TV Gig a Big Deal for a 'Print Guy'!

My mom and dad were hardworking, humble people, and while I like to think that rubbed off on me, the truth is, you can't be very soft spoken when promoting a book. If you, as the author, don't get the word out about it, who will?

It's with that thought in mind, that I contacted a number of TV and radio stations about my book, Green Bay's Greatest: Profiles of the Packers in the Pro Football Hall of Fame, released earlier this by McFarland & Company https://mcfarlandbooks.com/

When he found out the book included recent inductees Bobby Dillon (posthumously) and Charles Woodson, WFRV TV Local 5 Sports Director Burke Griffin replied that he was indeed interested. But with the Milwaukee Brewers chasing a playoff berth, the Green Bay Packers gearing up for the 2022 season, and everything else going on in the BUSY life of a sportscaster, the question was when?

Long story short, after some back-and-forth messages, I mentioned that I was already driving to Green Bay and wondered if we could line up an interview. As a native of Two Rivers, I have been to GB countless times and knew the exact location of the station. (I had previously snail mailed a copy of the book.)

I have "dabbled" in radio and television, serving as an intern on a Packers TV program while attending UW-Oshkosh. I was never on the air, but that experience helped my nervousness, though not completely!

After some delays, the segment aired on a recent Monday news/sportscast. Having taped it on my DVR, I thought I would have it cued up like it was the live broadcast, and surprise my wife when she got home from work, that the sports was just coming on. Except a friend had tipped her off that she saw me on TV! Rats! So much for my surprise.

Air time is to radio and TV what words are to a print journalist like me. That is to say, the number of words a reporter or editor can write are limited to the amount of available space in a newspaper or magazine. And in terms of broadcast news, or sports, with everything going on in sports in a given day, and commercials to boot, it's not unusual for a five-minute interview, let's say, to be whittled down to a minute or two.

Not a big deal - an author can't ask for better exposure than getting on a nightly newscast. Thanks Burke. And thank you Local 5. (And I appreciate my Facebook followers, too!)

Go Packers!