My father handled the trial of the Santeria—the animal sacrifice case that ultimately went to the U.S. Supreme Court on First Amendment issues. He was in trial for a month representing the church. They won at trial, were reversed on appeal, and ultimately prevailed at the Supreme Court. My dad passed away during the appeals process.
I got daily reports during the trial. I was most amused when my dad, the ACLU volunteer, referred to the witness from the Humane Society as “a fascist.” That’s a story for another day.
During the trial, my father got more calls from the media than you can possibly imagine. When he wasn’t in the courtroom, he was on the phone doing interviews for every major national and international news outlet you’ve ever heard of (and many you haven’t).
One day, he got annoyed with a Wall Street Journal reporter for calling after he had just spent an hour on the phone with a different reporter from the same paper. He told the reporter to go track down the other reporter and get the notes because he wasn’t willing to do another interview.
I was struck by the story because at the same time, I was building my practice in North Carolina and I would have killed to get on the phone with a Wall Street Journal reporter interested in quoting me. I certainly wouldn’t have hung up on the reporter, as my dad did.
It was during that period that I learned the most important lesson about getting quoted by the media (and no, it’s not using the phrase “that’s the nuclear weapon of (fill in the blank)” as I have been known to say). The most important lesson is actually much easier than knowing what to say and how to say it.
The most important lesson is to simply call back quickly.
Reporters are operating on strict deadlines. They need a quote, and they need it now. Calling back fast will usually secure your spot in the story.
When I get a call from a reporter, I pick up the phone at that instant and call back. I got up in the middle of dinner to call ABC News back and ended up recording a segment an hour later for inclusion on the national news. I took a call from a New York Times reporter in the bathroom of a fancy restaurant during dinner with my wife one night. That didn’t earn me points with my wife, but I was quoted.
If you want to be quoted, you’ve got to respond fast. The reporter is in a race with the clock, and you may be in a race with the other three lawyers for whom he or she has left messages. Call back now, and you’re far more likely to end up in the story.
