Radio can grab attention like nothing else.
When a spokesperson delivers a compelling interview, people quickly switch from hearers to listeners.
But the same is also true of spokespeople who deliver poor interviews.
And there was an interview on LBC last week that grabbed our attention for all the wrong reasons.
And that we had to discuss in our media training blog.
London mayoral hopeful Susan Hall was interviewed by Nick Ferrari and faced questions about her dubious history on Twitter – or X as it now likes to be known.
Her past activity includes appearing to like a post featuring a picture of Enoch Powell – whose career was ended by his infamous Rivers of Blood anti-immigration speech – which said, "It's never too late to get London back."
She also thanked disgraced commentator Katie Hopkins for a post which referred to Sadiq Khan – the current London mayor - as "the nipple height mayor of Londonistan".
When asked about that post, she said: “I can’t remember doing that.”
Here’s how the rest of the exchange played out:
Ferrari: “You can’t remember doing that?”
Hall: “No, of course not. Nick, I tweet or used to...”
Ferrari: “Do you remember liking a tweet that had the language ‘It's never too late to get London back’ with a picture of Enoch Powell?
Hall: “Yes, and I’ve explained that ‘it’s never too late’ is what I am saying to you. It is never too late to make London better again. We have traffic jams left, right and centre. We have ULEZ expansion…
Ferrari: “Are you a fan of Enoch Powell?”
Hall: “No, of course not.”
Ferrari: “I don’t understand. There was a picture of him, and you liked that tweet.”
Hall: “I know. If you are a serial tweeter, you tend to go through liking all sorts of things, and you sometimes read things and don’t see it. If anybody is offended, then obviously, I would apologise. But going back...”
Ferrari: “You can’t see why people would be offended by that? You say, ‘if anyone is offended’ – do I have to explain to you the offence?”
Hall: “Because it wasn’t intended.”
The presenter then challenged her over a tweet in which she called TV personality Gemma Collins a "stupid fat blonde".
Ms Hall said she was “asking Twitter a question” and added: “People will throw these tweets at me, and I accept it, and if I offended anybody, I apologise."
When Mr Ferrari pushed her on the use of the word ‘if’ again, saying “You seem surprised some people are offended”, she replied: “Some people are, and some people aren’t.
“Those that are offended, I didn’t intend to cause any offence at all.”
It was an uncomfortable few minutes of radio.
"I can't remember doing that."
— LBC (@LBC) September 27, 2023
"You can't *remember* doing that?"
In a painful exchange, @NickFerrariLBC asks Tory Mayoral candidate Susan Hall about liking tweets praising Enoch Powell and describing the capital as 'Londonistan". pic.twitter.com/0WcYm1yZS5
Even LBC’s social media team labelled the interview “a painful exchange”. And an article on its website said the “candidate tied herself in knots”.
Here’s what other media made of the interview:
Tory candidate insists not everyone offended by Enoch Powell tweet in disastrous interview Mirror
Tory mayor hopeful roasted for claiming she can't remember 'Londonistan' Tweet Huff Post
‘I’m a serial tweeter’: Susan Hall defends liking Enoch Powell post The Times
As we stress during our media training courses, good preparation lies at the heart of media interview success.
It would not have taken too much thought to realise that Ms Hall’s controversial social media history might be brought into the interview.
It is hard to imagine a journalist who would not want to address them in an interview with the mayoral hopeful.
So, surely better answers than ‘I can’t remember’ and ‘I am a serial Tweeter’ should have been prepared.
The story about the posts had broken earlier in the month. So, there had been ample time to get something more coherent and meaningful together. The posts didn’t come to light just before the interview.
Researching the journalist you will be speaking to is something else we press during our media training courses.
Mr Ferrari has a reputation for asking difficult questions and being tenacious. Again, the slightest research would have shown he would not settle for an ‘I can’t remember’ response.
Another interview with Ms Hall was carried by the Financial Times on the same day, and she was unconvincing again in her tweets apology.
“If I’ve offended anybody of course I apologise,” she said.
And added: “Too many people do take offence when they actually even know it wasn’t meant.”
She also suggested there are more controversial posts, saying, “I’m sure there’ll be more somewhere,” adding “I won’t be deterred. They can throw whatever grenades they want at me.”
There are a lot of caveats. She’s sorry if people are offended. But she thinks people claim to be offended when they are not.
And there may be other controversial posts and likes out there in the social media world, perhaps setting expectations for more stories to come.
As Mr Ferrari hinted at during the LBC interview, ‘if’ is a problematic word in apologies.
It is something we’ve highlighted in our media training blogs before. It suggests you don’t think you have done anything wrong or understand why people are offended. And it questions the reaction to what has happened.
“If people felt upset”, “If I have upset people”, “If there are failings”, and “If I’ve offended anybody” – these phrases all detract from the believability of an apology and undercut its sincerity.
An apology must be meaningful for it to work. You need to show empathy and remorse.
It was not all bad. I liked Ms Hall’s description of herself in the Financial Times as being “Marmite” – a comment that made the headline writer’s job a lot easier.
But the LBC interview evidence suggests she will need to greatly improve her media performance to win over voters.
Media First are media and communications training specialists with over 35 years of experience. We have a team of trainers, each with decades of experience working as journalists, presenters, communications coaches and media trainers.
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