Well..... the morning after the night before! I won't go too much into self-indulgence mode but suffice to say I was by my phone at 12.20am. 5 Live called at 12.45am and by 12.50am I was being told that their timings ahd gone up the spout and they wouldn't be able to use me.
Nevermind. That's showbiz PR for you. I was a bit peeved because it was a school night but I've been bumped off the schedule before and hopefully it will happen again!
In fact, using this post as an excuse to regurgitate an anecdote, I am reminded of a tyaking part in a radio-day in London once when I worked for the road safety charity, Brake. The studio had lined a full morning of interviews from about 9am until 1pm-ish.
We delivered about three interviews live into morning slots and then at about 10am the next station lined-up, BBC Radio Manchester, pulled the interview. "Fair enough," we thought - "there's always a couple of stations that pull out at the last minute."
But then the next station pulled out, and the next... then we discovered that Harold "Dr Death" Shipman had just topped himself in Wakefield jail. So we gave about three interviews instead of 23 as all our pre-arranged interviews folded!
As I say, they're a fickle bunch the media.
Simon,
You can only manage the media agenda so far. Similar thing happened to us when we announced that Wenselydale Creamery was going for PDO.
Made the announcement at 10.00 at the same time they closed all the UK aiports because the terrorist threat.
We argued on such a bad news day they might like a nice light story. Most of the bit and we giot what we wanted - ie coverage on BBC radio and TV and independent radio and TV.
Posted by: Ian Green | September 19, 2006 at 03:53 PM
I'll always remember being sat with a senior officer watching Granada's regional evening news to see a piece on a murder they'd put in the can earlier that day.
Both our jaws dropped as firstly we were usurped by a feature on a donkey sanctuary and then an 'and finally' piece on a sparrow trapped in a supermarket!
Sometimes it just doesn't go your way, and once again apologies for putting up the talking heads that toppled your Brake story. GP's can be so inconsiderate!
Posted by: Andrew Wake | September 20, 2006 at 08:22 AM
Simon I feel your pain.
It's very similar I reckon to be anticipating the publication of a piece commissioned by an editor.
I remember a run of a fair few weeks checking a trade mag and a certain paper every Thursday morning hoping my byline would appear.
In the end of course, there was none for ages and then they all came at once.
Hmmn sounds familiar.
We waited up for a client on the same show as you a couple of weeks back but fell asleep. I didn't exactly relish telling her that.
Posted by: Linda | September 21, 2006 at 05:31 PM
Oh sorry and just to add, I remember settling down to watch a client's interview with Gloria Hunniford a couple of years back...and my telly went on the blink.
Again, I had to explain this to the client with customary shame.
"Oh the reception packed up in Staffordshire."
Yeah right!
Posted by: Linda | September 21, 2006 at 05:33 PM