LANDING THE "EXCLUSIVE" FOR TV

By Debbie Mitchell

Viewers love an exclusive interview and the exclusive first TV interview is a club every television personality wants to be a member of.  Which interviewer is going to get the story and what BIG news will be revealed in their exclusive conversation?

The news came out last weekend that former queen of talk Oprah Winfrey has landed the first interview with Bobbi Kristina the 18 year old daughter of the late singer Whitney Houston.  Bobbi Kristina and the Houston family including Whitney's brother Gary Houston and her sister-in-law and manager Patricia Houston will sit down for the exclusive interview on OWN this Sunday, March 11, at 9pm in a one-hour special episode of Oprah’s Next Chapter.

Bobbi Kristina 

The interview will air one month after Houston's death.  It is a quick turn around sure to draw viewers and win ratings for the network.  Viewers will tune in to see how Bobbi Kristina is coping, to hear her voice and what she has to say about her late mom and her dad Bobby Brown.  I predict the first half hour of the show will feature Bobbi Kristina.  But what kind of questions will Oprah ask her? Will the questions be "soft" and  or will Oprah ask the hard questions about her parents tumultuous life living with drugs?  Will Bobbi Kristina cry or will Oprah ask her to sing her favorite Whitney song? Is every topic around Whitney's death up for discussion or did the Houston's family put restrictions on the interview? 

As hard as it may be for producers they begin the booking process immediately after a story breaks. Every show wants the exclusive to be the first one to get the story on the air. They compete hard for it. Who will grab the big interview, Diane Sawyer, Barbara Walters, Oprah Winfrey, Katie Couric or Matt Lauer ? 

In most cases show bookers have to make lots of phone calls,  write numerous letters and have several meetings to land the BIG interview.  It is not unheard of for anchors to step in, send a note or get on the phone personally to help land the interview. While networks maintain they do not pay guests for interviews many times money will come as the result of a lucrative book and or movie deal negotiated into the exclusive booking. 

An exclusive interview is worth it.  Ten months after being shot Rep. Gabrielle Giffords was recovered enough to give talk to Diane Sawyer about parts of the ordeal she could remember.  Giffords was shot at point blank range in January 2011 while at a Tucson supermarket as she debated the nation's health care law with her constituents.

Mark Kelly, Gabrielle Giffords with Diane Sawyer

Six people were killed at the Saturday event. Doctors had predicted that it could take months or even years of intensive therapy for Giffords to relearn how to speak and walk.  In the exclusive interview Giffords who appeared with her husband then astronaut Mark Kelly proved the doctor's wrong.

“How do you feel?” asked Sawyer.
“Pretty good,” Giffords replied.
“Is it painful?” Sawyer asks.
“It’s difficult. Difficult,” responds Giffords.
“Gabrielle Giffords is too tough to let this beat her,” Kelly told Sawyer during the interview.

Producers, anchors and guests being interviewed always plan and hope for the best in their exclusive interviews but sometimes the best laid plans do not  work out. When Kim Kardarshian announced the break up of her marriage after 72 days the world and even her husband Kris Humphries was surprised by the news. Fans wanted to know what happened to the love birds?

Kim Kardashian and Kris Humphries

Kim Kardashian wasn't talking but Humphries appeared on Good Morning America in December 2011 and viewers tuned into to hear his side of the story.  Five minutes later viewers were still waiting to hear his side of the story.  Watch the awkward interview below.  No matter how hard GMA news anchor Josh Elliott tried to get Humphries to open up about his failed marriage Humphries avoided answering by changing the subject. The two men were having two very different interviews on live morning television. As a producer I wondered whether there were agreed upon guidelines for this interview if so what were they and who was not following them  Kris or Josh? 

But when the rules are followed an exclusive first television interview can be great television. Remember Ruth Madoff on 60 Minutes last October or newsman Anderson Cooper.  In September 2011 during the premiere episode of Cooper's new self titled talk show he was the first to interview the parents of the late Amy Winehouse  months after her untimely death last July.  Mitch Winehouse Amy's dad even got emotional on camera while talking about his daughter.

Amy Winehouse

Anderson Cooper, Mitch and Janis Winehouse

Whitney Houston also got emotional during her 2009 interview with Oprah Winfrey as she talked  openly about her troubled life and promising comeback. The interview went well. So well, Oprah was  even invited to be amongst close friends and family at Houston's funeral last month. 

Whitney Houston and Oprah Winfrey 2009

Winfrey is no stranger to landing BIG interviews and no one knows when the first conversation about an interview with Bobbi Kristina and the family actually took place.  However I do know viewers and myself will be watching this Sunday to see if Oprah breaks news with her latest exclusive first television interview.

TV/Social Media Producer Debbie Mitchell is an emmy nominated producer who is a member of the Producers Guild of America (PGA).  If you are a personality interested in television placement or connecting with brands follow Debbie Mitchell @TVProducerDeb or email Ready4Airtv@gmail.com .