The "Zen of Booking" memo, by Jay Kernis I. BOOKING 1. BOOK FIRST, ASK PERMISSION LATER This is a competitive business.

If you hear about a story, see something in the newspaper or a magazine, there's a good chance it's already old. Also, 80 other bookers have seen it. If you think someone may be a good guest, don't hesitate. Make the telephone call. Ask to hear a bit of the story, explain that NPR is considering doing the story. Say you'll get back to them. But at least try to make contact first. You shouldn't need permission to make that kind of call. You are professional journalist. This is what journalists do. They try to get the newsmaker first. If you need permission to make a call, then something is broken in the news division. If all of you don't think it's your responsibility to do this, then something else may need fixing. So what if someone else from NPR has also called. It shows our deep concern. Later, if your program isn't interested, you can always call back, thank them for their time, but keep them on the hook if the situation changes, or if another NPR program needs them. 2. THE URGE TO BOOK To succeed at booking, you first have to enjoy the competition and you have to want to win at booking. I think there's too much discussion -- before someone picks up the phone -- too much discussion of: Is this an NPR story? Is it our mission to do this story? Is it us? Is it too commercial? Etc. Make the call first, then do the philosophy. Discover what the story is first. We know what kinds of stories we do. We know what our values are. The urge to book means a producer reads something -- or has an original idea -- and thinks: I've got to find that person's phone number. I've got to get through to that person. Great bookers know they have tried everything. And while they reluctantly accept losing, they don't like it. One booker came to me and said, I just can't get the family to pick up their telephone. I've tried everything. I inquired: Can you fax a note to the next-door neighbors' and ask them to deliver it? 3. THE NEWSMAKER BOOKING Does anyone feel that because we're public radio, we supposed to shy away from big names or big newsmakers? Why do cable television shows, with a million and a half fewer viewers than we have listeners, get the guest and we don't?

a. It's television, and until we help change their minds, newsmakers and the people who represent them, want to be on television. It's the place to come clean, to have your national catharsis. b. NPR needs to do better informing or convincing public affairs officers, attorneys, press representatives, media advisors, agencies and institutions that NPR is the place to appear when you want to reach the managerial class, decision-makers, and opinion leaders. This means that senior news managers need to visit and phone and mail the gatekeepers and better state NPR's case. c. When newsmakers tune in to NPR, there's a good chance they will too often hear themselves as sound bites in stories. They hear experts being interviewed. They hear think tankers being interviewed. They hear academics being interviewed. They hear other journalists being interviewed. They, or those that represent them, think that TV be the place for them, not NPR. Booking begets better bookings. Newsmakers always want to knowor at least are impressed-by your best bookings. d. No one is going to do an interview the way an NPR host does with that same sense of curiosity and intimacy. Newsmakers who already know us respect our authority and fairness. Those who don't know about it should be told about it - as a selling point. e. Too many times, NPR is illustrating through audio what I've read in a newspaper or a magazine. Great booking is a way to bring differences to a story, to advance a story, to go deeper into a story. 4. THE CELEBRITY BOOKING Celebrities do interviews for five basic reasons: a. To promote something they've done. b. To keep the buzz around their careers humming. c. Because someone has paid them-hired them to promote a product or service. d. They've done something questionable and want to clear their names or set the record straight. e. Because they need to publicity hit to keep their careers alive. They wake up one morning, realize they haven't heard or seen their names in weeks or months, and feel incomplete. It is important to understand the celebrity's motive when you try to book them. It is also important to give the impression to the publicist that you have done your homework and you are truly fascinated by the

