). This doesn’t happen in e-mail interviews, where the PR team reviews the answers instead.

On the day of the interview (phone, conference call, live), a member of the PR team will be there to chaperone the artist and to protect them in case things go off track. That cannot be done live on radio or TV however.

After the interview, the PR team will give feedback on the artist’s performance and will send the journalist any material that may help them in writing their story.

PRESS STATEMENTS

This is more common during a crisis. It’s when media groups request for an artist’s statement over a sensitive topic. Instead of handling those interviews one on one, the PR team may prepare a press statement and send it to any media group who requests a comment on that matter. For example, when asked about Camila’s leaving the group, 5H’s PR team could’ve prepared a statement and sent it to the media instead.

PAID CONTENT

This is when your client pays the media group to craft a story. Contrary to popular belief, this does not happen a lot because it’s very expensive and such money could be better employed in other areas. And there’s always a header letting the reader know that it’s paid content. Also, the client has total control over what will be published since they’re paying.

MEDIA TRAINING

Any public person has to be media trained these days. In that training, they will learn how the press work and how they can work around to pass on their key messages. In my own experience, it’s very intense. There will be people watching how you behave and looking for clues in your answer. And, believe me, they will find it. In one of the media trainings I took part in, I saw a CFO from a multinational group share details about a new factory they were building (which was not public information). I saw many executives cave under the pressure. That’s how much they push you.

Let’s say, 5H will go through a media training. They will be interviewed separately. Anything one of them said will be asked to the other and their answers must match, always (not in structure, but in content). They can’t have, for example, Ally and Camila saying Bo$$ is their first single while Dinah and Lauren say it’s Sledgehammer and Normani says it’s Worth It.

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Now, let’s move on to interview types and how they work:

when the journalist requests the answers be sent by e-mail. Those are the easiest to tackle, since the PR team gets to review the answers before sending them.when the interview is carried out by a phone or conference call (without video). In those situations, the PR team is the one connecting both parties and they will stay on line to make sure it all goes well. If needed, they can interfere to help the artist. P

when the interview is recorded through a conference call or in a studio. That usually requires a higher degree of attention to details. For example, no weird gestures with your middle finger and try not to wear any green clothes if you know people will use chromakey. A member of the PR team will chaperone the recording as well.when the artist gives an interview live on radio or on TV. In such cases, the PR team may watch or listen, but they may not be able to save the artists if they need help for obvious reasons. Dvora can’t interrupt Camila live on TV, for example. That’s why live interviews are the hardest and the spokespeople are thoroughly prepared to it. They can’t escape or pause, so they need to have their key messaages on the tip of their tongues.

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Guys, I think I covered almost everything. Let me know if you have any questions.