Dear Charlottesville: How to Interact with National Media

Charlottesville, Virginia is in the national news again. Reporters are already descending upon our city and it’s likely you’ll see and even recognize some of them. Here’s what to do:

1. If a reporter asks you if you’d like to be interviewed, either accept or decline, but do so respectfully. This is a person doing a job.
2. If you agree to an 0n-camera interview, look at the reporter, not the camera. Speak in short sentences and be mindful of not using local jargon. A national audience doesn’t know what “the mall” or “the corner” is, for example.
3. You will be asked to supply your name and spell it. Just FYI. This is not the time to be anonymous or give a false name.
4. If you are nervous, upset, happy, excited — feel free to use those words to describe how you feel about what’s going on. You could be the face of the story at hand and your feelings are what the media will want to share — about whatever is happening in the moment.
5. Represent your city! We’re all proud of Charlottesville. This is our chance to let the nation and even the world know about our home. Think now, before you have the opportunity to speak, about three things you want the world to know about Charlottesville. For me, it’s a beautiful place, there’s much to do, and the people are, by and large, friendly and welcoming.
6. What’s the main message you want to get across? Make it short. Write it down. Practice it.
7. Don’t put your desire to be on television or in the newspaper above your personal safety. It’s not worth it. Get your 15 minutes of fame some other time, for something else.