celebrity's accomplishment, performance, last published writing or entire body of work. Celebrities need a fair amount of prodding and reassurance. The publicist needs to be able to tell the celebrity that this is not only an opportunity to be on NPR, but also that they really know what that celebrity is all about. I can't tell you the number of times I got the celebrity booking-not only because I came up with a broadcast's best selling point, but because I presented the publicist with a story approach that really intrigued them. Publicists and other celebrity representatives love to be able to tell their clients who else has been on the broadcast you're pitching. You can legitimately pitch your program--or all NPR programming--and name the most important authors, actors, directors, artists, filmmakers, musicians or ex-Presidents who have given us interviews. That's another important list to keep updated and in your memory or nearby the phone. 5. GETTING THE PHONE NUMBER The Reference Library can be extremely useful in finding experts and their phone numbers. The Library subscribes to some databases that make it easier to find home numbers. Plus, the librarians have much search experience and can often save a booker lots of time so he/she can make more calls. Here are some other techniques: 1.. Try information, try the phonebook. 2. Internet directories and search sites can be very helpful. 3. Googling people can be very helpful, because people now leave many clues to their histories and locations on the Internet, everything from who attended school reunions to speeches they've given-posted by the presenting organization. 4. Try anyone you may think will have the phone number. 5. Call news staffs at our member stations. Most have working newsrooms. Many stories begin locally before they reach the national level. 6. When you're really in need, try other journalists who have worked the story. You'll owe them a favor, but that's OK. I met Peter Jennings when I produced Morning Edition. He called after the show one morning, complemented us on a segment, and asked for the contact phone numbers - which I gave him immediately. Since that phone call - some 20 years ago - we have always had a most collegial relationship. 7. Plenty of people have someone's phone number, but don't want to give it to you. That's OK; ask them to call the person on your behalf. 8. Even if the first name is wrong, call people in locations with similar last names - they might be related, or even know the number. Google my name - not that I've ever done this, mind you - but Google my

name, Jay A. Kernis, and the first three pages get you the Pulitzer Prizewinning composer, Aaron Jay Kernis, also known as Jay Kernis. He and I might be distant cousins - we're not sure - but we behave as if we're slightly related. And we give out each other's phone number when people call us by mistake. 9. Remember how America works. The people we want to book are members of unions, guilds, Rotary Clubs, school boards, corporate boards, country clubs, and alumni associations, and social and religious organizations. 10. If someone says: I can't help you. Ask them: well, who can then? 6. THE CALL ITSELF When I make a booking call, I do everything I can to convince whoever I get on the other end that: a. I'm calling because it's really important that I reach the intended person. b. I'm not from some big, arrogant media company, I'm just this really, really nice and approachable person whom they can trust. I'm almost like an old friend they've spoken to before. And that's the tone I affect - that we have spoken before. c. If they don't sound like they want to rush off the phone, I start discussing the story: to show my curiosity and to get their take on it, whether they're the actual target or someone who represents the guest. The more you get that person on the other end involved in the discussion with you, the closer you are to making the booking. Yes, for those of you who have ever done sales work, a lot of what you learned also applies here. d. Be exceedingly polite. I'm afraid to report that, over the years, I have called anonymously into NPR shows, and people have given me the impression that they were put upon, annoyed, too busy, or self-important. It happens just enough that I think it's worth mentioning. It's really bad public relations, and, when you're on the phone, you are NPR. e. Even though I'm polite and self-confident, there is also such thing as the "Pity Booking." After a while, as deadlines approach, the best bookers have been known to assume a posture of mild desperation, as if to say: there might be trouble for me if I don't get this booking. I really need your help. I am not suggesting - I repeat - I am not suggesting you ever let someone think that your job is on the line. But, at times, a little urgency goes a long way. I must admit, as a TV producer, when things were horribly competitive, I - and others- did give people the impression that there would be consequences if I did not get the booking. But that's because it

was true. In commercial television, there are consequences if you don't book well. 7. MAKING THE SALE Most times, the best reason to come on Morning Edition is not that we are calling you to be on our wonderful radio program. You have to transmit what you think is the best reason in our minds for having them on: 1. 2. 3. 4. This is a very important story for others to hear. This is a very interesting story. No one will have the perspective that they have. They can trust NPR to provide them a fair and balanced platform.

You have to transmit what you think is the best reason they might have to want to tell their story. -- Because it's the right thing to do. -- Because it will help others in a similar situation. -- Because their story will make a difference to others. -- Because these calls will come from all over the place; once they do NPR, they can tell others that they gave the interview to NPR and that was enough. If you find that someone is hesitant to be booked or help you book someone else, find out if they listen to NPR. If you've got a listener, they want to know more about us. Ask them what they listen to. If it's Morning Edition, start telling Morning Edition stories. If they adore Terry Gross or Sylvia Poggioli, have them tell you their favorite listening moments. This is the NPR they love and could be part of. 8. NEVER GIVE UP A number of times, I've asked producers why we didn't get the guest. I was told: "They said no." They said no. Sorry, that is not booking. Of course they said no. You need to get them to yes, and that's what persistence is about. No is losing the game. No is not even playing the game. You go back again and again. 9. THE LETTER, THE FAX, THE EMAIL On important bookings, after I make the first phone call, I follow up with a letter, a fax or an email. I thank them for the phone conversation. I

