So I get up in the dark and talk to the cat for a bit and hey presto! I'm on air.
I suppose I should have been ready for it. I suppose that I should have been ready to be taken apart and hear "wombtwin" repeated again and again, in the most disparaging way possible, presumably to put me on the defensive and show me up as a "weirdo pandering to a lot of other weirdos" ( - yes I got that, in so many words. Great. Thanks, Stephen Rhodes.)
I don't know if I succeeded in remaining calm, but I'll see when I record it on "listen again." More later.
I got respect on ITN in 2007, but then it turned out that I was interviewed by the mother of a wombtwin survivor and filmed by the uncle of a wombtwin survivor. I got respect on Elizabeth Noble's programme last week in the USA (of which more anon) but then she is a wombtwin survivor herself. No respect today though - none whatever. I wasn't even given a moment to say when and where the public meeting will be held!
In my view, that is an absolutely basic tenet of being a media interviewer; listen with respect and give the interviewee, who is supplying the material for the show, a little space to tell their story, whoever they are and regardless of what their story entails. If you don't like the story, don't talk to them. If you do talk to them, give them a little respect.
Having made the choice to give me the space, the least they could do is let me say my piece. Time to go on a basic training refresher course, Stephen.
The trouble is that people who are not wombtwin survivors themselves can have absolutely no idea what this is about and are naturally incredulous. They think every single one of us is crazy. I don't expect any improvement in this in the foreseeable future, except that when the book of the project is written and a publisher is found, some of the more intelligent may start to consider it and debate it.
In the meantime, I will try to always remember my manners, at least. After all its a great gift to be a wombtwin survivor and I have to feel sorry for those who do not have that gift and will never understand what it means.
Dear Althea
ReplyDeleteI'm sorry about the rudeness you experienced; what a stinker all round!
At the bottom of your post, you mention the gift of being a wombtwin survivor: did you have anything particular in mind when you wrote this?
I'm looking forward to hearing about your US trip.
Best wishes
Christina Watkins
Hello Althea,
ReplyDeleteI too send you my "sorry's" about your media experience. I was just at a media seminar yesterday and thought I'd share some ideas with you as you will probably go through this many times in the future.
Different media have differing mandates so it will help your cause to be specific about your intent when being interviewed. If you can discuss it with them in advance, tell them what you want to focus on for the interview. Prepare yourself to be way-layed even if you have pre-arranged the focus. Be clear about your message...e.g. Many people may not have heard of this before and you are welcome to join us at a public meeting on (date) at (place) (time).
If you are clear about what you want to get across during the interview, it will be easier for you to lead THEM down YOUR garden path!
Good luck in the future Althea and please remember all of us that you have helped with this work. We are all so very grateful to you!
Angel from Canada
Thanks for your comments. I have come to an understanding that some people who encounter something as deep as this for the first time are thrown into a kind of defensive mode and they want to squash it out of existence. Maybe they are wombtwin survivors and don't realise it!
ReplyDelete