Before I became an independent journalist, I spent many years working in mainstream news.
I met a lot of incredible journalists and people when I did that work. I also learned some things about how things work behind the scenes — things that helped me understand some of the issues in our current information ecosystem.
I shared one of those bits of “behind-the-scenes” intel on Bluesky the other day. That’s when I realized: I should probably make a video about this.
See, journalist Nora Loreto had written a piece about the so-called “Food Professor” and his recent foray into speaking about the issue of raw milk. In the replies, a user questioned why he gets invited onto national news channels so often.
I knew the answer: he makes himself extremely available. I remember the incessant, self-promoting press releases he sent when I was a producer at CTV News.
In fact, the people most likely to end up on television aren’t necessarily always the best voices, nor the most competent. It’s the ones who are available when an underpaid, stressed out and often very young chase producer gives them a call, desperate to find someone to come on national television within hours of getting an assignment.
In today’s video, I recount my experience in the trenches of booking a 24-hour news channel and discuss the potential ramifications for who gets their voice heard — and who doesn’t.