repeat what we discussed: their best reason to come, our best reason to have them on. I tell them they can call me anytime, write me or email anytime, with any questions they might have about the story. I find lots of reasons to call people constantly and engage them in conversation. I'm often not calling to get the yes or no, I just want them to tell me things. a. Hi, it's Monday, I know I called last week, but has anything changed? Has anyone discussed our request? b. Hi, I saw in the newspaper that you guys are thinking about leaving the country or buying New Hampshire. What's that about? c. Hi, listen, I was thinking about the story. I think people are still really interested in this. d. Hi, we were discussing the story, and we had a new idea. e. Hi, we heard that you were considering giving an interview to John Hockenberry at NBC. What about us? f. Hi, we realize that this happened in the news and it is only tangentially connected to your story well, it really has little to do with your story, but we know you know the people in that story, so we were thinking about your story so have you given us more thought? 10. KEEPING NOTES When making multiple calls to multiple sources, it is a very good thing to keep a booking notebook or a booking page in your computer. At the top of the page, write the name of the story and the date. At the left side, write the name of the person you're trying to book. Under the name, write the person's title or pertinent information. In the middle column, enter phone or email info. In the right-hand column, enter the date you last spoke with that person, and a few words about what happened during the encounter. Phone busy. Left message. He said to call in a week. Underneath the name of the booking target, write other names and include that person's relationship to the target guest. Best friend, mother-in-law, attorney, next-door neighbor. This note-taking is so simple to do. It saves so much time and it also is so helpful when you update a story months or years later and when you are helping other NPR vehicles who may be working on the story later in the news sequence. It is quite uncomfortable to have someone important call you back, and you don't quite remember how she is involved in the story and what she last told you to do. 11. MAKING LISTS

There are many levels of booking, but if you want to be in the game of strategic booking, you have to make lists. Who do we want to get in the next week or month or year? Who do we want to make sure that the show covers many different important subjects? Who do we want to make certain the program reflects diversity? Who do we want to reflect Steve's interests and talents? It is essential that you make weekly and monthly and long-rang target lists, discuss those lists with each other, continually edit those lists, and consult them to determine your booking success. Every six weeks or so, I would sit with my correspondent and say: here's who we're working on; here's where I need some booking help (here's where a letter or a phone call from you might make a difference;) here are some people who have been made available to us; here are people who said no, but we're not giving up on. 12. STAYING AHEAD: FUTURES PLANNING Do you have regularly-scheduled futures meetings.? The more futures planning that goes on, the better the bookings will be. It's not only locking in guests for scheduled events: political conventions, book releases, jury decisions. It's locking in guests for things that might happen: Hey, we might have war with Iraq - Mr. Secretary of State, Ms. Senator on the Foreign Relations Committee, Mrs. Wife of an Air Force pilot - the moment we're at war, can we count on you to talk with NPR? Great. Can I have your contact information, including your home and cellphone number so we can reach you whenever something happens? 13. EVERYBODY BOOKS/COMPETITION In the perfect NPR world that I imagine, everybody books. There is also coordinated-competitive booking, so the booking priorities are managed, not along political lines, but along strategic lines: a. Who is next in the news cycle? b. Who claimed the story first? c. Who is likely to be most persuasive? d. Who has tried and failed or held on to the attempt too long and should another booker or show try? e. What pitches are getting traction? In the perfect NPR booking environment, shows would be competitive with each other to get the booking first, but at the same time, bookers would book for all of NPR. If the guest can't do ATC, how about Talk of the Nation or Morning Edition? An NPR win is an NPR win.

In the perfect NPR booking environment, we are keeping a systemwide electronic rolodex of current contacts and phone numbers. And, in this world, everyone is booking and feels it is his or her responsibility. 14. A FOOTNOTE: GUEST'S CHOICE Guests, publicists, attorneys, publishers should not be in the position of requesting specific on-air hosts unless it is in a specialty area. 15. THE BEST GUEST vs. THE SMARTEST GUEST There can be a difference between the most expert guest and the best guest. The first priority is getting a player in the story or an eyewitness. But between two experts, many times it's better radio to book the knowledgeable guest who is a compelling talker, rather than the college professor who has studied the subject for 30 years, has a thick accent and can cause common house pets to doze peacefully. 16. THE PRE-INTERVIEW If I get a chance to do a pre-interview: a. I explain I'm doing research. What I am about to ask is not an indication of what a host might ask during the actual interview. I am also not rehearsing you, just trying to make sure our reporting is right. b. I listen for facts that are not consistent with published or known information. c. I listen for answers that are concise and to the point, and others that run on and on. I make note of the differences. d. I listen for the best, most compelling stories. e. If I hear something that is very emotional, I usually say: "Save it for the air." I want people to sound as spontaneous as possible, not rehearsed. f. I listen for how much energy a guest has. If it's low, I say: I know we're just chatting on the phone, but when you're on the radio-on the phone or in the studio - I think it's important that the audience understands the passion you have for the subject. So be sure to speak up. If you have any questions about how much to speak up, just match the level and enthusiasm of your interviewer. g. I listen to what is making the guest uncomfortable or defensive. h. I make sure I get additional phone numbers for that person and for others who might be involved in the story.

Even the biggest newsmakers are used to doing some sort of preinterview, even if it's just a few minutes. If they absolutely won't do one, someone representing them usually will. 17. THE EDITORIAL PROCESS AND FOCUSING Booking is an early step in the shaping of the story. Hosts, producers or editors may have had an idea of what the interview might accomplish before the booker makes the phone call. But during the phone call, the booker-as a journalist-is helping to determine how much of the story will get told on the air. 1. How much information does the guest have? 2. How fair and balanced is this guest's take on the story? 3. What are the guest's most compelling details or conclusions? 4. Will it be better on the air to get as much of the whole story out from start to finish, or does one specific detail well-told become the best illustration for what has occurred? 18. HOLDING ON TO THE BOOKING ONCE YOU'VE NAILED IT DOWN. Just because a guest says they'll appear on a show, it doesn't mean they'll keep their word. As a number of us have discovered the hard way, guests forget, change their minds, get confused (they may be getting a lot of calls;) they also listen to publicists or attorneys who have made other decisions for them-and now and then, guests outright lie to bookers. a. Every show has its own practices, but it is important to constantly be in touch with your booking. The week before, the day before, even the morning of. First of all, stories and information may change. Second, it's reassuring. Third, in this competitive world, better bookers will steal your guest. b. I have said these words to guests: "I am so grateful that you have agreed to appear on our show. You know we called you first and you have agreed to appear here first. Please, when other shows call you and you have any questions, please contact me. If they tell you that you have to do them first, call me. If they really want you, they will do the interview after NPR." c. Make sure you know who in the guest's inner circle can change their minds and give away or undo your booking. You are not only convincing the guest, but anyone who can affect the guest's decision. You can't imagine the hopes that are dashed when a booker hears this explanation: "I know I said yes to you, but my attorney said yes first

to ABC News." That may or may not be the truth, but it was your responsibility to book the guest and the entourage. 19. THE THANK YOU NOTE or CALL It is very important that people who have appeared on the radio get a thank you call or letter from you, or from one of the show's producers, or - at times - from a host. a. You may need that guest again. b. You may need that guest to convince another guest as the story progresses, or to get you the phone number of another guest. c. It is polite to thank people for their time and trouble. 20. RETURNING CALLS FROM ATTORNEYS & PUBLICISTS I return as many phone calls as I can. Even if I say no or that the story is not right, I make the call. Attorneys and publicists remember who does that, and when you actually do need something from them, it can make the difference between getting or not getting the booking. 21. THE ZEN OF BOOKING You realize that Guest X is the perfect booking. Guest X is the target. You keep your eye on the target. You never forget the target. You remember the satisfaction you got from hitting the target the last time around. You listen to your inner voices: - Make the call now. - Send another email. - Check another fact or quote. - Call them again. - What are they thinking on CNN or at The Today Show or at The LA Times? - Is this the right guest? - Pick up the phone again. - I want this booking! You are not deterred. You do not lose focus. You do not accept NO for an answer. - You get the guest. - The guest shows up. - The guest makes coherent sentences. - The host asks great questions. - The guest says things for the first time ever and makes news that the wires transmit and other media outlets carry. - Your host is happy.

- Your producers are happy. - You are very happy. And you only have another 50 phone calls to make.